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The Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart join with the Church and the world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis. Together, we offer our prayers for him. In one sense, what a beautiful liturgical time of the year for passing into the eternal presence and embrace of God - Easter - celebrating the Resurrection!

Is it Palm Sunday already? Seems like Ash Wednesday was just yesterday. As the old saying goes: “Life comes at you fast, and change happens in an instant.” Indeed, it does; the last weeks have seemed like a roller coaster ride with peaks and valleys coming in fast succession.

Ever have a bad day? Feel misunderstood, your intentions misinterpreted, your words twisted? Might Jesus have had a comparable experience in his lifetime? If he was “true man” as well as “true God”, that certainly seems likely, at least once. Today’s gospel account reveals one misunderstanding after another, on the part of Jesus’ closest followers and friends.

Long ago, a youth minister called to tell me that a young priest famous for working with youth would be offering Mass at the Pentagon. Would I like to go? Of course, but I had a commitment that made going impossible. I asked her to call me afterward and tell me what he said. She did. His suggestion was simple, easy and worth doing. “If you make the effort to remember one word from the Sunday Mass readings, God can attach spiritual food for the whole week to that one word.”

In today’s scripture readings the theme of “Living Water” appears in several contexts. The first reading from Exodus, conveys the Israelites journey through the desert and crying out because of their thirst. The Lord commands Moses to stand in front of the rock in Horeb, “strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.”

Today, as we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, let's take a moment and allow Jesus to lead us up the mountain to pray. Jesus is with Peter, James and John while praying and He changes in appearance. This sight alone was startling enough but then Elijah and Moses are seen conversing with Jesus. Can you imagine what the apostles were thinking?

Beloved "In this first week of Lent, as we turn our faces toward whatever this forty-day place holds for us, we would do well to have that name echoing in our own ears—to enter into the terrain of this season with the knowledge that we, too, are the beloved of God. And so I want to offer you a blessing that tells us this.

The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth is described in the readings for this Fourth Sunday of Advent. Mary came to help and to give good news to Elizabeth. It was a wondrous encounter between these two great, faith-filled women. I wonder… where were the men, Joseph and Zechariah? I imagine they were there too, in silence, and wondering what was going on. God also had a role for them in his plan of salvation.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” (Is 61:1) These words of Isaiah invite us to embrace a fresh perspective on living each day. Advent keeps reminding us joy is a simple gift we can offer each other. Amidst the disappointments, sorrows, and tribulations we and others experience, joy is a liberating experience.

This Advent, like all too many before, finds places in our world at war or threatening war, bitter divisions within and among nations about immigration and how and whether to assist displaced peoples, political turmoil and strife, an increasingly threatened climate, growing divisions between the “haves” and “have nots”, and more. In such a world, how do we keep hope alive?

The Advent Season is an opportunity for each one of us to pace ourselves. The wintry lingering morning and evening darkness bids us to slow down, quiet ourselves and contemplate the hope and promise Advent offers to bring into our lives.

St. Gertrude loved Jesus heart to heart. She lived in a cold stone monastery in a war-torn area that became Germany. In the bitter cold and danger, she thought of the love of the heart of Jesus and prayed: O everlasting summer! O safe dwelling! O house replete with all delight! What is your "heart to heart" prayer with Jesus on this feast day?

The Memorare has been a special prayer for my family. The day after my parents were married and my father shipped off to Okinawa, my mother presented my father with a copy of the Marian Memorare Prayer.  They made a commitment to pray the prayer each night no matter where they were until my father returned home.

Beneath the iconic golden dome of Johns Hopkins Hospital, once the entrance to this mecca of Western medicine, welcoming everyone, stands a 10.5 foot sculpture of Christ the Consoler, arms outstretched, right foot forward, eyes downcast.  Etched in the pedestal on which the sculpture stands, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give you rest.”(MT.11 :28)

In the Gospel of John for this 4th Sunday in Lent, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus of the necessity of new birth from above and portends the Cross, the ultimate sign of God’s love for us. On the Cross, Jesus is exalted, and God gives healing and salvation to us.

Please raise your hand right now if you are absolutely certain that you never forget any detail – of anything, or at least important things. It appears in today’s first reading from Exodus that God takes for granted that we all need an occasional reminder, and God graciously obliges by reviewing the commandments given to us some time ago.

I have often wondered why one desires to reach “a summit” at the top of the mountain. I had a friend whose desire was to reach the summit of different mountains. What was the mountain top experience?

It is my pleasure to invite you to celebrate the seasons of Lent and Easter with Me

I have heard some people say, “I don’t get anything out of Mass.”  Another word for Mass is “liturgy.”  The word liturgy means “work of the people.”  The work we are called to do during the liturgy will allow us to get spiritual food from our participation.