Scripture shows us how God makes himself visible to humans By Father Joseph Brando It’s hard to believe. With my Christmas tree still shining forth in my living room, I am writing a column that features the first three Sundays of Lent. One of the factors of getting old is …
Living the readings: Preparing for the end
We live in time and eternity as Christ offers us eternal life By Father Joseph Brando It may seem strange to many that the liturgical calendar begins with our preparation and celebration of the birth of the Messiah whereas our daily calendar (which is a Christian product) begins on the …
Living the readings: A perfect slice of life
We receive wisdom when we’re in unity with God By Father Joseph Brando October turns green leaves into orange and red and playfully blows them to the ground so that we can hardly tell up from down. That’s the joy of fall. Earth and sky fuse together. October is the …
Living the Readings: Jesus’ words come to life
The law of God takes us from earthly life to the eternal By Father Joseph Brando August is a different kind of month liturgically. For the first time in a long time, and this year, we have five Sundays in a row in the same month that all the Sunday …
Of prophets and kings
By Father Joseph Brando In modern times, the relationship between church and state is complex and difficult. The complication is due to multiple factors, including the migration of peoples, race, military power, the attitude of the people, and the power of one or more ethnic groups in the nation, among …
Remember the Land Rover
A couple of weeks ago I was in a conversation with some couples and one of them recounted an incident that took place some time ago. The story had to do with a fairly expensive Land Rover sport utility vehicle. You could see the love of the SUV in the …
Living the readings: What’s in the old closet?
There is much in store for us during the month Lent begins Most every house or apartment has a store-all closet into which all sorts of memories are relegated. Chances are that you recently put your Christmas items up in that same closet so they will be available next December. …
Living the readings: An epic unfolds
The Christmas story is another example of God speaking to us Thanks to the timing of Advent, with its First Sunday in November, the message of Christmas unfolds before us as an ancient epic might. Back in antiquity, classic writers would start their stories of great events and great people …
It All Comes Clear Now
By Father Joseph Brando November, in these parts, is the time when trees reach their brightest glow. Then their leaves, by means of a parachuting parade of color in a gloriously choreographed leap, dance to the ground. When that display is completed, the people who lived, spring and summer, under …
Living the readings: The colors are changing
Christ wants us to be radiant in faith, hope, and love In our part of the country, the leaves change into a myriad of autumn colors. There are oranges and reds and browns blown by the capricious wind over the green grass opening groves up to the blue sky resulting …
Living the readings: Making it through rough times
Many lessons are learned about God’s abundant love August is known for its long hot days and sweaty boring nights that made kids wish school were back in session. Schools, in Tennessee at least, have accommodated this desire and have welcomed the children back ever earlier each year, making today’s …
Living the readings: A perfect hand
An abundance of June solemnities is a blessing from God As we look each month at the Sunday readings, we’ll find either four or five Sundays. They may all be plain as in Ordinary Time. Or, they may be Sundays in Lent or, more recently, of Easter. A feast day …
