PAN DE LA SEMANA

[BREAKING THE BREAD OF GOD’S WORD] September 27, 2015 26 th Sunday OT_B GOD’S ALL INCLUSIVE LOVE Signs there are everywhere of exclusivity and self-righteousness. Fundamentalists everywhere, of all persuasions, shapes, sizes and guises abound. They are people who lay claim to being the exclusively saved, the most beloved, the chosen, outside of whose group or denomination no one is worthy enough of God’s solicitous care and compassion. A number of them are even violent about it and in defense of the selfish doctrine. There are those who even kill, in God’s name, in the name of their self-centered faith in a god who, at bottom, is intolerant of all those who oppose him even in the shallowest way. Nothing new here … Even during the time of Moses, Eldad and Medad were looked at with disdain, for they were “phophesying in the camp.” They had to be stopped forthwith, at least according to those who were zealously guarding their god-given tasks. Moses, we are told...

[BREAKING THE BREAD OF GOD’S WORD] 25 th Sunday OT_B September 20, 2015 AMPLITUDE, APTITUDE, ATTITUDE Allow me to go philological for today. Let us go by way of linguistics … I would like to think that amplitude comes from the root word “ample” which means enough. It refers to the state of something being sufficient, being adequate, or simply put, the state of fullness of something. Aptitude, as the root word states, is being the right fit for something, the state or condition of aptness, suitability or being good enough for something. An apt image of aptitude is that of a key that perfectly fits a keyhole and opens the locked door. Attitude is what one draws from within the self in reference to everything external to one’s self. It is that frame of mind or mold of heart that makes one either favorable or otherwise to anything and everything. Now, let us apply all three words to the three readings today. In classical Catholic imagination, my task as preac...

[BREAKING THE BREAD OF GOD’S WORD] 23 rd Sunday OT-B September 6, 2015 OPEN ME UP, LORD, TO WHOLENESS! Many, many years ago, as a young first-time traveler, I was introduced to the fad of “whole wheat bread.” For the life of me, I didn’t know the difference between what we youngsters back home called “bread” and “whole wheat” bread. But since I was healthier than a mule then, neither did I care if there was, indeed, a difference. Now, I think I know better. At the very least, I know that being broken is not exactly being whole, and that being whole is being healthy, and being healthy means every part of you is working in tiptop condition. I am sure you all have experiences of being in fear or overcome with anxiety. Being fearful could make one do either of two things: run furiously away or being paralyzed to inaction. One does not feel whole. One does not feel “sane” – and I use the word in the Latin sense, meaning in a state of well-being. I am sure, too, t...