Foot-washer

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041426.cfm  Good morning, St. X, and Happy Easter Season. What are your favorite sounds as you go about your day here at Saint Xavier High School?  I’ll ask that question again [repeat]. I bet you have never given that much thought.  We often tune out familiar noises as we go about life.  I want to share with you my four favorite sounds. First, when I come into the Driscoll building in the morning and pass the auditorium, I usually hear a wild and raucous noise drifting up from the weight room at the bottom of the steps.  There’s the metallic clang of iron plates hitting each other, the crash of heavy bars, hype-up music blaring, and above it all the primal sound of guys driving each other on.  This is what brotherhood sounds like. Second, when I walk down the first floor of the T during the school day, I’m bound to hear a single word—IF!—from our teacher of the year, Coach John Jef...

Easter Sunday https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040526.cfm Good morning and Happy Easter. The whole world, it seems, celebrates Christmas, even non-Christians and atheists. In the lead-up to December 25th, Christmas songs, decorations, trees, and Santa Claus are inescapable.  And the whole world stops for Christmas.  In our country, schools and many workplaces offer extended breaks for the holiday season, and there is a strong cultural expectation to be home for Christmas with family and loved ones. Easter, on the other hand, is easy to miss.  A few weeks ago, Kroger put out chocolate bunnies, egg-dyeing kits, Peeps, and jelly beans.  That may have led shoppers to ask themselves, “When is that coming up again?” The calendar certainly doesn’t help: Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25—a 35-day period.  Jesus’ resurrection happened during the Jewish celebration of Passover, and the Church has always kept Easter during the same period.  ...

Good Friday https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040326.cfm “May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows of Our Mother Mary be always in our Hearts.” You may be familiar with those words. They are the motto of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. This is the order of priests, brothers, and nuns that was founded by Paul Francis Danei, called St. Paul of the Cross in Italy in 1720. The Passionists are, of course, the order that has staffed our parish since 1885. In this brief homily, I want to connect two of the friezes behind me to the Passionist charism and to our Passion reading. If you look at the frieze directly behind me, you will see an image of St. Paul of the Cross’ life. Paul was a mystic who had occasional visions. In this one, he was praying at his kneeler (depicted in the foreground) when he was transported in prayer to the cross. He had the experience of Jesus reaching down with one arm and embracing him. I want you to notice one detail ...