10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 10 (Year B) Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

If tradition is the democracy of the dead, as G.K. Chesterton famously said, surely abortion has become a tyranny of the living over life past and future.

When I was a child I watched a movie called Village of the Damned. It was creepy and scary.

Driving with a young friend, I was not surprised that she had the car window completely down and her face turned towards the breeze on one of these finally-gentle days of spring.  I enjoyed her enjoyment of the sweet fresh air sweeping in. 

Body and Blood of Christ, June 3 (Year B) Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 116; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Since 2009, Edmonton, along with 12 other Canadian cities, has been implementing a Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness. Unlike other “plans,” this one does not merely set a target and hope it comes true; solid work is being done to provide housing and prevent future homelessness.

June 17 will mark two years since Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law received royal assent. 

The pipette appears on the screen and sucks up a dot, which is actually human sperm that has been genetically altered. Then the small laboratory tool pierces the membrane of a human egg, releases the sperm, “and you have changed the genetic destiny of that embryo,” notes television host Bill Whitaker. “Yes, we believe so,” nods scientist Shoukhrat Mitalipov. 

Gone prematurely, remembered always.

Rebecca Maureen (Becky) Beaton passed away early one mid-May morning after a gutsy 30-month battle with cancer. Becky was just 36 and I was proud to call her my niece for that seemingly brief period of time.