At this time of the year, expectation is very nearly overcome by exhaustion. Whether that expectation is Christmas dinner and a pile of ill-afforded presents, or the Coming of the Son of Man, the lead-up now seems interminable, like an overlong engagement, and the pressure to do the right thing by the right people seems…

Here we are, on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmas Eve is just around the corner. Ready or not, it’s just about time for the Christmas story, told by carol, by pageant, by Sunday school children in bathrobes and tinsel halos. And when we say “the Christmas story,” we usually mean Luke’s version of the…

In Hawaii, the elders of the indigenous people have explained why the giving of names is so significant within the extended family tradition of the islands: “Some children were named for their ancestors,” it is said, “some for events, some for or by chiefs, and some were named by the gods. To name a child…

Foretold by the prophet Isaiah seven centuries before it occurred, and now over 2,000 years after the event, the birth of Jesus in the somewhat obscure town of Bethlehem in Palestine is still the greatest story ever told. What makes this Christmas story unique and special, worthy of so many Hollywood movies and countless village…

The simple truth is this: none of us avoids a crisis. All of us have trouble in the course of our lives. Someone may appear to be always on top of the world, but this observation may only show that we do not know that person well. Take a man who is successful in business,…

Attention. Joseph was paying attention. The message from God was unusual. That is why an angel brought the message. The medium of the message and message were perfectly coordinated. After the angel said, “don’t be afraid,” the angel then said, “Mary is pregnant because God has chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. She…

Here we are at the 4th Sunday of Advent, anticipating the first great Holy Day in our new liturgical year. The year itself marks our life in relationship to God, the life into which we were sealed in Baptism. The lessons for today are full of wonderful things to say — not so much about…