Father Kevin A. Codd

Bowl of Cherries or the Cross?

Peter is among those who see life as a big bowl of cherries, or at least so it seems from today's Gospel. He cannot abide the thought of Jesus (or himself) having to endure suffering, humiliation, death itself. Jesus challenges his "bowl of cherries" mentality...and ours...by calling Peter...and us...to bear our crosses with self-giving love and thus transform them into trees of life. 

Hospitalero

Upon his return from Spain, Fathe Kevin shares with our parish family a bit about his experience serving as a volunteer "hospitalero" in the small village of Grañon along the Camion de Santiago de Compostela. 

He's not heavy, he's my brother.

"He's not heavy, Father; he's my brother."  The famous motto of Fr. Flanagan's Boys' Town captures the heart of Jesus' message to his followers when it comes to making burdens light for one another. 

What Value to Place on a Cup of Cold Water?

The hospitality afforde to pilgrims along the Way of Saint James reminds us that this great virtue, when an exercise of self-giving love, is a blessing both for the receiver and the giver. It is an experience of God's kind of love!

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Paul's blessing of the Corinthians in his second letter lets us know that very early on the notion of God as Father-Son-Spirit was already part of the Christian spiritual DNA. Reverse engineering his lovely blessing helps us understand the experiences that led those Christians to this most unusual understanding of the One God of their ancestors. 

"To the Ends of the Earth..."

"Be mywitnesses in Jerusalem, Judeas and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Jesus' final words to his disciples, as recorded by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles have been at the heart of the missionary vocation of the Church since the beginning. The story of one "local" missionary, Archbishop Charles John Seghers, reminds us of how powerful that command has been across the centuries. We are also reminded that "the ends of the earth" is not a matter of geography, but far more, the human heart. We are all called to be share the Gospel of Jesus Christ no matter where we are, by first planting it in the deep recesses of our own human heart. 

"I will not leave you orphans..."

"Annie" notwithstanding, being an orphan through most of human history has meant life in complete destitution. When Jesus promises to his disciples on the night before he dies that he will not leave them orphans, he is using a very potent and grave image. His promise is all the more powerful, not just for the Twelve, but for all of us.

What is God like?

The apostle, Philip's request to Jesus in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us," is not so different from a five-year-old's question to his/her mom: "What is God like?" The answer: To know Jesus is to know what God is like. 

Believing in what we don't see

The Big Bang Theory has a curious corrolary: at some point in the future, all the stars of the universe will have been blown out so far by the Big Bang that they will no longer be visible to us on earth. The night sky will be starless and dark. Will people then believe the testimony of our generations who tell of such stars in the sky or will they believe only in what they can see with their own eyes? 

It is a question that brings us to Thomas and his famed doubting...believing only what he could see and not the testimony of others. His story of coming to faith reminds us that faith in what we cannot see

Alleluia! A Reflection on Power

ALLELUIA! An Easter morning reflection on power.