I served as a deacon in La Purisima Mission in El Modena, California. We had a farewell party in the parish as I was returning to the seminary to prepare for priestly ordination. I thanked the people for accompanying me on my vocational journey. It takes many hands to make a priest, I said. The… Read More »

The story of St. Paul’s conversion was a major turning point in the history of Christianity — so important that the Acts of the Apostles tells the story three times and St. Paul himself reports on the incident directly in his letter to the Galatians. While the stories diverge in some details the one constant… Read More »

Growing up, when you would hear about someone you vaguely knew a question would be asked: Is he one of our own? Does he belong to our group, our neighborhood, our church. The implication was that if you didn’t look like us, talk like us, pray like us than somehow you were other than we… Read More »

Certain of the sayings of Jesus are hard to do. If someone strikes you on one cheek turn and offer the other one, for example. But other sayings are just not that easy to understand. Take this word from St. Mark’s gospel: “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness.” Wow, Jesus, the… Read More »

There comes a time when you just can’t take it any more. “This has got to stop. This has got to change. I’ve got to do something.” You’ve been walking in darkness, living in the land of gloom, as Isaiah puts it, too long. Something must change. The moment happened to Rosa Parks riding a… Read More »

Jesus was not crucified because he was a nice guy. He said and did things which upset people, made them uncomfortable. Even his relatives, those who should have known him best said, “He is out of his mind.” In a world where you spend the vast bulk of your resources on the military Jesus said,… Read More »

We confess in our creeds that we are an apostolic church. From the foundation of the apostles the mission of Jesus continues. The insight of the founder of my religious congregation, Father Thomas Judge, C.M., is that “every Catholic is called to be an apostle.” The good news will not be spread by institutions or… Read More »

The gospels were written to help us to come to know Jesus. As St. Mark tells the story you would think that the case was closed right from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. In chapter one the heavenly voice says, “You are my beloved Son” and the unclean spirit names Jesus “the holy one… Read More »

“Melchizedek met Abraham and blessed him.” Melchizedek appears in only three verses in the Book of Genesis. In the letter to the Hebrews he is prominently featured. Why so much emphasis on such a seemingly minor figure? In the case of the early Church Melchizedek provides a model to expand the notion of what it… Read More »

Recently the community here at St. James reflected about the election. I said that the ugliness and divisiveness filled me with a sense of depression about the future of the country. The young Brothers spoke of their initial fear at the election results. Their family, their friends, the people they work with will all be… Read More »