If the First Easter Had Happened in the 21st Century, Would You Believe?
April 10, 2023On Easter Sunday I was making my evening holy hour and was reviewing the morning Mass’s gospel reading: John 20:1-9, where Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, finds it empty and runs to tell Peter and John. There’s an element of confusion and disbelief in the text, and we often “tsk tsk” the disciples for not believing. But it’s easy to “tsk tsk” when you have 20 centuries of hindsight. Let’s move up them into 21st-Century America (because that’s what I know): Not even 48 hours ago they had seen Josh, their friend and teacher — a phenomenally popular religious…
5 Ideas for Surviving 2023 as a Single Catholic
This blog post is being written as a mildly indignant response to a recent tips-for-single-Catholics listicle. There isn’t a lot of content designed specifically for single Catholics, so I was vaguely intrigued but also bracing for disappointment. And disappointment ……
Putting the fun in funeral planning
When the priest finished the reading, he declared, “That. Is. Boss.” No, this was not a flagrant liturgical abuse. During my recent spiritual direction meeting I mentioned that I recently had planned out the readings and hymns for my funeral…
Road Trip with Jesus: Part 2
Day 2 of the road trip with Jesus dawned … somewhere behind the clouds. Despite optimistic forecasts a week prior, the weather steadily deteriorated over the weekend. Being on the “sunrise side” of Michigan, I had hoped to catch a…
Road Trip with Jesus: Part 1
When I plan a weekend getaway with Jesus, sometimes I get to call the shots on what we’re doing. Sometimes Lordship calls the shots. My latest three-day adventure was the latter. To define “a weekend getaway with Jesus”: It’s not…
The shepherd’s voice
This past Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday, otherwise known as the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which sets up a series of readings from the Gospel of John on how the sheep hear and know the voice of the shepherd and…