February 2 falls right at forty days after the Nativity, bringing an end to the Christmas and Epiphany seasons. This is a short reflection I wrote last year at this time about a hidden in plain sight aspect of the presentation at the temple. The feast day is known both as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. And, in some places, it’s called Candlemas, the day when candles are blessed for use in the remainder of the year. The tradition of celebrating Candlemas evolved, because Simeon...
I led morning prayer again this week and gave the following reflection on the Sunday readings. The texts for today are Isaiah 9:1-7, Psalm 36:5-10, Romans 15:8-13, and Matthew 4:12-17. In the first lesson today, we read: But there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish! In the past, God humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, but in the future, God will bring glory to this Road to the Sea, this Land Beyond the Jordan, this Galilee of the Nations. The people walking in darkness are seeing a brilliant light—upon those who dwell...
This blog post presents the O Antiphon for the apostle Thomas that was previously used on his feast day, December 21. It also describes three iconographies of Thomas related to the post-resurrection story of Thomas examining the wounds of Jesus and his subsequent admission of faith. I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. In the Roman tradition, there are seven standard O Antiphons that are...
Welcome to Advent 2–the second Sunday of Advent. The bible texts for this week are all about bringing life to barrenness. In the Beginning The gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, and the gospel of John begins with the image of Jesus as The Word. But the gospel text this second Sunday of Advent is taken from the beginning of the gospel of Luke, which is the only gospel that records the story about Elizabeth and Zechariah. From the very beginning, Luke points us back to the older and larger story of faith and covenant between God...
The gospel reading today, Luke 14:25-33, begins by saying that “large crowds were traveling with Jesus.” Attracted by his miracles, at witnessing Jesus’ power over demons, diseases, and disabilities, Jesus had developed a big following. But he doesn’t leave it there – He goes on to challenge these travelers by telling them that something more is required, for them to become His true disciples. In this difficult teaching, Jesus tells us exactly what “more” is needed for us to transform from being just a traveler into being a disciple of Jesus – the three things that need to be addressed....
When I volunteered to lead morning prayer last Sunday, I had no idea that the subject of the readings would be the apocalypse. The Old Testament reading was from Daniel, chapter 12: ”At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some...
Last updated: December 21, 2025 The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “arrival” and is also related to the words ad venire, that translate as “to come.” Since Advent has a number of moving parts, it is good for us, as pilgrims, to ask each year, “How do we Advent?” One answer of “how” relates to our journey in this season of waiting, where paradoxically we move and grow, but at the same time are called to sit waiting in stillness. Every year, we re-read the ancient prophesies, celebrate the joy of now, and look forward...
Last updated: February 4, 2025 Happy Easter!! On Easter we celebrate the triumph of Christ over death! Ok, yes I know – Easter was a few weeks ago already, and yes, I am often late for these kinds of things. However, we are still technically in the Easter season until Pentecost (right around the corner now), so I figured I should hurry up and just finish this blog post off. This year, I would like to share some really great artistic depictions of the resurrection. The Bible does not contain a description of the exact moment when Jesus actually rose...
Last updated: January 25, 2025 The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross or the Via Dolorosa, originated from the design of pilgrimages that were wildly popular in the Middle Ages. Many pilgrims to Jerusalem wanted to literally follow the footsteps of Jesus as he walked to his crucifixion. During the 13th century, the Franciscan order became caretakers of the Christian holy sites, and the earliest use of the word “stations” to describe this Way of the Cross occured in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in the...
Last updated: February 27, 2026 I was alerted to the recent buzz about Mary Magdalene by my friend Laurie, who sent me this link to a sermon preached by Dr. Diana Butler Bass on the closing day of the Wild Goose Festival, July 17, 2022. In this sermon, Diana mentions research started in 2017 by Elizabeth (Libbie) Schrader, a PhD student at Duke University. Libbie, based on her examination of various early manuscripts, hypothesizes that the name Martha was added to the original story of the raising of Lazarus in John chapters 11 and 12. If this is correct, she...
