"The Christian mysteries are an indivisible whole. If we become immersed in one, we are led to all the others. Thus the way from Bethlehem leads inevitably to Golgotha, from the crib to the cross." - Edith Stein, (1891-1942)

My homily for the Second Sunday after Christmas: #christmas #episcopal #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore

"For the miracle of God comes not only from above; it also comes through us; it is also dwelling in us. (1/2)

"The time is being fulfilled and the light shall shine, perhaps just when it seems to us that the darkness is impenetrable." - Eberhard Arnold, (1883-1935)

On the Feast of the Holy Name and New Year's Day: Most gracious and merciful God, you have reconciled us to yourself through Jesus Christ your Son, and called us to new life in him: (1/2)

So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

"The way that Christ took was the low way. His way is abandonment. He not only descended from the presence of God, but he came as a baby in the poorest condition. (1/2)

On the Feast of the Holy Innocents: Loving God, Jesus gathered your little ones in his arms and blessed them. Have mercy on those who mourn for innocent children slaughtered by the violence of a fallen world. (1/2)

My sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. (1/2)

I Will Light Candles This Christmas Candles of joy, despite all sadness. Candles of hope where despair keeps watch. Candles of courage for fears ever present. Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days, (1/2)

My Christmas Eve sermon: God Goes "All In"

"Christmas is believing that the salvation of the world is God’s work and not mine. Things will never look just right or feel just right. If they did, someone would be lying . . . (1/2)

"We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more." - Henri Nouwen, (1932-1996)

“Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; (1/2)

The Fourth Sunday of Advent - and the Winter Solstice!

"It is no use to say that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. (1/3)

"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room. (1/2)

“The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose beyond ourselves: it is because his manifestation in the world must be through us. (1/2)

“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is— limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. (1/3)

God of hope and joy, open our hearts in welcome, that your Son Jesus Christ at his coming may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen. - "A New Zealand Prayer Book" #advent #christmas

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. (1/2)

My sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent:

"Advent asks the question, 'What is it for which you are spending your life?'" - Joan Chittister, OSB, (b. 1936) #advent

“The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life.” - Fleming Rutledge, (b. 1937) #advent

“Advent is the time of promise; it is not yet the time of fulfillment. We are still in the midst of everything and in the logical inexorability and relentlessness of destiny... (1/4)

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. (1/3)

"In the first Advent, Christ the Lord comes into the world, in the next Advent, Christ the Lord comes as Judge of the world and of all the world's thrones and pretenders, sovereignties and dominions, principalities and authorities, presidencies and regimes, (1/2)

"O God who is to come, grant me the grace to live now, in the hour of your Advent, in such a way that I may merit to live in you forever, in the blissful hour of your eternity." - Karl Rahner, SJ, (1904-1984) #advent

"Advent means a heart that is awake and ready." - Alfred Delp, SJ, (1907-1945) #advent #awake

Diego in the Window: First Snow of the Season #cats #catsofbluesky

"It is monstrous for one to live in luxury while many are in want." - Clement of Alexandria, (c.150-c.215)

Spectacular moon shining above our backyard. #OwingsMills #fullmoon

“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.” - John of Damascus, (c.675-749)

"It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards one's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken." - Francis Xavier, (1506-1552)

God of hope, when Christ your Son appears may he not find us asleep or idle, but active in his service and ready. Amen. - A New Zealand Prayer Book #advent

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2) #grace #peace

My sermon for the First Sunday of Advent: #advent #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore

"Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other’s faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others. (1/2)

Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:10)

"What is the harvest of your heart? What is it that you yourself have grown, upon which you nourish your life? For as you have planted, so will the harvest be." - Howard Thurman, (1899-1981) #thanksgiving

"Gratitude tugs on our sleeves and says, 'Wake up!' Look around at the kindness that surrounds us, the love we are being shown, the hope that now makes sense." - Anne Lamott, (b. 1954) #thanksgiving

"Gratitude…goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. (1/2)

A reflection that I shared tonight at an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service: It is Good for Us to Gather #Thanksgiving

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. (1/2)

My sermon for today: #christtheking #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore #sermon

“Gratitude exclaims, very properly, ‘How good of God to give me this.’" - C.S. Lewis, (1898-1963) #thanksgiving

"You sanctify whatever you are grateful for." - Anthony de Mello, SJ, (1931-1987) #thanksgiving

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him, and speak of all his marvelous works. (Psalm 105:1-2) #thanksgiving

"Everything I own really belongs to the poor." - Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary, (1207-1231)