The unpredictable introduces amazing things into the fabric of an upright man’s daily existence. God, the Absolutely Unpredictable One, chooses the scandal of dwelling in a virgin and of disrupting Joseph’s sleep with divine visitations. Why he decides to enter the lives of the upright in startling ways remains a mystery. He bursts unpredictably into…

They have arrested the independent one. They have forced the desert into a cage. They have deprived the sky of its nights. They have stifled his cry of hope. In short, they have arrested John the Baptist. A restless lion, a caged lion, confused, humble, lost–John is no longer the person he…

John the Baptist flees the city, taking on the status of an exile so as to become the unmistakable sign of a new exile that not even Jerusalem can remedy: an exile of the heart. John is the prophet of the exiles of all times, of all people whose hearts are far away, yearning for…

The first Sunday of Advent invites us to turn our gaze to the heart of things–to creation, which is pleading for our care. In Noah’s time, and in our own as well, life needs to be cared for, tended. Christmas reveals this to us: a divine Child entrusts himself to the care and nurturing…

Experiencing the Impossible Lk. 1:39-45 «Faced with the angel’s announcement, Mary welcomed the improbable, the unforeseen, the impossible, because, after all, life is nothing but waiting without an object» (Simone Weil). In order for there to be an event, in order for the other–the surprising–to reveal itself for what it is, one must experience the… Read more »

What should we do? Luke 3, 10-18 “What should we do?” the crowds asked John the Baptizer. “What should we do?” is the question that each person ultimately asks him/herself as the need to find meaning in life becomes pressing. The Gospel excerpt for today’s Liturgy opens by specifying just what the verb to love… Read more »

All humanity will see the salvation of God Luke 3:1-6 The word of God dwells in the desert and in people who are silent. “God is supremely indifferent to what human beings construct, but out of love he sends his word to them uncontaminated by civilization, and this word enables them to handle what is… Read more »

Advent: A Time of Surprises Lk. 21:25-28, 34-36 Advent should help us become more aware that what counts in life is an attitude of openness and availability to realities much vaster than we are, so that the life within us–like a mustard seed–can develop more and more and accomplish its work of purification and liberation…. Read more »