Browsing the 2021 archive of Deacon Wilson's Wisdom

LEADING LEADERSHIP

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 7/15/21

            Leadership is a demanding job, requiring both dedication and training.  Half-hearted and poorly trained leaders can’t lead, a tragedy that damages the lives of so many people.  In our first reading, Jeremiah cries out a warning to those responsible for lousy spiritual leadership, “Woe to the shepherds who ... Read More »

PROPHETIC POWER

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 7/09/21

            Since the dawn of time, prophets have been mostly ordinary people.  From Abraham to the present, the role of prophet has been in the hands of common folks who have struggled and sacrificed to spread the Gospel to all corners of the earth.  God did not recruit the ... Read More »

I SAY TO YOU, ARISE!

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 6/24/21

            Our Scriptures this week focus on the most uncomfortable of topics---death, the most dreaded of all realities.  That is why it is important to listen carefully to the reading from Wisdom and apply it to today’s Gospel story.  From the Book of Wisdom we hear: “God formed humankind ... Read More »

FAITH OVERCOMES FEAR

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 6/17/21

            Lakes, rivers, bays, oceans, in fact any body of water can offer the most idyllic of views.  For many people living near water seems to implant some magic spell that allows them to use that nearby body of water as a serene source, a vision of beauty, and ... Read More »

KINGDOM MAGIC

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 6/09/21

            Farmers are patient people who plant their crops and then confidently wait for the soil and the seed to produce a bountiful harvest.  What begins as tiny seeds tucked in the earth slowly grow and bloom even though we don’t know exactly how that works?  As if by ... Read More »

MYSTERIOUS TRINITY

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 5/27/21

            Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity.  The very mention of the name---Trinity---conjures up the ancient struggle to try to understand the mystery of how a God of three persons is possible.  Three yet one and one yet three is a concept we can’t wrap our ... Read More »

WE ARE CHURCH

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 5/18/21

            The spirit of Pentecost requires an attitude of inclusion and ecumenism. It is reaching out beyond our own limits and biases to speak in a language that all can understand.  Theologian Karl Rahner once explained the importance of Pentecost as the “realization that the center of all reality, ... Read More »

GOOD NEWS MESSINGERS

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 5/13/21

We proudly call ourselves Christians, people who are sent to “proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”  That request came from Jesus himself as he sent his disciples, “to preach everywhere while [he] the Lord worked with them.” We too are sent to face the challenges of our world. We ... Read More »

LOVE JESUS-STYLE

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 5/05/21

            If you listened carefully to the Scriptures today, you may have noticed that one word was repeated 18 times.  It is a word that has been used so often in so many different circumstances that it has almost lost its meaning. The word is “love.” It is used ... Read More »

FRUITFUL AND FAITHFUL

Posted by Kellee Chwala on 4/29/21

There is a Trappist Monastery in California that has hundreds of plum trees with only one older monk as the pruner of these trees.  He is an expert pruner, watching over the trees and deciding which need pruning to produce the best fruit.  A machine could not do what ... Read More »