TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
6 October 2019 At Newman as most of you know, I used to take a long walk every day. And, usually, I would take a student along with me. I had a set of questions I asked along the way and near the end I would always say, “Ok, so do you have any questions for me?” The most often asked question of me was: “Why did you want to become a priest?’ I’d answer that I never wanted to, I wanted to be an architect. The inevitable follow up question was: Why aren’t you an architect then?...
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29 September 2019 I am neither Lazarus nor the rich man in today’s gospel. If I could see myself as Lazarus–I might be comforted. If I could see myself as the rich man–I might feel myself challenged. But, I am somewhere in the middle. I thought I was poor once–when I was in college. Of course every college student thinks he or she is poor. But I was never homeless, I was never destitute. Now, I am certainly part of America’s middle class. But that’s not rich. Rich is owning your own jet. Rich is having houses on both the...
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15 September 2019 There is an old African folk tale about a mighty chief who planned a great feast. He invited everyone in the village. Everyone wanted to come. He placed only one stipulation on each one’s attendance. Each person who came had to bring a jug of wine. Each jug of wine would be poured into a vat at the feast and everyone would drink from the common vat. One villager didn’t have a jug of wine and thought to himself: “With so many people pouring their jugs of wine into the large vat, no one would notice if one of those jugs was...
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8 September 2019 There was once a wise old philosopher who each day would go out to the gates of the city. There he would catch up on the comings and goings, and greet any newcomers. One day the old man saw a stranger, who looked harried and in need of help. The old man went up to the stranger and asked if he could be of help. The stranger explained that he was new to the area, he and his family had just been forced to leave their hometown as it was a bad place to live. “The people there have become mean and cold, and very selfish. The city...
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1 September 2019 My great-aunt Martha lived two doors down from us while I was growing up. She was a wonderful woman. She grew up knowing a very hard life, nearly starved to death during the great depression, lost a son in the second world war. She had great faith, survived it all and was one of the happiest people I know. As a child I would go to visit her and her husband Frank often. I’d go there especially when I thought I wasn’t being appreciated enough by my own parents. Aunt Martha and Uncle Frank were always glad to see me, stopped...
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25 August 2019 Joseph Nolan a biblical commentator claims that in all of Luke’s gospel Jesus asks only two questions. And those two questions are addressed to two different groups of people. The first group of people Jesus speaks to are the religiously upright, the ones who follow the rules, or at least most of the rules. The ones who believe they have a claim on heaven. The second group of people Jesus speaks to are the religiously defunct– the lost, the ones who think they don’t have a chance in hell of getting to heaven....
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18 August 2019 During the Nazi reign of terror there was a sector of Warsaw Poland that was cordoned off. It was the Jewish ghetto. One of the men who died there wrote a short note on a piece of paper, stuck it in a bottle and then left it as his legacy. He said: “God, you have done everything to make me stop believing in you. Now, lest it seem to you that you will succeed by these tribulations in driving me from the right path, I notify you, God, and God of my fathers, that it will not avail you in the least. You may insult...
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4 August 2019 About ten years ago my parents made their will. I was visiting at the time and when I got back to Eau Claire, I emailed my brother about the details of the will. Basically, the will says that he will get half and I will get half. He emailed me back the following: “George, I don’t know what you think you know about the will, But I understand they are leaving everything to you.” I responded: “Charlie, as far as I can tell mom and dad are scrupulously fair. When we were children we always received the same number of Christmas...
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28 July 2019 If you were down to your last $10, what would you spend it on? I recently read a story that made me think about that. It was about a friendless man who was down to his last $10. Did he spend it on food? Nope. He said that while food fills the belly, it doesn’t give you a reason to live Did he spend it on a bed for the night? Nope. He said, rest doesn’t give you hope. Did he spend it on booze? Nope. He said, drink can be a poison when consumed alone. What do you think this man spent his last $10 on?...
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