Hello friends,  I fear that I don’t have the deepest of thoughts for you on this week’s Gospel, but hopefully I’ll have put something together by the time I have to preach. I do, however, have two things that I’d like you to pray about and consider, one big and one small. Click title for full column.

It is a natural human tendency to fight to be first. It manifests itself in many different ways, but perhaps my favorite is the relatively new option of ordering food ahead through apps and skipping the line. I’ve never done drugs, but I can’t imagine it’s better than the feeling of walking past six people waiting in line at Dunkin’ and grabbing my pre-ordered coffee off the counter and walking out smugly. I may well do time in purgatory for how much I enjoy it, frankly. Which is why Jesus’ words in the Gospel today should give us pause and invite us to step back and think about how we approach our relationship with the world around us. Click title for full column.

As we are about one month into our new Parish Family arrangement, I believe now is a good time to step back and look at where we are, where we’re going, and what we’ve learned so far. The stated goal of Beacons of Light is to unify Families of Parishes into one parish and one pastor, even if multiple campuses are kept open. We are in the early stages now of learning the differences between how our parishes do things like sacramental prep, handling intake for different things when people call the office, and even administrative responsibilities. It’s a lot to process, for sure, but we will get there. As we continue this process, we will also start moving the parish councils toward a unified body that can deliberate and discern together on issues that impact all of us and our shared future. Click on title for full column.

There are few worse feelings in the world than being caught unprepared for something important: showing up underdressed, or forgetting to do an assignment and not realizing it until class starts, or the family you’re house sitting for coming back early and you haven’t cleaned yet, etc. It makes one feel helpless, and I’ve spent much time kicking myself in these and other awkward situations. Yet none of them are on the level of what Jesus warns us about in the Gospel today when He speaks of the Kingdom of God being at hand and what we must do to be prepared. The thought of not being ready for the Lord’s second coming is the ultimate example of being caught off guard. Jesus speaks about the need for the master of the house to be watchful and the consequences for the faithless servant who did not follow his master’s wishes, but we all hear a call to prepare our own hearts.  Click on title for full column.

Today marks the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who has long been one of my favorites, though the reasons for that have changed somewhat over the years. When I was in college, I read his autobiography and was impressed by both his zeal and the way he used knowledge of self to deduce his call to holiness and see more clearly the places where God was working (and not working) in his life. It’s fairly short, if you’re looking for some beach reading. While those aspects of St. Ignatius’ life still appeal to me, I turn to him more often now in search of understanding how he went about such a massive undertaking in the midst of what must have been great discouragement. Click on title for full column.