Readings: Numbers 21:4-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17 Preacher: Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Anyone who has ever gotten tired of eating leftovers after just a day or two might sympathize with the Israelites. They had been wandering in the desert for forty years, with manna for breakfast and quail for dinner. Day in and day out, the same food. They were weary of… read more →

Readings: Wisdom 9: 13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14: 25-33 Preacher: Gloria Ulterino  Another school year begins.  What memories immediately come to mind for you?  I can vividly recall 10th grade geometry—a real puzzle at first, until it suddenly made sense!  Then, many years later, I walked into my very first theology class, “The Church of the Future” – and my… read more →

Readings: Sirach 3: 17-18, 20, 28-29; Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22, 24a; Luke 14: 1, 7-14 Preacher: Patrick Fox Today’s Gospel recounts the story of two meals.  In the first Jesus offers a parable of choosing the lower place so that one might be exalted rather than humbled.  The second parable offers inviting the poor, crippled and lame. As I reflect on… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13; Luke 13:22-30 Preacher: Irene Goodwin Who, day and night, must scramble for a living,Feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers?And who has the right, as master of the house,To have the final word at home? The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.The Papa, the Papa! Tradition. Who must know the way to make a proper home,A… read more →

Readings: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12: 1-4; Luke 12: 49-53 Preacher: Susan Howard I am a convert. Brought into the Church April 2,1994. The first Catholic in my immediate family. However, I was bought up in a Christian household and a heavily Catholic neighborhood. I went to Church with the neighbor girls at a time when we had to pin tissues… read more →

Readings: Wisdom 18: 6-9; Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19; Luke 12: 32-48 Preacher: Sr. Joan Sobala When I was 17, I had an absolutely certain but limited horizon for my future. Graduating from high school, my desire—my plan—was to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph in Buffalo.   My mother said No!. My father said No! And what added insult to injury, the… read more →

Readings: Ecclesiastes 1: 2, 2: 21-23; Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11; Luke 12: 13-21 Preacher: Brigit Hurley I spent last week at the Alex Haley farm in Tennessee attending the Hall-Proctor Institute for Faith-based Child Advocacy. The Children’s Defense Fund holds this event annually as a gathering place for faith leaders and children’s advocates who work to improve the systems that serve… read more →

Readings: Genesis 18: 20-32; Colossians 2: 12-14; Luke 11: 1-13 Preacher: Margot VanEtten Today’s readings might at first seem to contradict one another. Abraham bargains with God like a customer at a merchant’s stall, bidding him down from 50 innocent people to just 10 whose presence will move God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.  Jesus teaches a prayer with no pressure,… read more →

Readings: Genesis 18: 1-10a; Colossians 1: 24-28; Luke 10: 38-42 Preacher: Christine Nowak Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries shared on social media last week about a man named Carlos. Here’s an excerpt from their post: “After what seemed like a reasonable hearing of the man’s case and even attempts to support him in his case for asylum, including scheduling another hearing… read more →

Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1: 15-20; Luke 10: 25-37 Preacher: Cathy (Kamp) Glisson The Good Samaritan. For centuries, Luke’s parable has prompted Christians the world over to reflect and ask: Who is my neighbor? How am I called to treat my neighbor with the mercy of Jesus? The parable and questions have never been more relevant than they are today. In… read more →