In the HBO television series Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister and his mercenary bodyguard Bronn are walking through the streets of the capital. They happen upon a street preacher of sorts, who condemns the king and royal family, Tyrion’s family, in a fiery rant. “It’s hard to argue with his assessment,” Tyrion jokes. The man […]

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September 27 – Finding Our Way

Last Tuesday, we experienced a near-perfect first day of fall: sunshine, a faint breeze, mild temperatures. With our work schedules still disrupted by the pandemic, Wade and I were able to take some time and get outdoors. So we headed down to Mason Neck State Park. About halfway around the Bay View Trail, Wade suddenly […]

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September 13 – Symbols

A young man was having enormous trouble in school, particularly in mathematics. His parents decided to enroll him at their local private Catholic school thinking that he would benefit from in person studies, as the parochial school had promised that they would be meeting in person while the County schools would be meeting virtually. They […]

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August 30, 2020 – Time

This past Friday, thousands gathered from all over the country for the National Action Network’s Commitment March. The march marked the 57th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. At least one of our parishioners masked up and attended the rally. several other parishioners […]

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August 23 – Jump In

Out of the many words that might have been; out of the hundreds we hope to hear; out of the dozen sermons I half wrote, and the one I’ll deliver: May a word of your Kingdom be spoken here. Amen. I heard this story from a rerun of the West Wing back when one of […]

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May 24, 2020 – Come, Holy Spirit

Are you a covidiot? Or are you a coward, “living in fear of a little virus?” Is your motto “Stay home and stay safe?” Or do you chant “Give us our liberty?” Do you have a collection of colorful fabric masks, or do you sneer at those who wear them? Do you give more weight […]

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A Hollywood funeral starts with an establishing shot of a cemetery. It’s probably raining. There’s soft, depressing music. And if soldiers aren’t solemnly putting a flag over a hero’s coffin, there’s definitely an older gentleman in priestly garb, and he only has to say one line before his voice goes quiet so we can hear […]

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