Do this and you will live.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long. (Psalm 25:4) The pain of this week is almost unbearable. Even in a country soaked in violence with more guns than there are men, women, and children, this week […]
We are all called– A sermon by Virginia Vogel-Polizzi
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their […]
O Lord you are my strength, hasten to help me.
Be not far away, O Lord; * you are my strength; hasten to help me. One evening an old Cherokee man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, […]
Jesus and the Centurion
Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples. (Psalm 96:3) Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day off for many when we have time to be with family and friends. A day of cookouts if the weather permits, perhaps even spending time on the water, or taking long hikes in […]
A Language that All Can Understand
Oh, God, take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, and take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Welcome to this glorious Day of Pentecost. Today is the celebration of the birth of the church, not the building, but the community who on this day was released […]
What are you waiting for?
May God be merciful to us and bless us, * show us the light of his countenance and come to us. (Psalm 67:1) It starts the same way every year. Around the time of my birthday, I would take stock. I would look at those things that I wanted to change– things that would lead […]
They will know you are my disciples by your love for each other.
It had once been a great monastic order. But waves of persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the rise of secularism in the nineteenth, had reduced it to the extent that there were only five monks left in the decaying mother house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly […]
Jesus came and stood among them
The Lord is my strength and my song, *and he has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:14) As a young woman was commuting to work one morning, crossing the Metro platform she noticed a man on his knees on the ground holding a bloody tissue to his nose. Noticing others were standing around him, she continued […]
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
This is the Lord’s doing, * and it is marvelous in our eyes. On this day the Lord has acted; * we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118: 23-24) Welcome to all who enter this day into this celebration of life. Today we celebrate God’s unique action in raising Jesus from death and setting […]
And the fragrance filled the room
The Lord has done great things for us, * and we are glad indeed. (Psalm 126:4) My great aunt Rose was a good cook and she cared deeply about her neighbors. Whenever she heard that someone was ill, or a family member was in the hospital, or a loved one had died, Aunt Rose knew […]