Brother Fire

I love Easter -- not just Easter day or the Triduum, but the whole season. I love the build-up during lent -- preparing for the death and resurrection of Jesus. I love praying the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. And I especially love the Sundays of Easter following. The Easter season reminds me of the birth of the church. Jesus and the apostles were such revolutionaries of their time. I love reading the Book of Acts. I love the story of Jesus walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). As you can tell...I'm absolutely in my glory as the Easter season progresses. Indeed CHRIST IS RISEN. May the Risen Lord be with us always! Peace.

5th Sunday of Lent -- Cycle A Bishop Tony recently showed me one of his favorite books titled: 99 Annoying Attributes of God: Why God is God and You’re Not (by Ray Albrektson, Gary Stanley, and Janet Kobobel Grant). Isn’t THAT the truth! The book is exactly what it sounds like it is -- a list of ways that God annoys us and it has scriptural references to prove the point. I started looking through the book and saw myself in it in so many ways. Here’s one that is so true: “God is annoying because he allows me to struggle and fail at the very things he can accomplish in the twinkling of an eye.” Indeed there are so many examples of that! And of course, it got me thinking about other ways God annoys ME. Here’s one that I came up with: “God is annoying because just when you think you know what God is going to do – God does something totally different.” Today’s Gospel is a perfect example of that. Jesus is away from Judea with the apostles – presumably preachi...

A Homily By Don Pratt Sunday, November 11, 2007 – 32 nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C Readings : First Reading : 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Psalm 17 Second Reading : 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 Gospel: Luke 20:27-38 The first reading is such a disturbing story! Imagine being persecuted because of your faith and being tested in the same way that these seven brothers and their mother were forced to watch as each of them was tortured and brutally killed. And each of them responded bravely, having faith in God that they would be given everlasting life. They were challenged to abandon their faith, but none of them ceded. One at a time, they defied their captors by proclaiming their confidence that God would raise them up. How remarkable that after seeing his brother’s tongue cut out and hands cut-off that the third brother offered his tongue and hands as if to proclaim: “God gave these to me. Here take them. I have faith that God will give them back ...