"Blessed are you who are poor": may there be no obstacles to our accepting this promise of Jesus.  (This file runs a little long; I remembered to turn off the device after I dismissed our catechumen.)

I don't like to be startled.  Peter, I suppose, needed to be startled.  I trust in God's gentle revelations to me of his presence.

St. Paul's meditation on love anchors us in a sense of what is valuable.

How clear is St. Paul's "analogy of the body"!

The Magi, the baptism of Jesus, the wine at Cana: all these are connected with Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus to the world.

In the midst of uncertainty, we have a "theophany" -- God showing himself to us.  Sorry, this file runs a little long; I forgot to turn off the device.

We see very clearly that the human family is a global community.

There are tensions even within the Holy Family.  We must not be surprised at the tensions within ours.

The account of the visit of Mary to Elizabeth is crowned by the Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat.

John the Baptist speaks of elementary, immediate acts of social justice.

Luke very deliberately fixes the time of the emergence of John the Baptist.

We lift up our heads with confident expectation of what God is giving us.

This is a king whom Pilate cannot fathom.

As we try to appreciate the gift of everlasting life, we find that anything having to do with love will help us.