This morning, I was preparing an email meant for our parishioners. The body of the email detailed all of the great opportunities available in our parish for spiritual enrichment during Lent. As I was writing the email, it occurred to me that, if enough people just read the bulletin on a regular basis, this email…
Category: JesusJusticeJoy
catholicism, good news, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, joke, ministry, prayer, reflection, saints
See how they love one another…
I (Orin) was music directing “Newsies” at Chaminade College Prep, a Catholic boys middle and high school in suburban St. Louis this past weekend. During sound checks before the show one night, the student playing Finch told the following joke to fill the needed time: A priest, a minister, and a rabbi want to…
catholicism, JesusJusticeJoy, liturgy, prayer, reflection
Faith at a Folding Table
One of the most memorable homilies I’ve ever heard was preached by Fr. John Iffert of the Belleville, IL diocese, over twenty years ago. His homily had to do with learning how to pray from the heart. Since this Mass was taking place towards the end of October, Fr. Iffert decided on a Halloween-themed homily.…
catholicism, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, Judaism, liturgy, ministry, music, oddwalkia, reflection
What is Sacred Music?
Picture Orin, about 4 years old, sitting in St. Genevieve Church in Lake Benton, MN. It’s a small Catholic Church in a small town, even smaller than Tyler, some 7 miles down the road. The Catholic Churches in the two towns shared a priest, even though it was “only” the late 1970s, and Saturday mass…
bible, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, oddwalkia, scripture
Shannon is patient? Shannon is kind? He is not jealous?
On a TEC retreat Erin and I attended a few years back, a speaker giving a meditation shared with us a pretty amazing reflection activity, based on a passage from 1 Corinthians 13. You’ve all heard this passage dozens of times, probably at weddings, mostly: Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous,…
catholicism, friends, JesusJusticeJoy, Justice, LCF, ministry, music, prayer, reflection, retreat
Making Your Kingdom Come
Hello from the Mercy Center in St. Louis! I (Orin) am again attending the annual Liturgical Composers Forum with over 70 of my peers in the ministry of helping the Church sing our prayer and our faith. Our keynoter this year is Bernadette Farrell, composer of “Christ, Be Our Light,” “Alleluia, Raise the Gospel,” and…
Facebook, family, friends, JesusJusticeJoy, Justice
I’m Trying
This week, the world of social media exploded over a scene that unfolded at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. This scene involved a group of teen March for Life participants from a Catholic school, a Native-American elder, and some group called the Black Hebrew Israelites. I would tell you all about, but most of…
christmas, holiday, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, Joy, Justice, ministry, prayer, quote, reflection
The Work of Christmas
It’s a busy few weeks for me (Orin) right now, yet it is my week for a Jesus-Justice-Joy post. In the midst of my busy-ness, occasionally my thoughts turn to why it is I am so busy, with a follow-up question of whether I see in all the things I do a building of God’s reign, or, if you like, am I going about the Lord’s work?
This poem, pictured, has been a dear one to me ever since I became aware of it some years back. As we are just two days past the Church’s celebration of Christmastide, I thought it appropriate to share with you all today. May we all take a second to see if we are, in all we do, building a world filled with Jesus, with Justice, and with Joy.
