by Fr. Jim Chern
One of the things that is easy to miss in this Gospel reading is that Jesus loves the scribes and Pharisees. So often, with the Gospels, as we become increasingly familiar with them and hopefully…
Not too long ago, I heard a speaker share a memorable quote. He said: “Everyone dies twice - the first time when the heart stops beating and the synapses in the brain shut down. The…
Is this the hardest of all Gospel passages to follow? Most likely, our impulse would be to say no because we think of so many others that seem even more demanding. To forgive those who…
The closest I ever was to being “truant” or intentionally “tardy” for school was with my two older brothers. I was in 7th Grade, My brother Craig was in 10th, and my oldest brother Chris…
It's been hard to keep up on a daily basis with current events. What's the saying, "There are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen?" Things that in quieter times would've definitely registered…
A former student who’s served our nation in the United States Army since his graduation 15 years ago texted me the other night. He explained he was doing an “18.6 mile…
About 12 years ago, while serving as a chaplain in Illinois for a few weeks for a group of a couple of hundred recent college graduates, I had what I’ll call a delayed reaction of…
Imagine if the landowner in this parable were an actual employer at a business here in the United States in 2023. Someone who had hired individuals at the start of the day, throughout the day,…
When people ask how my parents reacted when I began the application process for seminary to actively begin discerning the priesthood, I explain how supportive they were. It wasn’t a complete surprise. We had many…
This is the start of my 17th year here as the Campus Minister at Montclair State University, which is shocking to me. When I first started, the Archbishop at the time said because I was…