In the Gospel, Thomas gets a bum rap. We all know the story. Thomas is away and upon his return the disciples report to him that Jesus who had been crucified a few days before had come to visit them. Thomas does not believe them. From then on he has been known as Doubting Thomas. […]
Archives: Rectors Columns
Many people worry about growing old. When we are young, we cannot imagine getting old. We think that somehow we will be exempt from the effects of aging. When the signs of aging appear, many people try to hide them. Then there is the dreaded question, “How old are you?” The celebration of Easter invites […]
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. This week we call to mind the unconditional love of Jesus who gave his life for us. Commemorating the events that led to our salvation, we set our sights on celebrating the Lord’s’ victory over sin and death on Easter Sunday. This Holy Week arrives during troubled […]
When we are harmed by someone we sometimes hang on to the hurt in hopes that the offender will apologize. After all, we are the ones who were injured, we have a right to an apology. As we wait for the contrite heart of the other person, our own hearts become hardened with resentment, bitterness, […]
Many of us have had times in our lives when we have said things like, “I just can’t do it, I just can’t forgive him, I just can’t forgive what happened”. And it has been true, we could not, at least at that moment. Forgiveness is difficult because it is not our natural first reaction […]
Through Baptism, God’s life has been planted in us. Like planting seeds and then never watering them, sometimes through sin or plain old negligence, the wonderful growth begun in us is thwarted. In the Gospel there is a story about a fig tree, probably once very beautiful and fruitful, that has produced no fruit in […]
When news of a loved one’s death comes, we do not want to acknowledge it as true. If somebody points out a bad habit we have that needs to be broken, we get defensive and say they are wrong. If we do something we know is sinful we find ways to rationalize why it was […]
Sometimes we are tempted to wish we did not have temptations. We think that if we could only get rid of our temptations we would be better people and lead more virtuous Christian lives. We tend to complain about our temptations instead of figuring out what to do with them. Temptations are a part of […]
Some people do not go to the doctor out of fear of what the doctor might find. Professional counselling is sometimes avoided because of worry about what might be uncovered. Newspapers go unread and television news is not watched in order to steer clear of bad news. Some folks will not even look in the […]
There are people who believe in Jesus and people who do not. Among those who do not believe in Jesus, there are a lot of good people who do many good things. What is the difference between a person who does not believe in Jesus and does good things and a person who believes and […]