This Monday we celebrate Labor Day and we honor all those who labor for a living. We thank them for their service to their families, and for their service to all those who benefit from their efforts. As we know, prayer and work go hand in hand. Therefore we are invited to pray in a special way for all laborers. We also pray for the unemployed and underemployed, and pray that more opportunities for gainful employment will materialize for those in need. (Read more…)

This Tuesday, August 29th, we celebrate the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. (Read more…)

On Tuesday, August 15th, the church has always held to the belief that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into a heavenly state, even though the belief was not declared as dogmatic until 1950.  The early church had a robust tradition of revering relics from the saints of the day, and their complete lack of relics from the Mother of Jesus was seen as evidence of this Marian belief.  The celebration of the event as a feast dates back to the fourth century in the East and the seventh century in the West. (Read more…)

Today, we celebrated the feast of The Transfiguration of the Lord. All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths on the spot suggests it occurred during the week-long Jewish Feast of Booths in the fall. (Read more…)

“Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus.”  This unique statement in John’s gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother.  Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha’s home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem.  We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9.

Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them.  (Read more…)