It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. (Lk. 23:44-46) “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” begins Holy Week. If you have never really experienced all of the services of Holy Week, consider doing so this year.  Commemorating the events of the Lord’s Suffering and Death help us to have a greater understanding of the importance of the Easter Resurrection.  Jesus had to suffer and die before he rose. On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00pm, which commemorates the night when Jesus instituted … [Read more...]

I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know Him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:8-11) St. Paul constantly used the words “in Christ” to speak about his goal.  He wanted to “gain Christ” and gain righteousness from faith “in Christ.”  The great spiritual classic “Imitation of Christ” and even wrist bands asking “What Would Jesus Do,” remind us that we are called to configure our life to Christ.  We don’t just follow His … [Read more...]

While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.  He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20) When we hear the Gospel for this Sunday, our mind immediately identifies it as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.”  It’s so familiar that we could probably recite it from memory and likely explain it to others.  We call the son “prodigal” because what he did was “prodigious” meaning “extraordinary in size and degree.”  Calling someone a “prodigious” spender means they are a person who spends a lot of money.  And the son is call “prodigal” because he spent his money with a wasteful extravagance. Our eyes tend to be fixed on the prodigal son rather than on the father or the other son.  He’s the protagonist.  He’s the one who … [Read more...]

There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none.  So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future.  If not you can cut it down.’ (Lk 13:6-9) I love the agricultural parables of Jesus.  Anyone who has ever planted and nurtured a garden can understand them.  We have such rich soil here in Southern Louisiana that just about anything can grow.  So if something in our garden isn’t growing, we’re pretty quick to remove it. In this parable, it’s … [Read more...]

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.  Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  (Lk 9:34-36a) What a difference a week has made.  Last weekend we heard of Christ going into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  And this weekend, Christ has gone from the desolation of the desert to the glory of the Transfiguration on the mountaintop where God announces Jesus as being His beloved Son.  But why do we go from one dramatic place to another during this first week of Lent?  Most of the Church Fathers saw the Transfiguration as a glimpse of the glory of Christ given to his disciples so that they might be strengthened to witness the scandal of the Cross.   And … [Read more...]

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.  (Lk 4:1-2a) That little verse above is the reason behind the holy Season of Lent.  And all I can say is thank God for Lent! I always look forward to Lent.  And this year is no exception.  Christmas ran into New Year’ and Epiphany, then the longest king cake season ever, and then right on its heels Mardi Gras season started with eight days of parades in front of the church! Now that Lent is here, I’m happy to create my own little desert of calm by the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  It’s the perfect remedy to the last two weeks of noise, feasting and excess.  Let’s all take a deep breath! One of the good … [Read more...]

Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39) In New Orleans we give directions differently than some other cities.  We don’t use “east, west, north and south” because it doesn’t make sense to tell people that the way to the West Bank is actually due east because of the curve the Mississippi makes at New Orleans.  We might describe somewhere as “across the lake,” or “downtown,” or in Lakeview.”  Those of us who live uptown might describe the exact location of our church as being on the riverside, downtown corner of Camp and Napoleon.  It’s a little different in Rome.  When my friends and I were walking in Rome and asked someone for directions, most Italians would just point in the direction we should go, and say … [Read more...]

Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. …  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.” (Luke 6:27-28, 30-33) The Gospel passage today is a continuation of the Sermon on the Plain we heard in last week’s Gospel.  And just as He did last week, he’s basically turning the law of the Old Covenant on its head in terms of understanding.  When someone did wrong to a Jewish person, the wronged person was told in the law: “if injury ensues, you shall give life for … [Read more...]

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. (Lk 6:21) It’s hard to argue with the joy that we experienced in 2010 when the Saints won the Super Bowl.  And it’s hard to argue with the sadness we felt when we lost Drew Brees and Sean Peyton. It seems that after Katrina, we needed a symbol for the “renaissance” of our city.  It could have come from the outpouring of support we received from people living outside of the state, or even from the revamping of our own city government. It could have come from the outside businessmen, artists, musicians, actors, and celebrities who have taken an interest in our home.  But it is fitting that the symbol of our renaissance was one of our own. It was the team that was never supposed to win. It was the team that lost its home to the … [Read more...]

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were tearing.  They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them.  They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.  When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.  (Lk 5:4-8, 9b-11) You have to … [Read more...]