Posted by marguerite noga on 2/13/23
Dealing with the Explosive Power of Anger
Our Gospel reading today is from one of the most famous and central parts of Jesus’ teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. Teaching on a mountain, Jesus is seen as a new Moses, giving his interpretation of the ancient Law. In ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 2/06/23
Bringing the light of encouragement
Years ago there was a group of young men at a Midwestern university, who seemed to have amazing, creative talent. They were would-be poets, novelists and essayists. They were extraordinary in their ability to put the English language to its best use. These ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 1/30/23
Blessed are the poor in spirit
To help us appreciate today’s readings, I want to begin with two stories.
The first… On the 27th of March 1808, a grand performance of The Creation took place in Vienna. The composer himself, Franz Joseph Haydn, who was quite elderly, was ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 1/17/23
Keeping the divine life flowing
There was a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slope of the Alps. The old gentleman had been hired many years ago by an earlier town council to clear away the debris of leaves and branches from ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 1/09/23
A Kingdom revealed in a manger
Did you have a chance to watch any of the proceedings in the House of Representatives this week? If you didn’t happen to catch it, there was a lot of confusion and great difficulty to elect the Speaker of the House. One ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 12/19/22
Being with the God who wants to be with us
A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in his affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate a car as a graduation present. Bill and his ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 12/12/22
Taming the Wildness
In today’s gospel passage we have John the Baptist out in the wilderness, trying to get people’s attention, so that they could change, and thus be ready for the coming of God.
I happened to come across a little story whose title intrigued ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/20/22
Do not love from a safe distance!
The story is told of a boy named Sparky. For Sparky school was impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics, Latin, algebra and English in high school. He didn’t do well in sports. He was ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/14/22
Learning to Notice
Our gospel reading begins with some people noticing something. So, I’d like to focus our reflections on what we notice, what we see, and what we don’t notice.
Let me share a story that gives an example of what I mean. It’s a story about ... Read More »
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/08/22
Resurrection is real!
Many years ago I went on a tour of beautiful Gothic cathedrals in France. At one of the churches a guide shared a story I never forgot…Back in the Middle Ages a visitor to the area went to the construction site. He asked one ... Read More »
