Beggar

I’m Beginning to Think of the Pandemic  as a Kind of “Sunday”           I’ll explain this illustration in a moment.      But first, people have important questions and concerns right now.  I’ve lost my job; will I get it back?  Will it still exist for me when the pandemic is over?  How can I make ends meet until then?  My business has been shut down; when can I open it again?  How will I care for my employees and pay my bills?  School is closed; how will we manage as a family?  I’m a single mother; what if I run out of money?  I’m elderly and shut in; does anyone know or care that I’m here?  If I get sick; who will take care of me?      Let’s pause and prayerfully acknowledge the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering that God’s image-bearers are experiencing.  As we respond to them, let’s avoid insensitive or glib responses.  Their que...

Pray to St. Roch Now!                                                                                                      Fourth Sunday of Lent 2020 “Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims,” circa 1623–1626, by Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on Canvas. St. Martin’s Church in Aalst, Belgium. (Public Domain)            If my car’s engine doesn’t work right, I find a mechanic with a record of success.  If I’...

A Bible Prophecy During a Pandemic March 19, 2020 The Prophet Joel      During these days when we can’t gather around the Lord’s altar to share the Life-Giving Bread, I am especially thankful for  a faith-building prophecy in the Bible written during an international pandemic that hit unexpectedly and suddenly.   The prophecy is the book of Joel.   You can find it in the Old Testament part of your Bible.      That plague was far worse than the one we’re experiencing so far.  Untold thousands died, and far more were gravely sick.  The nation’s economy didn’t just slow down; it was a ruin.  Hunger, unemployment, and suffering were rampant.      The pandemic wasn’t caused by a virus, but by another bug—an unprecedented and unimaginable infestation of locusts:                Hear this, you elders! ...

St. Patrick Set Ireland Ablaze      During the 400s AD, the strength of the Roman Empire was weakening, and its army could no longer sustain its power over places far from Rome.  So Rome pulled out of Britain, leaving the land largely defenseless.      Then dreaded marauders from Ireland repeatedly invaded the western coastal towns of Britain, cruelly abducting young men and women, and selling them as slaves back home.   In one raid, one of the prisoners was a 16-year-old who would later be known as Patrick.      He was sold to a Druid high priest, a master of dark occult arts.  Ireland's people and their fierce local chieftains were controlled and loosely united by these Druids. Patrick's life now was hard and lonely, tending his master's sheep all night on hilly slopes, fending against cold and wolves, and being indoctrinated into the dark arts and rituals of his master.      But secretly Patri...