MaybeToday.org: Every matter has its time and measure (Ecc 8:6).

  • Year 247: In God We Trust

    On a dank and dreary Independence Day Tuesday, I travelled to a neighboring town to attend daily Mass. The celebrant was a visiting priest – a kindly retired priest who was so old that he didn’t always exert enough vocal strength to be quite heard. In his homily, he spoke of the blessings of political…

  • At the Heart of Liberty is the Right to Encounter and Know the Truth!

    At the Heart of Liberty is the Right to Encounter and Know the Truth!

    Be holy. Be perfect. Be children of your heavenly father. The spirit of God dwells in you. You are the temple of God… The various liturgical readings this week come together around a common thread concerning the necessary holiness of the Spirit-filled disciple, and of how that holiness is manifest as a reflection of the…

  • I will give you as a light to the nations: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

    I will give you as a light to the nations: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

    First Reading:            Isaiah 49:3, 5–6Psalm Response:       Psalm 40:8a, 9aPsalm Versicles:         Psalm 40:2, 4, 7–8, 8–9, 10Second Reading:       1 Corinthians 1:1–3Gospel Acclamation: John 1:14a, 12aGospel:                      John 1:29–34 The NAB Lectionary reading from 1Cor 1:2…

  • Celebrating Christmas

    Celebrating Christmas

    Even the World Wildlife Fund had put out a statement Nov. 7 saying, “cutting a tree of this size in the midst of a climate crisis is a debatable decision,” which required “greater transparency.” I saw a Catholic News Service (CNS) article in the Boston archdiocesan newspaper The Pilot several weeks ago (Nov. 18) describing…

  • Bible Review Journal

    Bible Review Journal

    The Fall 2022 edition (Vol. 9, No. 2) of Bible Review Journal arrived today, containing a print version of my Modest History of Catholic Bible Translations in English essay. BRJ is the journal of the International Society of Bible Collectors, who can be found at www.BibleCollectors.org.  

  • Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

    Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

    The Gospel reading for the 2nd Sunday of Advent in Year A, taken from the Gospel of Matthew, contains a passage I think provides a key to understanding a different and controversial passage from the same Gospel. When John the Baptist saw the religious leaders coming to be baptized, he challenged them to demonstrate their…

  • You know not on what day your Lord is coming.

    You know not on what day your Lord is coming.

    Jesus’ depiction of the coming “of the Son of Man” stands in pretty stark contrast to popular ideas of how things might end, or at least of how the race my move into a new kind of future. We largely live among the “don’t worry, be happy” crowd – many of whom do not believe…

  • Let Us Go Rejoicing

    Let Us Go Rejoicing

    The liturgical year culminates this week in the celebration of the joyous and triumphant solemnity of Christ the King. In the Entrance Antiphon, the Church echoes the cry of the numberless host of heaven, witnessed to in the Revelation to St John, acclaiming in loud voices the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain (Rev…

  • Close to the Edge at 50

    Close to the Edge at 50

    Yes’ seminal Close to the Edge was released 50 years ago this month, on September 13th, 1972. I was twelve years old, having just started seventh grade at Coolidge Junior High School, and I was oblivious to the music of Yes, with the exception of their hit song from earlier in the year: “Roundabout”. It…