Walking home from the grocery store, I heard a wild cry on the street behind me. A young man had ripped open his car door, slammed it again with a thundering metallic crash, then simply stood and roared like a lion. Seeing that no one was in danger, I walked on. Another roar came, with a richly voiced four-letter epithet, and another crash-slammed door. The counterpoint of raw emotion continued for a while — door-slamming, wordless roaring, life-searing oaths. Even at a distance, I felt it. Whatever that young man was expelling into the atmosphere, something in me resonated.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 4 (Wisdom 9:13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33)

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Aug. 28 (Sirach 3:17-20, 28-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14)

The virtue of humility gets a lot of bad press. It is often seen as an invitation to be treated as a doormat or as a lack of self-esteem. Humility can also be used to oppress people by “keeping them in their place.”

Hell is never a nasty surprise waiting for a basically happy person. Hell can only be the full-flowering of a pride and selfishness that have, through a long time, twisted a heart so thoroughly that it considers happiness as unhappiness and has an arrogant disdain for happy people. If you are essentially warm of heart this side of eternity, you need not fear a nasty surprise awaits you on the other side because somewhere along the line, you missed the boat and your life went terribly wrong.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Aug. 21 (Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30)

The third section of the Book of Isaiah has a universal outlook that is both inspiring and moving. During their exile in Babylon, the people of Israel continued to reflect on their understanding of God and their new experience in an alien land. Their vision of God evolved — no longer was God merely Israel’s deity, but the God of all humanity.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Aug. 14, (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Psalm 40; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53)

Few people like to hear the unvarnished truth. Instead, most prefer truth that is sugar coated and in line with what they want to hear. This applies even more to those in power, for they are often surrounded by yes-men that communicate a view of reality that is very slanted and distorted.

“I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but of the world.” Socrates wrote those words more than 2,400 years ago. Today more than ever these are words which we would need to appropriate because, more and more, our world and we ourselves are sinking into some unhealthy forms of tribalism where we are concerned primarily with taking care of our own.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) August 7 (Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48)

How do we navigate through life, keeping hope alive and persevering in the face of trials? The biblical tradition is consistent and clear — the righteous person lives by faith.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 31 (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21)

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus taught that all things are constantly in flux. He famously stated that it is impossible to step in the same river twice.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 24 (Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13)