Fr. Ed’s Corner

“I will praise You, Lord, for You have rescued me.”   The great Octave of Easter concluded with Divine Mercy Sunday, one of Pope St. John Paul the Great’s many gifts to the Church. During these last few weeks we have been graphically reminded of the gifts to us of the Eucharistic Lord, of the ... Read more

“Jesus wept.”   There is a rather sharp contrast between the joy we celebrated last Sunday as the Church heeded the King's command to rejoice and the very somber verse cited from the Gospel of this Sunday. "Jesus wept" is the shortest verse in the English Bible, but in that so short verse is contained one of the most profound ... Read more

“Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!” The beginning of the first reading for Gaudete Sunday invites us, in fairly specific terms, to be a people of rejoicing. This initial command here is to the People of Israel, that they would rejoice. Why are they told to do so? The Scripture answers ... Read more

“Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery... for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of His glory!” When we hear a Scripture like that, what does this stir in our hearts? Do we see it as some kind of statement of future benediction, or is it even possible to see ... Read more

“The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise...” Jeremiah spoke these words to the People of Israel five hundred years before they were fulfilled. The Holy One promised them that He would “raise up for David a just shoot.” Centuries after that prediction, the One comes Who was acclaimed as ... Read more

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!” The verse quoted above deserves some time of quality reflection, especially dur- ing troubling times when the circumstances seem oriented toward us taking our eyes off the Lord Jesus and staring instead at those circumstances that con- spire to rob us of ... Read more

“Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!” Moses’ response to Joshua’s complaint about some people receiving the gift of prophecy, just not in the expected way, reflects his great desire that all of the Jew- ish people could walk in God’s presence, receiving His guidance. However, that level of availability of the ... Read more

“The Lord upholds my life.” The first reading describes a very interesting scenario. The ones who are just, who are trying to follow the Lord, who are trying to do the right thing, are a target. They are targeted for two different reasons.
First, even though the popular dictum is “live and let live,” ... Read more

“Who do you say that I am?” It was a very interesting day. We were having a somewhat vociferous staff discussion about where to put the trash cans in the new church, when we got a call to turn on the TV, which we did, just in time to see the second plane hit the ... Read more

“Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!”   It’s been noted by some that the Bible states 365 times, “Do not be afraid!” This amounts to a once a year reminder: do not be afraid! On the one hand, in theory, all of us know that as followers of the Lord ... Read more