One Catholic Life Blog

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Homily

Jesus Thirsts for You: Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

Here we are in the third week of Lent. How are your Lenten resolutions going? Mine aren’t going so great, to be honest. Last Friday, I made myself a turkey sandwich for lunch, forgetting it was Friday. I think I was just going through the motions of the day, not really paying attention. Sometimes life is like that, a series of unconscious, or nearly unconscious, actions that add up to a day. The Samaritan woman in today’s gospel is going through the motions of her daily life when...

Aged Hands

Homily

Stretch Forth Your Hand – Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

If you’ve ever looked at the hands of your grandmother or grandfather, Or at the hands of an elderly friend, Then you’ve had a glimpse of their life story. Each pair of hands has a story to tell, And the older we get, the more our hands have to say. Some hands are scarred or spotted. Others are twisted and gnarled with arthritis. A hand can have callouses or be as smooth as lotion. The fingers, too, tell a tale about our lives. Some of us have long...

Benjamin Franklin

Books and Reading

An Epitaph All Readers Can Relate To

There have been few people as wise, eloquent, and humorous as Benjamin Franklin. Evidence: the epitaph he wrote for himself when he was but a young printer in 1729 (Alas, it was not, in the end, used on his gravestone.): The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn out And stript of its lettering and gilding,) Lies food for worms: Yet the work itself shall not be lost, For it will (as he believed) appear once more In a new...

climbing

Spirituality

The 3 Most Difficult Things a Human Being Can Do

Anthony de Mello, quoting Sidney Harris: The three most difficult things that a human being can do are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; and third, admitting that you are wrong.

Italian Landscape at Sunset

Poetry

When St. Francis of Assisi Returned from Rome: A Poem

I don’t read nearly as much poetry as I’d like to, but I recently read this lovely poem by St. Francis of Assisi and wanted to share it: When I Returned from Rome A bird took flight. And a flower in a field whistled at me as I passed. I drank from a stream of clear water. And at night the sky untied her hair and I fell asleep clutching a tress of God’s. When I returned from Rome, all said “Tell us the great news,” and with...

Company of Voices by George Guiver

Prayer / Spirituality

“We Treat God Like a Cow” – On Maturity in Prayer

I was reading George Guiver’s Company of Voices: Daily Prayer and the People of God, when I came across this challenging paragraph: However much the modern Church says it believes in prayer, it so often behaves as if it has failed to surrender to God. The word “surrender” is shorthand for Jesus’ image of bride and bridegroom, and the total self-giving which is necessary in their coming together. Allowing God to be at the center is something we all fail to do. We fail to wait utterly on...

Candle in the Dark

Homily

A Candle Cannot Light Itself – Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings come straight at us. Isaiah might just as well have said: “You are my servant, people of St. Peter Parish, through whom I show my glory….I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Paul speaks to the Corinthians, but also to us: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the church of God that is at St. Peter’s, to you who have been sanctified in Christ...

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Catholic Education / Spirituality

Facing Trials with Grace: A Meditation by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the woman who founded the first Catholic school in the United States, and also the first American-born saint. In today’s Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, St. Elizabeth explains how she is able to deal with the trials of life. My prayer today, dear reader, is that this beautiful meditation can be of help as you face the various trials of your own life: I will tell you what is my own great help. I once...

Forming Intentional Disciples

Books and Reading

My Favorite Reads of 2013

I barely reached my goal of reading forty books this year, and though some of the books were very short (like the eleven Doctor Who books), some of them were very long (like Quo Vadis, Les Miserables, and The Count of Monte Cristo). Of the books I read, these were my favorites (in the order I read them): Les Miserables (unabridged): I read an abridged version with my students every year, but it had been a while since I read the full novel. I really appreciated this translation,...

Spirituality

The Lord of the Gifts: A Brief Meditation on Tolkien and PEZ

My family held a white elephant gift exchange this past Christmas–you know, where people bring gifts anonymously, exchange them, and get a chance to steal them from others. We fought over battery operated massagers, remote control cars, coffee mugs, and Hot Wheels. I was fortunate enough to get a set of PEZ dispensers in the shape of The Lord of the Rings characters, but the process made me think about other gifts we’ve received: our talents, life experiences, and environment. I wonder how many times we look at other...

Homily

Let Him Enter: Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year A

We are at the end of Advent season and as we make our final preparations for Christmas we may wonder how we should spend these last three days preparing our hearts. A few minutes ago we sung together the antiphon from today’s responsorial psalm:  “Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.” What better way to make our final preparations for Christmas, then by meditating on that antiphon? If we take some time over the next few days to repeat it to ourselves and reflect on...

Paint Roller

General

A Fresh Coat of Paint

It’s about time I put a fresh coat of paint on this site and try to get back into the habit of blogging. I don’t know if there are many people out there still reading this blog or listening to the homilies that I post each month–I never have learned how to accurately interpret subscriber stats; but for those of you still subscribed and reading, thanks for sticking with me. If you’re reading this in a blog reader or your email app, then I encourage you to click...