Monday of the Third Week of Easter
“Little Yeshu (Jesus) is a bit too big for his britches!”
Granted that the above quote is not found directly in today’s Gospel, but it might have been. It’s been said that “you can never go home again.” Jesus certainly finds this to be true. Folks in Nazareth remember Yosef & Maryam’s boy. They knew Yeshu as a toddler needing a diaper change. They knew him as an awkward, gawky adolescent. After his bar mitzvah they recall him sitting in the front section of the local synagogue every Shabbat with Yosef and the other men.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
If the pollsters have it right, we have a lot of “prodigals” in our midst. According to surveys conducted over the last several years, the fastest growing group in the US with respect to religious identification is the group referred to as “the nones.” Those are individuals who, when asked about their religious commitment or affiliation, typically say something to the effect that they don’t identify with any church institution but that they might have spiritual leanings. Something like that.
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Even as adults, my sisters and I sometimes joke about being the favorite of our father’s three daughters. Thankfully, our parents didn’t show favoritism, at least not intentionally. But I’m sure I’ve been guilty of harboring feelings of jealousy toward one or the other of them at times. Jealousy within families is old, at least as old as the book of Genesis. We know the familiar story of Cain and Abel and how jealousy led Cain to kill his own brother. Today we read another familiar Old Testament story of sibling jealousy, the story of Joseph and his brothers.
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Throughout our day we encounter many individuals. Often we pass by them without even recognizing their presence. Today’s readings remind us that we should not only pay attention to those in our midst, but be mindful of the ways where we can support them with love and compassion. Relying on the God’s grace to support our words and actions allows us to minister to others and helps us to bear fruit in our daily lives.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah calls to God, “Heed me.” “Listen.” “Remember.” Jeremiah is tired, weary from the scrutiny. He has done his best to be faithful. He has responded to God’s call and proclaimed God’s Word to the people, calling them to change their ways. At best, the people misunderstood him; at worst, they understood and refused to believe. Now they are coming after him.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
As we enter deeper into Lent, some of the challenges get more pointed. Today Jesus points out that we must stay focused on humble service in community.
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel is the middle section of what has been called Luke’s “Discipleship Manual.” Here Jesus lays out (similar to Matthew 5-7) “how to be a disciple.”
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to imitate God the Father by being perfect in love. He has given us six examples of what that looks like in this section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21-48). Today, we have the sixth imperative, “. . . love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you . . .” This is no easier for us than it was for Jesus’ contemporaries. Let us ask God for the graces we need for a deeper conversion of heart that we might be perfected in God’s love.
First Friday of Lent
“Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?” (Ezekiel 18:23a) Although the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel tells us this was God’s rhetorical-like question, I found myself asking myself that question as I read today’s first reading. If I’m completely honest, I have (like most people, I suspect), enjoyed an occasional Good vs Evil movie or novel in which the wicked character dies, especially if their death involves what we perceive to be much deserved suffering. And I’m sure I have been tempted to rejoice at the actual death of a seemingly evil or wicked person. Whether or not we derive any pleasure from the death of a wicked person, thankfully our God does not.
Thursday of the First Week in Lent
The Book of Esther is vital to salvation history by demonstrating God’s silent providence in preserving the Jewish people—and thus the Messianic line—from annihilation while in exile. Though God is not explicitly named (the only book of the Bible where God is not named), Esther acts as a type of Christ or intercessor, risking her life to save her people, foreshadowing the ultimate salvation.
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
The Ninevites hear God’s call to repentance from the prophet Jonah. They respond by sitting in ashes and turning away from their violence they do to one another. They repent and God welcomes them home. What we don’t get from the first reading today is the context that Jonah doesn’t like the Ninevites and would rather God smite them than have his preaching be successful! He would rather they burn than be asked by God to welcome them as sisters and brothers.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
The word "Lent" comes from the Old English word læncte, which means "lengthening" or "springtime". Spring (in our eco-region) is a time of rains, longer days, change and growth expressed in today’s first reading. I grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, where foot-high snow often covered the ground throughout Lent. The snowmelt took weeks through April/May and as children we longed for the snow piles to melt so we could shift from hockey on ice rinks to street ball hockey and the snow-clear baseball season. We jumped on the ice-covered puddles to break them up and help the process along. Streets became mini-streams as the waters drained from roadways into our rivers and lakes. We couldn’t shift from snow boots to shoes until the ground was drier and the streets cleaned of the winter gravel and salting. The process took time. Melting snows are an important source of water for the deep soils of the North American prairies, which produce wheat and other grains as a ‘breadbasket’ for the world.
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Why remember a second century martyr in 2026? Polycarp (along with Ignatius of Antioch, Clement I of Rome, and Justin Martyr) serve as a bridge from the apostles, a defender of truth against distortion, and a foundational figure. He was true, in every facet, to today’s Psalm response: “Your words, O Lord, are spirit and life” (19:8).
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
“Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart.”
I love that hymn for the deep sense of yearning to follow Jesus that it expresses. I say that despite the fact that whenever I sing it, I always have to ask myself if I truly am a Christian in my heart. That question can be quite unsettling, And it invites other questions. What does it mean to be a Christian in my heart? How do I know if I am or am not such a Christian? What should I do if it turns out that I am not a true Christian?
Friday after Ash Wednesday
As I happen to be writing this reflection for Friday on Ash Wednesday, the issue of fasting is front and center on my mind (and stomach). A hungry stomach keeps alerting my mind to its state, which I find makes it harder to focus and easier to become irritable with my husband. Apparently, I’m not very advanced with this discipline. Fasting is front and center in both of today’s readings as well. But perhaps not as you’d expect.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Our lives are full of many choices. Almost every minute of each day we decide what to say and do. Today’s readings focus on choices and how these words and deeds can bring us a life that is God-centered. How might we learn to make decisions that lead us to be disciples of Christ?
Ash Wednesday
There is an urgency in Joel’s prophetic words today. And Joel is not just asking us to change our minds this time. No. Joel’s prophecy involves our whole bodies. The first reading from Joel urges us, “even now!” Even now, return with your whole heart. Fast. Weep. Mourn. Involve your whole body in turning toward God. In fact, Joel urges us to break open our hearts. Let our hearts be broken. Weep for what is worthy of weeping over. Mourn the loss of lives, of innocence.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever misunderstood someone, or has someone misunderstood you?
Monday of Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
“The testing of your faith produces perseverance so that you may be perfect and complete.” - James 1:4
“Nothing in this world can take the place of perseverance.” - Calvin Coolidge
Today we hear the opening verses of the Letter of James, one of our “Catholic (meaning “universal”) epistles. In these initial verses, James calls on Christians everywhere to “perservere.” Today is also Presidents Day, a national holiday.
Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop
Our Gospel today features Jesus’ second miraculous feeding, this time of a group of 4,000 people. The occasion of this ministry is the Gentile area of the Decapolis. It closely parallels the feeding of the 5,000 in Galilee (Mark 6:35-44) with a few significant differences. Both accounts shine as a prefigurement of the Eucharistic meal and the messianic banquet in the age to come. Today, I’d like to focus on Jesus’ compassion and mercy and our abject need for him. May we always seek to satisfy our spiritual hunger in Christ and be a Eucharistic people who live in such a way as to draw others to him.