Kate Oxsen

October 02, 2024

Oct. 13: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It has been said that there are three things one should not discuss in mixed company: politics, religion and money. Jesus apparently did not get the memo. In Jesus’ defense, though, he did not begin his interaction with the man in today’s Gospel on the topic of money.

October 02, 2024

Oct. 6: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s passage from Genesis 2 is a small excerpt from a story (Gn 2:4-3:24) that is likely familiar to us all. This section of the story is often chosen to be the first reading for a wedding Mass. The wider story has also become a part of secular popular culture. We see characters reference it in movies and television shows, and many songs and poems have made use of the story and its imagery, especially the images of gardens, snakes and apples (though the word “apple” does not appear in the story).

September 11, 2024

Sept. 29: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings revolve around different ways people try to gatekeep their social positions. “Gatekeeping” is a term used to refer to a way to control access to something. More significantly, it often refers to a way to exclude others from becoming a part of a group that is seen to have some special status.

September 11, 2024

Sept. 22: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I was incredibly fortunate to be able to do my doctorate at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. It was a wonderful experience. However, it did not come without its ups and downs.

September 11, 2024

Sept. 15: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In my early 20s I was in seminary and living in a community house with five other lay women. We not only lived together, but we went to classes together, too. We cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped and generally spent most of our time together.

August 29, 2024

Sept. 8: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are several stories in the Gospels and in the Old Testament where physical blindness can be understood as a metaphor for some kind of spiritual blindness. This blindness is often viewed as a wholly negative thing, something that goes against being fully human and needs to be fixed.

August 29, 2024

Sept. 1: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

We deal with misunderstandings frequently in our daily lives, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Yet even the smallest misunderstanding can snowball into a big problem if we assume the worst and do not seek to understand where the other person is coming from.

August 14, 2024

Aug. 25: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

My brother and I were not raised within any faith tradition. Both of my parents were raised Catholic, but they left the church long before my brother and I were born.

August 14, 2024

Aug. 18: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are many beautiful things about the Gospel of John. It presents readers with a vision of God who cares deeply about humanity, desiring so badly to be close to them that God sends Jesus to testify to God’s great love for the world.

July 31, 2024

Aug. 11: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture consistently encourages us to search for and learn about God. Yet when we ask difficult questions about God or our faith, we may sometimes receive a response like, “We do not know. It is just a mystery.” This type of answer can feel dismissive. It may feel as if the person is trying to hide behind the word “mystery” to avoid discussing a difficult topic.
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