1st Sunday of Advent, December 1, 2024 Gary Meagher, Member Presider “To whom can I speak when no one remembers the wisdom of the past, when no one now helps those who struggle for goodness in the world? To whom can I speak when those who would speak for justice have gone silent and the…
Read more
“The Freedom of a Priestly People: Unity & Diversity in the same breath”(c) 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time — June 16, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org We can be thankful, I think, that when Jesus gave a vision of how he saw the impact of his…
Read more
Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div, Ph.D. Mary Magdala Community, Milwaukee Corpus Christi is a covenantal feast. Look over today’s readings and this jumps out at you. From the sprinkling of blood in Exodus through the triumphant Christ of the Hebrews fulfilling his mission, to the very words of sacramental giving and nourishing spoken by Jesus in…
Read more
“Pentecost: Thought to Thought & Heart to Heart”(c) Pentecost — May 19 , 2024 Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com I thought it would be amusing to have AI write a Pentecost homily; amusing in the ironic sense that a digitally generated message could ever speak the language…
Read more
“Faith in Wonder & Mystery”(c) Feast of Ascension and Mother’s Day — May 12 , 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Serene Jones is President of Union Theological Seminary (UTS) in New York City. A scholar in her own right, she has held this leadership role for 16…
Read more
“Social Catholicism and Remembering Paul & Barbara Misner”(c) 3rd Sunday of Easter — April 14, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Paul and Barbara Misner played a large role in the decision Jean and I made to come to Wisconsin. Barb and Jean were Servite Sisters who taught…
Read more
“Entering into Promise”(c) Palm Sunday– March 24, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Our Lenten journey transitions this week from a season of renewal in faith to accompanying Jesus and his followers with a focus on the Paschal Mystery, on Jesus’ dying and rising. One last time we…
Read more
When ordinary becomes extraordinary © 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time — January 14, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, PhD — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org In the past I think I have made it clear that when I find myself in need of a poem to settle my unsettled thoughts, my first recourse is to…
Read more
On the Road (again) 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time — January 21, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org We are at the start of Year B in the 3 yr. liturgical cycle. I am a great fan of the Gospel of Mark, the synoptic designation for Year B. …
Read more
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time — February 11, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org It has taken 5 weeks in the Lectionary calendar to hear and reflect upon the 1st chapter of the Gospel of Mark. This has been the time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday. Each Sunday…
Read more
