Foot-washer

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...

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B June 19/20, 2021 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062021.cfm Good morning / afternoon, St. Agnes. Happy Father’s Day to you and a Happy Juneteenth, which is America’s second independence day, the day that we celebrate the end of slavery in our country.   This is the first year that it is an official, federal holiday.     I often get asked, as the father of triplets, what it was like to find out that we were expecting the three of them.  The experience was something like what the Apostles experienced in today’s Gospel story when they realized just who was in the boat with them.     Two years ago—on January 31, 2019—Kate and I went to the obstetrician [Dr. Heather Wilson] for our first pregnancy checkup.  We had found out a month before (on Christmas Day actually) that we were expecting our second child, and this felt like it would be kind of routine, in a way.  After ...

  Given to the Syro-Malabar community of Louisville, Apr 7, 2019 (4th Week of Lent) at Holy Family Catholic Church for their Easter preparation retreat.   Thank you for the introduction friars, and the invitation to speak today.  I have known these Franciscan friars for at least six years and have greatly enjoyed their friendship and ministry here to you, to Bellarmine, and young adults.  They like to invite me speak, sometimes with not much warning. . One of my favorite Fr. John stories: I was travelling as a chaperone with him to Kerala for Christmas in 2013 along with a group of Bellarmine students.  We stayed at their gorgeous friary in Karukutty.  Kate and I went to morning mass with the novices there at 7am one of our first mornings there.  I was feeling a bit jetlagged from the long travel.  I listened to Fr. John read the Gospel, afterwards he said, “it is not our custom to give homilies at morning mass, so I would like to invite Ned to co...