December 4/First Friday of Advent And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” ~ Mt 9.28-29 When we had our house on the market a few years ago, I dreaded getting the…
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Keeping Advent 5: Do the Right Thing
December 3/First Thursday of Advent Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” ~ Matt 7.21 How quick we are to trust in our own righteousness. We quietly congratulate ourselves on the faithfulness of our worship,…
Keeping Advent 15: What If?
December 15/Third Sunday of Advent John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ~ Luke 7.18 Sometimes, as we make our way along the path of faith, we encounter a roadblock of doubt. This doubt may arise from some…
Song 32: 24/7
April 11/Fifth Thursday of Lent Seek the LORD and his strength;Search for his presence continually. ~ Ps 105.4 It’s the “continually” that causes difficulties, isn’t it? We manage to engage occasionally, perhaps seeking the LORD and his strength on Sundays when we go to church, or even a few times a week when we scratch out scant minutes for quiet…
Song 22: “One Thing Viewed Differently”
March 30/Third Saturday of Lent For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. ~ Ps 51.18-19 To the modern sensibility, sacrifices and burnt offerings seem impossibly ancient and decidedly obsolete. Modern…
Keeping Advent 8: Dress Codes
December 9/Second Sunday of Advent Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; Put on the splendor of glory from God. ~ Baruch 5.1 There is scarcely a parent alive who has not at some point uttered the words, “You’re not wearing that, are you?”. When my children were younger, this often occurred in the context of church-going, the battle…
Songs for Lent: Podcast Information
SONGS FOR LENT 2018: Podcast Information Dear Friends, Starting tomorrow, America Media will be running podcasts of the daily reflections. Here is the information for those who are interested. — — — — — — — — — — — — — To subscribe to “The Word” from an Apple device visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-word/id1320295636?mt=2 To subscribe from “The Word” from an Android…
Keeping Advent 8: Memento Mori
December 10/Second Sunday of Advent Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness? ~ 2 Peter 3.11 In Muriel Spark’s 1959 novel Memento Mori, the plot revolves around an anonymous telephone caller who informs each of the elderly characters, “Remember, you must die.” The…