Foot-washer

  2nd Sunday in Easter  Cycle C https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042725.cfm Apr 26 & 27, 2025 St. Thomas the Believer Last month, our second graders and their parents participated in a retreat to prepare themselves for their First Communion which they are just about to celebrate [will celebrate tomorrow].  At the end of a two-hour session, Fr. Bruno took the participants on a tour of the church.  We concluded in the sacristy—the room in the back where the priest gets ready.  The retreat started to run past the allotted time, but at the conclusion, Fr. Bruno asked the second graders for final questions.  He was perhaps expecting something quick and easy.  One of the kids, named Ellie  had clearly been waiting for this.  She stuck her hand up eagerly and said, “I have two questions: first, why did God flood the earth? And second, why can’t women be priests?”  Fr. Bruno looked surprised and said, “those are very good questions, bu...

Bellarmine University Our Lady of the Woods Chapel https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033124.cfm Good morning, Bellarmine. Happy Easter. The Lord is Risen, Alleluia! In Jesus’ time, the most important and popular art form was the Greek tragedy. These plays originated in Athens in the 6th century B.C. and were performed in large amphitheaters built on the side of hills. They were originally religious in nature, honoring the god Dionysius. A small number of actors (with powerful voices) wearing masks acted on stage while a chorus sang a commentary on the action. Tragedies tell the story of the downfall of a great hero. The noble protagonist of the story is virtuous yet imperfect in ways that make him sympathetic. He has a “tragic flaw” that lead to catastrophe. The most famous example is Oedipus Rex whose flaw is lack of knowledge about his family and his origins. The conclusion of the tragedy is called a catastrophe, a Greek word that means ‘sudden downturn.’ This may b...

  5th Sunday of Lent Scrutinies https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040625-YearA.cfm  We just heard the second longest Gospel reading by numbers of words in the entire Sunday lectionary.  If you are keeping score, last week’s reading was 851 words.  Today’s is 843 words.  These readings are preparing us for our Passion readings next week which are almost three times as long.   Today, we heard 45 verses – the entire 11th chapter of the Gospel of John.  Out of the 45 verses, I would like to focus on one verse (11:35), which is the shortest verse in the Bible.  It is just two words: “Jesus wept.”   Jesus cries two times in the Gospels.  Today, we see him cry over the death of his beloved friend Lazarus.  Next week, before entering Jerusalem in a procession of palms, Jesus cries for the fate of the city, which is doomed to be destroyed by the Romans in the next thirty-five years in a siege that will result in tens of thousa...