Foot-washer

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072824.cfm There was a boy named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone who lived in a little town in central Italy in the 13th century. His father was in France on business when he was born and so began calling him “Frenchy” or Francis. As a young man, his great ambition was to become a troubadour and a jongleur—a kind of wandering musician and poet, but also an acrobat and circus performer. Francis was often found walking around on his hands with his feet pointed towards the sky. To many people, he appeared foolish, but standing upside down gave Francis a unique perspective on the world. From his vantage, everything seemed to falling into nothingness. His feet were not grounded. Even tall buildings and impressive battlements appeared to rest on the clouds and were in danger of floating away. The young Francis, who would of course become known as Saint Francis, recognized that the world is radically and completely ...

Corpus Christi Sunday https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060224.cfm This summer, the Olympics games will be held in Paris, France, and there is good news from the City of Light, the exterior of the Cathedral of Notre Dame will be restored in time for the games. You may remember that five years ago, on April 15, 2019, a massive fire engulfed the historic church. As onlookers watched, it appeared as if this famous 800-year-old church, a symbol of France and one of the greatest churches in the world, was going to be gone forever. It is truly remarkable that Notre Dame survived and has been repaired. I want to take us back to that day five years ago what the church was ablaze. On the scene was Paris’ famous fire brigade, which is actually a unit of army. They rushed into the church to try to control the fire and save some of the treasures inside. It was a hellscape inside. Father Jean-Marc Fournier, the priest-chaplain, described the interior. He said, “A rain of fire was fa...

St. Agnes Catholic Church 5th Sunday in Easter Cycle B https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042824.cfm If you could be any plant what would you be? I often start my Theology classes at Assumption with a “check-in question,” a quick icebreaker that lets students share something about themselves. It’s a practice that builds community and ensures that everyone’s voice is heard at least once a day. When I read Jesus’ “I AM statements” in the Gospel of John, I like to imagine that he preceded it with a check-in question for his followers: What is your spiritual animal? If you could be any type of food, what would you be? So, let’s turn to today’s—if you could be any plant what would you be? I think many of us would choose something might and huge like, a giant sequoia or California redwood. Perhaps you might choose a beautiful flower like an orchid or a sunflower. Or something unique like a Venus flytrap or a saguaro cactus. Jesus rejects all these interesting options and tells...

  Bellarmine University  Our Lady of the Woods Chapel Easter Sunday https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033124.cfm    Happy Easter, Bellarmine.  Christ is risen today, Allelulia.  The Easter eggs came out two weeks early in our house this year.  My wife, Kate, brought them out of the basement to get ready for our egg hunt.  Our four kids started to play with them before the Easter bunny could fill them.  Max, one of our four-year old triplets, pulled out this egg here and brought it to me early on Saturday morning (while I was still in bed).   I’m not sure if you can see this well, but this yellow and orange egg has three crosses on it: the cross of Christ and those of the two thieves.  Max said to me, “look Dad!” pointing to Christ’s cross, “Jesus died here.” Then he popped the egg open and said, “it’s empty inside.”  But then he looked a little closer and said, “there’s the sun in there!”  Sun spelled s-u-n....

  St. Agnes Catholic Church  March 2/3 3rd Sunday of Lent  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030324-YearA.cfm  As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. It is you I seek! For my body yearns, my soul thirsts for God, the living God (Psalm 42:2-3a, 63:2). My high school students have a very strange problem.  [pause for dramatic effect].  They are overhydrated.  I know you are familiar with dehydration.  It may sound strange to hear that a person could be overhydrated, but I see my students carrying around large water bottles at all times—Stanley cups, Camelbacks, Yetis—which they are constantly draining and refilling.  Consequently, they can hardly sit for whole class period without needing to visit the restroom.  And on the way, they refill their water bottles.  This situation would be utterly alien to the people of Jesus’ world, who experienced water scarcity when wandering in the Sinai desert, an...

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012824.cfm Discerning the Spirits When I was a child attending this church on Sundays with my family, I always looked up at the high altar in the sanctuary. I wondered what the heck the big stone things were on the corners up there. Were they gargoyles? Sphynxes? I couldn’t tell from where we sat in the middle of the church. Do you know what they are? [pause] Angels! There are little baby faces faced at a diagonal angle. The rest of their figures are wings with no bodies. Whoever designed this church really liked angels. I’m going to give you fifteen seconds to take a look and see how many you notice [pause]. I am quite sure that if I don’t tell you right now how many angels there are, you will spend the rest of my homily trying to count them and won’t hear a thing I say, so let me tell you. By my count, there are 50 angels: eight are on the high altar and the tabernacle, including two inside the tabernacle ...

Merry Christmas, Bellarmine. Since we are here in Our Lady of the Woods Chapel the university, I thought it would be appropriate to preach about trees tonight. The Christmas tree has become a central symbol of the holiday.   Bellarmine has a beautiful, evergreen up on the quad that’s at least 50 feet tall.   Every Advent, it is strung up with lights and the university hosts a lighting event every year in late November.   Kate and I have taken our kids there the last few years.   We have some wonderful pictures of our kids’ faces lit up by both the lights and with joy at looking at the tree.   Last year, our oldest, EJ, got to help Dr. Donovan flip the magic switch that illuminated the tree.   It’s well known that German pagans worshipped oak trees before they became Christians and this might have something to do with the tradition.   However, they rapidly transformed the Christmas tree into a symbol of Christ, who is ever green. Who is a source o...