Deliver Us from Evil
posted 8/11/20 I have a cousin named Ray who is about 6-7 years older than I am. Being a really nice kid, Ray was happy to play with his little cousins, even though we were much younger than he was. When our families got together, there would be major wrestling matches going on in the family room as the…
Lead Us Not into Temptation
posted 8/6/20 In the first installment of The Lord of the Rings, there is a scene in which Frodo Baggins, who has been entrusted with the task of bearing the Ring of Power to Mount Doom in order to destroy it, has a conversation with the powerful Elven Queen Galadriel (non-fans, please bear with me). The burden of…
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
posted 8/4/20 In my last assignment there was a women’s group in the parish that would host a brunch each year to which they would invite a speaker. One year they invited a woman named Jennifer Hubbard. Jennifer is from Newtown, CT and in December 2014 her daughter Catherine Violet was murdered along with 19 other children and 6 staff…
Thy Daily Bread
posted 7/30/20 There’s a reality television show on cable called Hoarders, which depicts the struggles of people who suffer with Compulsive Hoarding Disorder, which leads them to pack their homes with things such as newspapers, cans, books, and clothes. Their compulsion makes their living situation unhealthy and unsafe and causes great distress to their families. The show brings psychologists and counselors to speak with people who are dealing with the…
Thy Will Be Done
posted 7/28/20 The fourth petition in the Lord’s Prayer is: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” What is heaven like? Popular culture often depicts it as a dreadfully boring place filled with clouds and angels quietly playing harps. When we think of heaven, we know it to be the place where God’s will is always done and always done perfectly. Those popular…
Thy Kingdom Come
posted 7/23/20 This third petition of the Lord’s Prayer is an expression of longing that God the Father’s reign extend over all things. It’s a curious petition, considering we profess faith in God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent. That means His reign must already extend over all of His creation. Yet, it is obvious that things are not as they should be. You don’t have to be…
Hallowed Be Thy Name
posted 7/21/20 Familiarity and awe, in tight conjunction, are the mark of Christian prayer. – Fr. Simeon Leiva-Merikakis In this second petition from the Lord’s Prayer, Christ Jesus instructs us to say: “Hallowed be thy name.” It is the expression of a wish that the name of God be treated with reverence, as something holy. It is in the…
Our Father
posted 7/16/20 I remember like it was yesterday. I was in fourth grade and me and my friends were watching The Empire Strikes Back, which everybody knows is the best of all the Star Wars movies. In the climactic scene, an under-prepared Luke Skywalker has just had an epic lightsaber fight with Darth Vader, who has cornered him and cut off his hand (super-traumatic!). And…
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 