On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, I left the recording device behind, and when I remembered it, I said to myself that I would be mad to run home for it on this absolutely crazy weekend, with Christmas on Monday.  -- We'd like to see around the bend, beyond our capacities.  But we remember: "Lord, your words have been fulfilled."

We make many decisions about who we think is impressive and attractive.  We might want to re-think our criteria.

I remember why December 3 did not get recorded.  My recording device had a dead battery.  -- Where are we to find comfort and joy?

"The least" is not Jesus' concept.  It is something we have devised so we can tell ourselves to whom to pay attention.  Jesus confounds our strategies.

I cannot recall why I did not record November 12.  -- There is more to life than being industrious.

A focus on today's psalm, 131, about the peace which all profess to desire.

We must heed St. Paul's words: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

Peter professes faith in Jesus ... having no idea what his adherence to Jesus will mean.

I cannot recall why I have no recording for August 13.  -- I reflect on a discussion of the nature of interfaith friendship.  These words seem quite prescient as we consider the agony in Gaza/West Bank and Israel.

We consider the feelings of Peter, James and John as they behold their Master transfigured.

It appears that I recorded myself twice this Sunday.

I regret that next Sunday's feast of the Transfiguration keeps us from hearing "What can separate us?" (Romans 8.) So I have included what we otherwise would have heard the following Sunday!

Do you often rebuke temerity?  Are you frustrated by a lack of explanation of Jesus' parables?  Why does prayer seem to be so much like groaning?

I was on vacation on July 9.  -- We must open ourselves to the gift of insight, a way of seeing more deeply the meaning of life.

My best guess is that the deacon preached on June 25.  -- A return to Romans 6 and the core teaching on baptism.

We read from Romans that our salvation is sheer gift.

Reflections on the Eucharist in light of the death of a man who built an altar.

It appears that I have copied over the Fifth Sunday of Easter and following so that they are lost.  My apologies.

Even the First Letter of Peter contains imagery of sheep and shepherding.

The First Letter of Peter thinks about Jesus' death and resurrection as our "ransom" from eternal death.

We must take note of the First Letter of Peter, our second reading for the Sundays of Easter this year.  There are many statements of encouragement which make us feel more alive.

Are we, in fact, ready for the gift of resurrection?

The ninth chapter of John's Gospel causes us to ask: Who is really blind?

The raising of Lazarus was a sign of the coming resurrection -- and also a provocation.

On the Second Sunday of Lent, the deacon preached.  -- We must be aware of our various thirsts.

Considering distraction as a major element of temptation leading to sin.

This homily ran a lot longer than usual, mainly because of late word of the homicide by firearm of an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.  The focus is mainly on our misunderstanding of what Jesus means when he says we are to be "perfect."

A discussion of the reality of free will.

Jesus says, "Let your light shine"; but he also says "Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."  Does he contradict himself?

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes: promises that we will be happy even if it seems we are out of step with what most of the world is doing.

This is the Sunday of the Word of God, and we begin our year-long reading from the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus' choosing of his first four disciples.

We are getting started with the long expanse of Ordinary Time and particularly with a continuous reading from Paul's first letter to the Christians of Corinth, Greece.

The Bishop of Rome Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, died yesterday.  His resignation in 2013 provided an example to all of us that we all must acknowledge our limits.  Mary's identity as "Mother of God" means that she is pointing to her Son and encouraging us to greater amazement at his identity as truly God and truly human.

In our age of information, the Scriptures for Christmas Day are all about the Word who says everything to us.

Advent points us to completion and fulfillment.  What do we think such fulfillment will look like?

Entering the privileged time of Advent, we are invited into timelessness and the possibility of doing something productive with our swords.

Please note: A number of Sundays are missing.  I know that I left the device at home on the Third Sunday of Advent, when I pointed out a crescendo in what the prophets and the Gospels were saying about "the one who is to come."  Other Sundays, the deacon preached.

Kingship and kinship: Christ is King of humanity because he has identified with our lowest ebb.