Friday, March 6, 2020 | Reflections
Alongside all the stories of Jesus’ healing encounters with the sick in body, mind, and spirit are all the questions of others who just don’t get it. These are people who want to draw back from this disturbance to their worldview, education, or their own place and...
Thursday, March 5, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: October 31, 1964God’s demands on Judah are simple and basic. They had been revealed to the three former prophets of the eighth century BCE who preceded Micah. Amos stands for a righteousness as sharp and clear as that wh….(View this reading...
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 | Message from Bishop Thompson, Reflections
The other day I was reading an article where the author was making a case for global warming. At the bottom of the article were opinions from readers. One particular statement stood out: “God gave man dominion over all the animals and the earth. Therefore we can do...
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 | Reflections
Modern life has given us many advances and new problems. While some rural communities might still see the church as central to the community, intergenerational change and the busyness of our lives has generally moved the focus of community life outside of the church....
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | Community Ministry, Reflections
by the Rev. Robert Beazley, priest-in-charge, St. Michael’s, Mandeville When I was a child, I learned the proverb that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today. We, as southern Louisianians, are lucky to be surrounded by a...
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | Community Ministry, Reflections
Care for Creation (A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth) by Ilia Delio, O.S.F – Keith Douglas Warner, O.F.M – Pamela Wood Chapters 1-2 Reflection by Deacon Joey Clavijo, Chair of the Environmental Commission of the Diocese of Louisiana Have you ever read...
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | Reflections
Mateus is not his real name. His real name translates as “Meat.’” Others had names like “Happymore,” “Joy,” “Loved,” or names like João, José, Antonio—baptismal names to fit into the Portuguese colonial culture. Mateus’s entire life ….(View this reading and more...
Monday, March 2, 2020 | Reflections
The gospel sounds foolish to our worldly ears because it turns us toward the upside-down kingdom. The key is in our reading from Mark today: John baptizes with water for repentance and is followed by the more powerful One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit—identified...
Sunday, March 1, 2020 | Reflections
After forty days and nights of fasting, Jesus stands up to the devil’s temptations of materialism and worldly power. Standing squarely in the long history of the people of God as heard in scripture, Jesus’ experience turns the wilderness into a place of preparation,...
Saturday, February 29, 2020 | Reflections
John’s Gospel does a masterful job illustrating deep moments of shared knowledge between Jesus and God. Because there is such grace in knowing God, our hearts long to share our knowledge and the love of God with others. Jesus feels this deeply—he is so profoundly tied...
Friday, February 28, 2020 | Reflections
Our emotions and intellect can sometimes swing us around by the tail. Praying for the peace of God is a wonderful way to keep our hearts and minds quiet enough to hear God’s voice and receive the courage to move forward in love. Take a piece of paper and...
Thursday, February 27, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: September 23, 1959One of the victims of the Nazi tyranny was a Christian pastor who was jailed and deprived of all books. He lived to tell his story, and he recalls how grateful he was that he had memorized so much of the Bible and so many hymns....
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 | Reflections
Many of us will receive the mark of the ashes today. The ashes remind us of two vitally important facts. One: We are mortal. Two: Jesus is our savior. We live differently when we accept our mortality and shortcomings. By accepting these things about...
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 | Reflections
Though Jesus comes to us in community, we each make an individual response to Jesus. Ignatius of Loyola believed that after we answer the question about who Jesus is, we have three other major questions to answer. Ignatius called upon the members of his order to ask...
Monday, February 24, 2020 | Reflections
The beauty of Jesus’ final discourse in the Gospel of John is indisputable. Jesus encourages his disciples to abide in him and to allow him to abide in them. As he tells them about his desire to be with them always, he calls them friends. To be called a...
