August 2021

Blessings and peace to you. I hope you have been able to have some wonderful summer time with family and friends. As I read the Gospel passage for this Sunday, especially where Jesus said: “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile” Mark 7: 14-15. It reminds me of a Zen story that I heard when I was a child. A senior monk

All words are said, and should be understood, in context. The same words may have very different meanings depending on whether they are said in anger or in jest. Similarly, the reactions to those words might vary from outrage or insult to a hearty laugh. The point is that, without context, it is often impossible to truly understand why specific words are being communicated. Context can be determined by the tone of the speaker, her demeanor, the circumstances of a

Today’s great Feast, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has two sets of Scripture readings. The first set is to be used on Saturday evening - that is the Vigil of the Feast. The second set of Scripture readings is intended to be read and heard on the day of the Feast, August 15. To make room for the lovely Vigil readings, I’m giving up this space that is sometimes filled with my little musings. I think