Month: January 2016

Ordinary Time 4

Jeremiah 1, 4-5, 17-19 + Psalm 71 + 1 Corinthians 13, 4-13 + Luke 4, 21-30

January 31, 2016 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL.

Just after the end of World War II a Lutheran minister named Gunter Rutenborn wrote and staged a play he titled The Sign of Jonah that had a profound impact on the city of Berlin which was in ruins. The play takes place in Germany still reeling from the war. It begins with a group of refugees trying to determine who is to blame for the horror. Some blame Hitler. Some blame the munitions manufacturers who financed Hitler. Other claimed that the German people themselves should bear the responsibility for the destruction of their own country. … more »

Ordinary Time 3

Nehemiah 8, 2-4, 5-6, 8-10 + Psalm 19 + 1 Corinthians 12, 12-14, 27 + Luke 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21

January 24, 2016 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL.

“Today” is an important word in Luke’s Gospel. He uses it 11 times, and one of those occasions we have already heard in the second chapter with an announcement by angels: “Today is born a savior.” Today is where it’s all happening in Luke’s Gospel from the song of angels through the healing of bodies and souls, on to the betrayal by friends and then his last forgiving moments on the cross when he says: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” The Gospel, not just Luke’s, is not about the good old days when Jesus was actually preaching in synagogues. … more »

Ordinary Time 2

Isaiah 62, 1-5 – Psalm 96 – 1 Corinthians 12, 4-11 – John 2, 1-11

January 17, 2016 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL.

I am of the opinion that we ought to read this Gospel backwards, or at least move the last verse up to the beginning, then we can avoid all the romantic, sentimental, and overtly devotional conclusions that are always being drawn from this episode. John’s Gospel is a lot of things: dramatic, complex, unique, and long, but it is not sentimental or romantic. This story is not about Cana. There is not one reference to that place ever again. The location is unimportant. It is not about the Blessed Mother as much as we might make something of her intervention and the fact that she is present. … more »

The Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 40, 1-5, 9-11 + Psalm 104 + Titus 2, 11-14 3, 4-7 + Luke 3, 15-16, 21-22

January 10, 2016 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL. & MS Eurodam

It is a true story that I think we all know, but there is a detail about it that may have slipped your mind. I think that detail is essential for anyone who wants to enter into the event and experience we remember today as a church.

Annie Sullivan is partially blind and she has taught a seven year old blind and deaf student finger spelling during the four months they have been working together trying to break through and connect this child with some reality. … more »

Epiphany of the Lord

Isaiah 60, 1-6 – Psalm 72 – Ephesians 3, 2-6 – Matthew 2, 1-12

January 3, 2016 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL. & MS Eurodam

This is perhaps the greatest episode in all the Gospels. It makes this the feast of seekers, of wanderers, and wonderers. It speaks to everyone who will not give way to comfortable indifference. It is the story of good over evil, and of the clever outwitting hypocrisy and political intrigue. It comes upon us at a time when we need to be drawn out of consumerism, credit card bills, all the shallowness of “Seasons Greetings”, and festivities of a New Year that may not be much different from the old one. … more »