People often don’t look forward to Lent.  Childhood memories of giving up candy or sitting through weekly Stations of the Cross come immediately to mind.  Words like “sacrifice”, “discipline” and “self-denial” are often used in ways that suggest that Lent is something to be endured rather than a time of grace and spiritual growth.  Have  Read more …

The Eucharistic fast promotes a deeper reverence and respect for this Sacrament, which is not ordinary food; it is the Panis Angelorum, the “bread of angels”.  St. John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord with fasting and penance, because fasting makes room in the heart, mind, body and soul for the Lord.  We  Read more …

Sometimes God says “not yet”‘ Last Wednesday at the mass of the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we heard that Simeon was a holy waiter; he lived waiting to see the consolation of his people Israel.  Today’s parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares, is filled with spiritual significance and truth: “Not  Read more …

Lord, I am not worthy. . .” We say these words at every mass, but what do they mean?  This prayer comes after the words of the priest, “Behold the Lamb of God, and behold Him who takes away the sins of the world….”  These words are calling each person in the congregation to wake  Read more …

Pascal Wager In the seventeenth century, a famous philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, encouraged people to make a wager when it came to belief in God.  If a person chose to believe in God and God did exist, that person would gain everything (eternal life).  If a person chose to believe in God and God  Read more …

It’s normal to worry from time to time.  Given life’s many unknowns and challenges, worry could be considered a natural response to many situations.  But chronic and all-consuming worry can be troublesome and interfere with our ability to function freely and calmly in our daily lives.  More importantly, problem worry can make faith in God  Read more …

Mary, the mother of God In the gospel this Sunday at the wedding at Cana, John wants us to see Mary as the New Eve. The creation story of Genesis is in the background at Cana as it was in Revelation. Mary is here, too, called “woman”. Also, Mary is presented at Cana as the  Read more …

We (Christians) build to see God.  In 1 Chronicles 22:19 God says “Seek me, build me a temple”.  Building a space for a community to encounter God is one of the most basic acts of drawing heaven into your world.  It has been this way for centuries. The Shunamite woman built a room on her  Read more …

 Lord, I am not worthy that… We all have heard of, or have said these words many times in our life.  They express the reality of our nothingness in the face of the grandiosity of God, our creator.  John the Baptist has said them right before he baptized Christ.  FATHER POTHIN’S REFLECTIONS Zacchaeus has said  Read more …

The feast of epiphany opens a new era in the life of the three “wise men”, “Magi” who left their Eastern region to follow the “star”.  That journey changed them.  Following the star sets a new beginning, a new year so to speak.  And they know where they are going: to worship the newborn King.   Read more …