Apostolic Times

Mary Magdala Community

Borders & Boundaries

Thoughts on the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time November 10, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com As I see it, today’s Gospel passage (Luke 20:27-38)  reveals Jesus view that it is downright silly to think that God is bound by Mosaic Law.  Those who rise from the dead will be like angels, Jesus says amusingly…
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Celebrating Eucharist: Making & Receiving

Rev. Jim Ryan, PhD  — jimryan6885@gmail.com Co-pastor of Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles Community Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53213 Community blog:  https://maryofmagdala-mke.org/blog The article, “Mystery Manifested: Toward a Phenomenology of the Eucharist in its Liturgical Context,” (https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10050315) is instructive to me and my community of worship, Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles Community, Wauwatosa,…
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Lead, Kindly Light

Thoughts on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time & the Canonization of Cardinal Newman October 13, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com My Dad had a lifetime devotion to Cardinal Newman.  The one document he wrote that I regret never having read is his college thesis which he did on the man who this morning…
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Mindful Care

Thoughts on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time & the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi October 6, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com At today’s Liturgy two readers proclaimed the Gospel passage from Luke 17:5-10 So, you may ask, why two readers of a Gospel passage that is written in the one voice of…
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Donna & Bob’s 65th Anniversary

Thoughts on the Celebration of Donna & Bob’s Anniversary, September 8, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com When I first read the Gospel (Luke 14:25-33) that is designated for today’s liturgy – the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – I didn’t see it as appropriate for our celebration today.  Maybe another Sunday but…
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Humbly Exalted! Be True for One Another

Thoughts on the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 1, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com Community Blog,  www.maryofmagdala-mke.org/blog For years my Father was president of his local chapter of the Union which at the time was called the Lodge of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT).  He said they kept electing him because he…
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The story of the owner & workers – only a one-off?

Thoughts on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 11, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com Today’s Gospel parable of the relationship between the owner and workers (Luke 12:32-48) can easily be seen as a one-off.  What I mean by one-off is, if what is described here (the grateful owner rewards the vigilant workers who…
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And you thought Greed was only about possessions!

Thoughts on the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 4, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com We have already heard Jesus’ parable of the farmer, his harvest, and his reckoning (Luke 12:13-21).  Jesus used the parable, apparently and among other reasons, to teach against greed. Well, here’s a little story, mostly true from what I…
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What will you do for the Innocent?

Thoughts on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 28, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com As though immigrant children dying in what is euphemistically called the “custodial care” of the United States Government wasn’t enough, this past week we were subjected to yet one more cruelty to be done in our names.  It comes…
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Though Dismissed and Deleted, Still She Rises!

Thoughts on the Feast of Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles, July 21, 2019 by Rev. Jim Ryan,  jimryan6885@gmail.com Today we celebrate Divine Eros.  The experience of Mary and Jesus which unites their two realities is a sign of the desire within each of us to unite with the divine.  It is the desire…
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