Category Archives: Geoff Wood Blog

“Come and you will see.”             To become a member of a Catholic religious order one normally must go through a novitiate for a year or two before being accepted as a professional member.  During that period the emphasis is … Continue reading →

A Worn Path                        Far out in the country one cold December day a very old black woman, wearing a red bandanna and long dark dress was walking along a path through the pinewoods.  Her … Continue reading →

Not as pretty as you think.             In our churches today, the feast of the Epiphany, the three magi show up around our sanctuary crèche scenes to offer their gifts to the Christ child.  It is delicately done – a … Continue reading →

The thief comes only to steal . . . and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10             What’s behind all this buying, shopping, wrapping, this business of Christmas trees, ornaments – in … Continue reading →

He suddenly approached the old man in silence and softly kissed him on his bloodless aged lips. That was all his answer.  (Christ’s behavior when condemned to death by the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.)             Human language … Continue reading →

The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.             Waiting makes up a great percentage of our lives.  Waiting in lines, waiting for the mail, waiting for exam results, waiting for a check for services … Continue reading →

Oh, that you would rend the heavens             Often when problems escalate and there seems no relief in sight, even non-believers resort to demanding of God or “Somebody” to intervene.  Believers do no less, as when my teenage son seemed … Continue reading →

Camelot             In this third millennium, when whatever monarchs exist are little more than figureheads, it seems out of date to close each liturgical year with a feast dedicated to Christ the King.  Kings have been long gone ever since … Continue reading →

The man who received one bag of gold went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.             In today’s parable from Matthew a rich man, upon his departing for a distant land, distributes much … Continue reading →

All Souls Day             I was curious that I felt so little emotion as I knelt there in a front pew, close to my mother’s casket, while a strange priest recited the prayers of her funeral Mass.  Actually I felt … Continue reading →