Category: Speaking to the Soul

“But one thing I will miss when this is over. The dozens, hundreds, of broadcasts of services from all over, from all the people I know and follow, the very visual and visceral proof that we are all praying together. Sunday. Daily Prayer. Sermons and meditations. The Word of God proclaimed everywhere. For a few short weeks we were thrust out of My Parish, My Church, My Priest, Our Customary. For a few short weeks we were forced to be part of God’s Holy Church everywhere.”

“What we have left, once again, is the story.  And today it is THE story, the story to answer all our anxieties.  “I have seen the Lord,” says Mary. She knows he is no longer in the tomb; he has conquered death.  And gradually, over weeks and years, she and all Jesus’ followers will come to understand what this means.”

“Perhaps this Easter may turn out to be the most joyous one ever, simply because it is something that brings us hope in the darkness, celebration amid despair, and a reason for rejoicing despite all the gloom and doom. Easter is something to be celebrated, no matter what the circumstances.”

“In our evening Gospel reading from John, we learn that Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of spices to prepare Jesus’ body for the tomb. That’s a rather staggering amount of aloe and myrrh, when you consider the average Jewish burial in that time used between one and five pounds of spices.”

“Love roots itself in our very being and transforms us. And we are still in need of that transformation, centuries later. In this time of pandemic, we are called to overcome the fears that might separate us, and instead some into a fuller understanding of our essential unity and interconnectedness.”

“Peter failed – betrayed – Jesus three times. From experience, I can tell you that betrayal cuts the soul to the quick; reality becomes quicksand.  Yet, the Jesus of seventy times seven love turned to look at Peter, and Peter wept bitterly. How many of the following nights did Peter dream of that moment, having betrayed the man to whom he had sold his soul? I am certain Peter’s anxiety dreams ended that day weeks later when standing on the beach, Jesus invited Peter three times to tell Jesus how much he loved him.”

“Not much different from the first Easter –

We wonder if our world will ever be the same

If we’ll ever be the same”

“Notice what we have gained. A recognition that God has not abandoned us. We have nothing to fear. We are never alone. Once famine meant death. Drought meant death. But we still have food, and water, and power. But now we have joined the rest of humanity throughout history who knew that death was always hovering right behind us.”

“As we go through this Holy Week journey in this time of global suffering, may we choose the Way of Jesus.  May we let go of any control we think we might have. May we act and react in love, not striking out, refraining from harm.  May we see our part in how things unfold all the way to the end. May we live in such a way that our Lord, who suffered the Way of the Cross, has nothing to be ashamed of in us.”

“No, I don’t think God sent this COVID-19 to punish us for our evildoings, although it is showing us where evil, greed, and bragging has gotten us.”