On the Hill profile

On the Hill, St. Meinrad School of Theology's alumni magazine. Winter 2013.

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25956083/winter-2013-saint-meinrad-seminary-and-school-of-theology

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Seeing Christ in Creation

Green Mass (Care for Creation) Wis 13:1-9 ; Psalm 104; Matthew 6:24-34 Seeing Christ in Creation Nine years ago, I led a group of Bellarmine University students on a study abroad trip to Peru. One night, we took a bus ride that wound through the Andes Mountains. The driver made an unscheduled stop in the middle of nowhere and let us all off to into a field. There was no moon that night. The inky darkness was broken only by the light of the stars. We gazed upon them and were unexpectedly disoriented. Instead of the familiar constellations that had accompanied us our whole lives in the northern hemisphere, there was an alien, antipodal sky with a strange configuration of unknown stars. Floating on the horizon just above the mountain peaks appeared the constellation known as the Crux, or the Southern Cross, composed of four of the brightest stars in the sky that form a distinct cross-shape. Long before being introduced to Christianity, Peruvians held the cross as sacred...

The Four Trees of Christmas

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...

Render unto God

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct 17/18, 2020 Somehow, in the great providence of God, our readings for mass today are the famous “render unto Caesar” Gospel passage. With 17/ 16 days to go in our presidential election, what on earth does God have to say to us about politics and civic engagement in the midst of this chaotic, stressful, and divisive election year? Much ink has been spilled and many sermons given on Catholics’ faithful citizenship and participation in our democracy. In my reading and prayer preparation for today, however, I began to feel that “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” is not the important part of Jesus’ response, even though those are the words we remember and quote. The critical words here are from the second half, “render unto God what is God’s.” How often do we give Caesar more than his due? How often do we give Caesar what belongs to God? [Reminder of the...

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