Each week I write a column, actually more of a letter, to preachers. It’s usually on the Gospel reading appointed for the coming Sunday and often offers not just some perspective on the reading but a suggestion or two for how to involve the congregation more directly in the sermon. I won’t...
12. Mark 14:27-31
posted by DJL
And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” Jesus said to...
Who Shovels Your Kids’ Rink?
posted by DJL
Helicopter parents. We’ve been hearing about them for a few years now. These are the parents that “swoop in” – hence the name – to check in on, and take care of, their kids even after they go to college and, more recently, enter the workforce. They have become the new norm for colleges to contend with – checking up on their kids’ food, dorm conditions, performance, and more. Indeed, the term “in loco parentis” (Latin for “in the place of parents”) seems all but obsolete as part of the description of college officials, as the parents never seem to be absent for long. Except that by and large these parents aren’t there...
11. Mark 14:26
posted by DJL
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. There are moments in all great stories – whether bound in a book, set on a stage, or portrayed on the silver screen – when the pace of the narrative slows down just enough for you to catch your breath and take a look around...
Romero on Lenten Sac...
posted by DJL
It is so easy for my “Lenten discipline” – the quotations are to indicate how little “Lent” there is sometimes in the discipline – to devolve into a chance to drop a few points, quit an annoying habit, or spend a little less money. I never mean for that to...