Recently, a friend took me and another friend to one of my favorite local eateries, namely The Hummus House on 15th and Chew, right here in Allentown. It was late in the afternoon, and the three of us were the only customers in the five-table establishment. As my friends
Read moreEnvy: The Devil’s Darling
Turning round, Peter saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who, at the supper, had leaned back upon his breast and said, “Lord, who is it that will betray thee?” Peter therefore, seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, and what of this man?” Jesus said to him,
Read moreCatching the Grace
With what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you, and more shall be given to you. —Mark 4:24— When my friend Mike attends a baseball game, he will, depending on where he is seated, bring a mitt with him. He wants to be ready to catch a
Read moreAngels in Education
A Homily Preached for the Opening of Catholic Schools Week Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown, Pennsylvania 25 January 2015 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh
Read moreFairy Tales Can Come True
Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least, of my brethren, you did it for me. –Matthew 25:40– I have a confession to make. I am an unashamed and unabashed reader and lover of fairy tales. That’s right. But I
Read moreThe Jesus Connection
Without me you can do nothing. –John 15:5– Some years ago, my friend Father Frans Berkhout and I were in an airport on our way home from a vacation. We were in a long line of passengers waiting to have our luggage scanned before boarding our plane. Passengers were
Read moreThe Leprosy of Sin
And a leper came to him, entreating him, and kneeling down he said, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” –Mark 1:40– Once, when I was about eight or nine years old, I said to my sister Marybeth, “Hey, Marybeth! Wouldn’t it be neat if we couldn’t feel
Read moreA Night at the Opera
“For with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you.” –Luke 6:38– Concerning the story I am about to relate, permit me to use the words of Father Peter Lonergan in The Quiet Man: “Well, I can’t say it’s true, and I won’t say it’s not.” Several years
Read moreOne Fire, Many Flames
Now no one, when he has lighted a lamp, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a couch, but he puts it upon a lamp-stand, that they who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest; nor anything concealed that
Read moreSo Many Rules!
I fondly recall the first time I was invited to have dinner at the home of Kevin Damitz and his family. Kevin is the Director of Religious Education at Saint Thomas More parish here in Allentown, and he and his wife Susie are blessed with eight happy, well-adjusted children. As
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