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A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing
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Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes
The little flower
The salvation of the world is not in our hands, but the promise of prayer is. And while the peace of God passes our understanding, it is at hand. It is found in the smallest act of love, a little flower growing between the cracks of a fractured and fractious world, persistent in its beauty, brave in its beauty, and unstoppable in its reach toward the sun. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, homily, sermon
Tagged Judith, little flower, little flower of Jesus, prayer, Therese de Lisieux
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Prayer for a BANI world
BANI, a framework developed by Jamais Cascio, stands for Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible.
For people of faith, there is one reliable place to turn when human understanding no longer works. Hence this prayer for a BANI world. Continue reading
Posted in current events, prayer
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Jealousy vs joy
Jealousy is the thief of joy. It keeps the elder brother from the family reunion. It prevents the citizen from celebrating the rescue of the refugee, the wealthy from celebrating Jesus’ announcement of good news for the poor and the meek. It resents the love of God for its rival, and leads to the casting of golden calves to spite them all. It clouds the vision of the scribes so that they do not even recognize the Word of God when he is standing right in front of them, telling stories from heaven. Continue reading
Posted in current events, homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged conversion of Saul, jealousy, Jesus, joy, lost sheep, Luke 15:1-10, parable, Year C Proper 19
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Foundering
As though created in mid-air and surprised, the lamb fell without foothold down the cliff and into the stream where we, speechless, sandwiches halfway to open mouths watched it pick up and shake itself back to life , quiet waters … Continue reading
Truisms
Hatred shared is never hatred halved. The blood of an enemy will not cure anaemia of conscience. Suffer the little children never meant to sacrifice them. The mortality of another will never lessen our own. The immortality of another will … Continue reading
Posted in current events, gun violence, poetry
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To count them
A meditation on verses from Psalm 139
Labour
In which we breathe in solidarity with the breathless. In which we groan in harmonic relationship with the suffering. In which we dream in creative union with the author of life’s manifesto: decrying death, deploring despotism, denouncing the cynicism of … Continue reading
Sabbath rest
It is Jesus who initiates the interaction with the weighed-down woman. It is he who chooses her healing, her liberation, before she has even a chance to ask for it. He is continuing his call, living into and living out the promises of our life-giving, liberating, loving God, whose first gift was life and all that sustains it, and perhaps whose second was sabbath: rest, relief, jubilee joy. Continue reading
Posted in homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged healing, Hebrews 12:25, Jesus, Luke 13:10-17, sabbath, Year C Proper 16
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Division
A sermon for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 17, 2025 You have heard it said (perhaps you have said it yourself) that we are living in the most divided era of our common and shared country, world, creation, since … Continue reading
Posted in homily, sermon
Tagged beach glass, division, fire, God, Jeremiah 23:23-29, Jesus, Luke 12:49-56, Year C Pentecost Proper 15
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Fire
Storm that breaks the sealon the dome that holds the watersof the heavens apart from watersthat brooded life into creation Storm that breaks the heateven as fire is splitting the sky,falling to the ground wrappedin quenching rain Mirrored against the … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, preparing for Sunday with poetry
Tagged Jesus, lightning, Luke 12:49-56, rainbow, Year C Proper 15
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over the water 