“I remember the day Sally was baptized.” “I’ve known Susie since she was a baby.” “Billy, I can’t believe how quickly you’ve grown!” As long-standing members of a church, many of us have stories of the children in the community and how...
“The people of St. Bart’s are called to bring the Good News in real and tangible ways to defy the decline of sacramental churches worldwide. What have you done towards this purpose?” - Interview question #7 from the music director search committee Dear friends, I greet you...
Being a transplanted New Yorker, I recall that the great Yogi Berra once remarked, “If you come to a fork in the road that leads to winning take it.” Would you agree with me that if you came to a fork in the road, and one direction led to saving your life and the other to losing it...
Last fall, we heard how St. Bartholomew’s contribution to the Hope for Homes Program at Interfaith helped a family to successfully find permanent housing. This year, St. Bart’s plans to raise additional funds to help other families. Recently, we provided $80 to enable a family to pay...
Jeremiah 5:1-9; Romans 2:25-3:18; John 5:30-47 Psalm 95:7. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice. Abba! What a mix of emotions floods through me: love, awe, joy, gratitude, security...
John :1:38: When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for? When I was 16, and my mother was in a coma at the hospital, I prayed all night on my knees by the bed at a neighbor's house, saying the Rosary and begging God to save her. As a "good Catholic...
Lamentations 3:37-58; Hebrew 4:1-16; Romans 8:1-11 "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." St. Benedict talks about "listening with the ear of our hearts" to God. I love this phrase. Just hearing it softens my edges. When I'm available to God I can feel my heart opening...
I Corinthians 10:7: Do not become idolaters as some of them did.... "The word of the Lord." How tender, yet arresting, is that oft-heard phrase as it frames my scripture readings. God, sometimes when I read scripture it feels like you're talking directly to me. Sometimes it feels like I'm...
Tenebrae (Latin, for “darkness” or “shadows”) is the term that has been used since the 12th century to refer to the ancient monastic early morning services or “offices” (Matins and Lauds, similar to the Morning...
I never could have anticipated what would happen when I brought “Ashes to Go” to a parishioner who resides in a local nursing home. She is someone who I have recently been blessed to meet and gotten to know through Lay Eucharistic Visits. After a short devotion and prayers with her...