Come, sit in this chair —come to the waters. “What did I do to deserve this?” When misery befalls us it is human nature to look for a cause and wonder if the suffering is a punishment for sinful behaviour. However, we also often find ourselves asking why bad things…

Come, sit in this chair —Be transformed. In today’s Epistle, St. Paul contrasts those whose “minds are set on earthly things” to followers of Jesus who know that their “citizenship is in heaven”. The three Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving strip away our delusion of independence and self-sufficiency…

Come, sit in this chair—Be transformed. In today’s Epistle, St. Paul contrasts those whose “minds are set on earthly things” to followers of Jesus who know that their “citizenship is in heaven”. The three Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving strip away our delusion of independence and self-sufficiency and…

Come, sit in this chair—be made whole This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. The Ash Wednesday Gospel opens the season of Lent by discussing the three practices that we are expected to take up: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. The Gospel passage is taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount wherein he…

Dear Friends: In today’s Gospel we are struck by the angry response of the people to Jesus’ claim that he has come to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. The life-giving truth that Jesus has to tell is not accepted in his hometown. At first the listeners are amazed by Jesus’…

Dear Friends: We learn from her writings that St. Teresa of Avila sat and spoke with Jesus as one would speak with a best friend. One evening Jesus asked Teresa her name and she replied using her religious name saying, “I am Teresa of Jesus.” Teresa was then bold enough to…

Dear Friends: When Jesus Christ came he took on a human body to show us how a human being should live, how to act towards God and to learn to accept other people as brothers and sisters. When Jesus Christ sends out his disciples on a mission journey he gives them advice, on…

Why was Jesus Baptized? Surely, not for the forgiveness of sins. Rather, by his baptism, Jesus identifies with us; he takes on our shortcomings. Through his baptism, we identify with Jesus: the words spoken by God about Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,”…

Come, sit in this chair—Rejoice in God’s mercy! The baptized are called to clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, and set captives free. The sacrament of Reconciliation invites us to consider not only the sins we have committed but also what we have failed to do. From…

Come, sit in this chair—Prepare the way of the Lord! When we go out to meet others we take care to put on the right clothes, wash our face, style our hair, and look our best. John the Baptist looked rough on the outside but the message of Jesus was…