It is likely that most of us, if not all of us, have traveled across country in an automobile. If we are the driver, we might take the time to study a map. We might download directions from the Internet. If we travel a lot, we might invest in a GPS app for our mobile phone. If we do end up in unfamiliar surroundings, we might stop to ask someone for help in getting us from where we are to where we want to go.   In the ancient world, it was not uncommon for travelers to take or to make different routes to the same destination. Often the roads were patrolled by military legions and used by … [Read more...] about A Dominican Blessing (Fr. Bob reflection)

With Christmas over, gift-wrap recycled, and holiday cookies nearly gone, we are given the opportunity to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. The opportunity lends itself to consider family life in the many and various ways in which we experience it.  Speaking for myself, I belong to three families—my birth family, my Dominican family, and my parish family. My birth family currently extends across five generations. My mother is a member of the Silent Generation born before 1945. The oldest of my siblings, like myself, are Baby Boomers. The youngest are members of Generation X. The … [Read more...] about A Reflection on “Family” (Fr. Bob reflection)

As Christmas Day approaches the stories surrounding the birth of Jesus as well as the nativity story itself are depicted in creche scenes, television programs, school plays, Christmas cards, sacred hymns, and popular songs. But there is much, much more to the stories of Christmas than what immediately meets our eyes and ears. In the gospel story for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Mary and Elizabeth meet and visit without the presence of any male characters other than their unborn infants. Given the rare occurrence of "women only" stories in the scriptures, it is all the more significant that … [Read more...] about Who We Are Becoming (Fr. Bob reflection)

I think all of us have watched a child scoot or crawl along the floor to reach an object that has attracted his or her attention. If it is safe, we may cheer the child on and move the object closer. If it is unsafe, we may move the child away or place the object out of reach. Every year at this time, parents with a scooting or crawling child have to decide whether or not to put a Christmas tree, with all its bright lights and ornaments, on the floor or put it up high out of reach. Whether we know it or not, every time we move toward a reach for something, we are exercising the virtue of hope. … [Read more...] about Hoping in God’s Promises (Fr. Bob reflection)

I think most of us are familiar with the phrase “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It was first used by Aristotle in his written work Metaphysics. Down through history, it is likely that other people used the same phrase with their work. A structural engineer may use the phrase to explain how the plumbing, heating, and electricity work together to make a home. An artist may use the phrase to describe how some pieces of a landscape are used and others are left out to paint a beautiful picture. On this First Sunday of Advent, let’s look at a few of the different parts whose sum … [Read more...] about Greater Than Its Parts (Fr. Bob reflection)

Most of us remember learning about metaphors in our fifth grade English class. We learned that the use of metaphors is only meaningful when the metaphor comes from a common knowledge and the shared experiences of people. So maybe for us the metaphor Christ the King should be changed. Perhaps we should say, “Christ the President” or maybe “Christ the CEO” or perhaps from our popular culture we could say “the awesome Christ.”    We can argue that the title "king" is a political entity and an unpopular image in a few countries of the world today. Consequently, it is no longer a useful metaphor … [Read more...] about Christ Is King (Fr. Bob reflection)

In his book, The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell writes this about our eating habits. “None of us would be here if we weren’t forever eating. What you eat is always something that just a moment before was alive. This is the sacramental mystery of food and eating, which doesn’t often come to our minds when we sit ourselves down to eat. If we say grace before meals, we thank [God] for our food. But in earlier mythologies, when people sit down to eat, they would thank the animal they were about to consume for having given of itself as a willing sacrifice.”  Throughout the gospels, we read about … [Read more...] about Being Grateful (Fr. Bob reflection)

In today’s gospel we hear Jesus responding to a question asked by a scribe. The passage does not indicate whether the scribe is a Pharisee or a Sadducee. But in the passage before this one, a Sadducee scribe asks Jesus a question about the resurrection in which the Sadducees did not believe. You know the question: “If one’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child and a brother marries the woman but they have no child and he dies, and this happens seven times, at the resurrection whose wife will the woman be?” Jesus is super quick to answer the question and goes way beyond the scribe’s … [Read more...] about What Do We Think? (Fr. Bob reflection)