Readings: Isaiah 5: 1-7; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43 Preacher: Sr. Karen Dietz The Season of Creation, as declared by Pope Francis and affirmed by Pope Leo officially ends today, October 4th. This is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and this year marks 800 years since his death. The readings for today are replete with images of the… read more →

Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32 Preacher: Grace Adams My parish growing up in the Hudson Valley, held a practice that I have yet to see in a parish since. During communion, the line would start with the pews at the very back of the church, with the front pews being the very last to receive… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Philippians 1: 20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20: 1-6a Preacher: Gloria Ulterino A new school year begins!  What will it be this year?  A struggle?  A great learning experience?  A time for making new friends?  And/ or growth in friendships already begun?   This weekend’s readings brought back so many memories of my years in school.  Good memories, for the… read more →

Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Mt 18:21-35 Preacher: Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler “Wrath and anger are hateful things,” Sirach says. “Yet the sinner hugs them tight.” Yikes! That’s a very strong censure, isn’t it? This reflection on the deadly nature of anger is part of Sirach’s advice for living a moral life. Yet, if we’re honest, isn’t it sometimes a temptation to… read more →

Readings: Ezekiel 3: 7-9; Romans 13: 8-10; Matthew 18: 15-20 Preacher: Teresa Dunn Recently I have been reflecting on what it means to love another. Love isn’t just a feeling; feelings change over time. We hear in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish… read more →

Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Roman’s 12:1-2: Matthew 16:21-27 Preacher: Sue Reed When I first looked at the readings for this weekend, I laughed.  The opening line from Jeremiah “You duped me O Lord, and I let myself be duped….” seemed to sum up my own relationship with God. Throughout my life, I have experienced moments when God’s call was impossible to ignore,… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 22: 19-23; Romans 11: 33-36; Matthew 16: 13-20 Preacher: Eileen Slagis This August our Scriptures describe a particularly difficult time in Jesus’ life.  His cousin John has been gruesomely murdered by the autocrat, Herod.  And while he wants some private time to pray and to mourn, his preaching has attracted large crowds who follow him, wondering if he might… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7; Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15: 21-28  Preacher: Margot Van Etten God’s love has no limits. No matter how we try to squeeze the Divine into little narrow boxes our egos construct, God’s love bursts forth and wraps around all the people we try to keep out. Having looked at creation and found it beautiful and… read more →

Readings: 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a; Romans 9: 1-5; Matthew 14: 22-33 Preacher: Deni Mack We reel from storm to storm in our families, our work lives, our friend’s lives, our national crises & this global destabilization. How responsible are we for bringing Christ’s calming to a sorely troubled world?  We ask Jesus that question and Jesus nudges us to not… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 55:1-3; Romans 8: 35, 37; Matthew 14:13-21 Preacher: Sr. Sheila Stevenson, RSM What a wonderful journey we take into our readings this weekend!  The Isaiah verses, the Psalm response and the Gospel are thematic in Jesus’ wonderful miracle of abundance and generosity, and of His immense compassion and radical hospitality toward all.  The feeding of the 5,000, or likely… read more →