Month: December 2023

Legendary

A homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, December 31, 2023

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Col 3:12-17, Lk 2:22-40

I am the oldest of the six sons of William J. Zapcic MD and Julia M. McCosker Zapcic RN, who, as family legend tells it, met in an operating room during a Caesarian section. 

The first four of us arrived in brisk sequence; we all know the impolite term for siblings close in age. And all six of us are unique individuals, united by ancestry and gene pool more than by shared interests. Nonetheless, our love runs deep.

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Countdown

A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2023

2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16, Rom 16:25-27, Lk 1:26-38

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Next exit

A homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2023

Is 61:1-2A, 10-11, 1 Thes 5:16-24, Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

From 1959 until 1976, I lived in a split-level development house whose backyard butted up against a berm that shielded us from the Garden State Parkway. The yard, in fact, was more hill than flat, which is why my brothers and I spent more time climbing trees than playing some sort of ball sport.

Any time Dad drove us anywhere besides beautiful downtown Lincroft or La Côte Rouge, he usually opted to take the Parkway. These were the days of Stay Alive on Route 35, and back then, Dad almost didn’t. The 25-cent toll was a pittance to pay.

Besides safety and speed, the Parkway provided one other advantage: signage. By watching for the magic number of 109, my brothers and I knew all by ourselves that we were almost home. 

No need for any “Are we there yet?” whines.

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Inching forward

A homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2023

Is 40:1-5, 9-11, 2 Pt 3:8-14, Mk 1:1-8

I’m spoiled, and on this particular subject, doubly so.

Having lived at the Jersey Shore essentially all my life, I’ve rarely sat in the kind of summer weekend traffic that transforms the Garden State Parkway into the Garden State Parking Lot. And our family weekend getaways in the summers of my youth were to the Kittatinny Mountains in Northwest Jersey (yes, both are real…), so we traveled opposite the Shore traffic both ways, 5 mph over the speed limit while they motored at about 6 mph. As in only 6 mph.

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Waiting room

A homily for the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2023

Is 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7, 1 Cor 1:3-9, Mk 13:33-37

During the 50-some-odd years Dad practiced as a family physician, his office hours started at 8:30 a.m. and ended in the evening when his waiting room was empty. Mom never knew exactly when to put dinner on the table, but Dad’s patients always felt cared for.

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