Father Kevin A. Codd

Orlando: 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C, June 16, 2016

In the wake of the horrific shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, yet again we weep over the victims, our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, black, brown, or white, straight or gay. 

Simon the Pharisee, 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time C, June 12, 2016

Following the powerful testimony of the sinful woman in washing Jesus' feet with her tears and drying them with her hair, as well as the prophetic words of Jesus himself, Simon the Pharisee faces a monumental decision: continued self-centered puffery or humble conversion of heart and life. 

In Memory of Me: Corpus Christi-C, May 29, 2016

Remembering the great events of the past and our heroes is part and parcel of being a human being. Remembering in the Jewish tradition is much more: a living anew of the foundational experience of God's grace. Jesus' call to remember him in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup is this kind of remembering: a living anew of the new Passover that is his death and resurrection. 

The One in Three and the Three in One

The opening lines of the ancient Irish prayer, "The Breastplate of St. Patrick," reminds us of how for earlier generations of Christians, the Trinity was not just a theological or doctrinal notion that just had to be accepted, it was a truth that undergirded their lives. They bound themselves to the Trinity!  How? Why? Because they experienced it in their lives!

Pentecost Then and Now, Pentecost-C, May 15, 2016

The Jewish feast of Pentecost, ("Shavuot"), has much to teach us about our own Christian Pentecost. The new Law of the Spirit, not imposed from above, fills us with grace from within and sends us fearlessly into the world to share the good news of Jesus' own Passover from death to life. 

Diaphanous! Ascension Sunday-C, May 8, 2016

The eyes of Jesus' disciples are fixed on the heavens as Jesus returns to his Father. But it is Earth with her many miseries that needs their apostolic attentions now. 

Oh, What A Beautiful City! 5th Sunday of Easter, April 24, 2016

"Oh, what a beautiful city!" That wonderful opening line to one of the great African-American spirituals calls to mind the image of the New Jerusalem come down from heaven found in the Book of Revelation. The hope that that hymn rejoices in calls us all to hope in the ultimate victory of God in our world. 

Easter Morning, March 27, 2016

Grief is hard to bear almost always. It is all the more difficult when the grief is for someone who dies before his/her time...and still more difficult when the death is a terrible injustice. Such was the grief of the disciples of Jesus. The Easter mysteries open their eyes and hearts to something greater than their grief, greater than the grave. 

Three Temptations: A Reflection for the Priests of Yakima Diocese, March 15, 2016

Father Kevin was honored to be invited to offer a reflection to the priests of the Diocese of Yakima during a day of prayer in advance of the annual Chrism Mass in which the priests renew their ordination promises. He chose as his text the story from Luke's Gospel of the three temptations faced by Jesus in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry, retelling the story then making a simple application to the lives and ministry of parish priests today. 

Stones Kill: 5th Sunday of Lent-C, March 13, 2016

A stone is a stone is a stone...but once picked up by one of us, it can become something much more...even an instrument of execution. This story from Luke's Gospel of a woman about to be stoned, but rescued by Jesus' words, "Let the one who has not sinned cast the first stone," reminds us of just how important it is for all of us to drop our stones as well.