23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 10 (Year A) Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20

Sin ultimately affects an entire community. There is no such thing as a private sin. Sooner or later, misdeeds make an impact on the physical, psychological and spiritual environment.

I don’t always find it easy to pray. Often I’m over-tired, distracted, caught-up in tasks, pressured by work, short on time, lacking the appetite for prayer or more strongly drawn to do something else.

In an emergency ward, in another country, I lay on a table awaiting the physician. Lightning flashes of pain shot through my body, weak from days-long inability to take in water and food.

The complexity of adulthood inevitably puts to death the naiveté of childhood. And this is true too of our faith.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 3 (Year A) Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

Jeremiah was thoroughly sick of his mission and ministry and wanted to quit.

Several years ago Hollywood made a movie, City of Angels , about an angel named Seth whose job it was to accompany the spirits of the recently deceased to the afterlife.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 13 (Year A) 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalm 85; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33

When we seek the presence of God, what do we expect to encounter? Hollywood biblical epics left no doubt — thunder, power, fireworks and perhaps even a voice booming from Heaven.

Transfiguration of the Lord, Aug. 6 (Year A) Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1:16-19

Daniel’s vision has a long afterlife. It has been burned into the consciousness of the three Abrahamic religions and is at the core of most apocalyptic theology.

The mark of genuine contrition is not a sense of guilt, but a sense of sorrow and regret for having taken a wrong turn.

In a fantasy movie, two fallen angels are on a quest. As often happens with quests, violence ensues. They battle it out, angels and humans, blood and wing-feathers flying. Towards the end of the movie, when it’s too late, God wakes from a long nap and wanders in, yawning.