“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (Jo. 14:27). In our Gospel today, Jesus is talking about the heart: not just as the seat of the will, the metaphorical place where […]
Learn more“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (Jo. 13:34). Pundits and pollsters tell us that the partisan divide in our country is as bad as it’s ever been. Not only are we divided, […]
Learn more“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Ps. 23:4). I’ve always thought of the valley of the shadow of death as a metaphor, not an actual place; but apparently […]
Learn more“They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory” (Is. 61:3). I’ve lived a fair portion of my life in Florida and south Louisiana, not far from the Gulf of Mexico, […]
Learn more“And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts” (Lk. 23:48). Our Gospel describes Jesus’ execution as a “spectacle”: an event held for public […]
Learn moreAll clergy are invited to join Bishop Bauerschmidt from Tuesday afternoon, May 10th, through Thursday mid-day, May 13th, in Eastertide, for the eleventh Annual Clergy Colloquium in the Diocese of Tennessee. The Colloquium will be held at the […]
Learn more“This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Today we’re at that […]
Learn more“This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Lk. 15:24). “I told you so”: for some, these are the most satisfying words in the English language. You know the context: […]
Learn more“Wait patiently for the Lord” (Ps. 27:18) What a difference the context makes when we pray! This Lent that context is shaped by images of war. Not that last year there was peace on earth (there wasn’t): there […]
Learn more“Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world” (Lk. 4:5). There are three temptations in our Gospel today: the account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, which we […]
Learn more“And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white” (Lk. 9:29). One of my besetting sins is forgetting to pray: when the time for decision comes, or a significant work […]
Learn more“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (Lk. 6:32). If our Gospel reading sounded a little out of focus this morning, it was not the reader’s fault. What we heard was part […]
Learn more“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk. 6:20). Each of us has an idea of what it means to be happy. Everyone has their own definition. The Declaration of Independence talks […]
Learn more“’Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” (Is. 6:8). Each of us is called by God to his service. It does not matter who you are or […]
Learn more“Love never ends” (1 Cor, 13:8). The last time most of us heard our second reading this morning, from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, was probably at a wedding. The reason for this is not too […]
Learn more“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance” (Matt. 18:4). There’s a plaintive quality to the liturgies that used to mark the […]
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