Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“If I were trying to please people, I would not be the servant of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
“You can please all of the people some of the time, or some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Today the first reading is taken from the final lines of the book of Job. Now, I have quite the personal connection with Job - that is, our names are very close in spelling. But on a deeper note, we all have a connection to our main character in a way.
Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Today is the feast of St. Jerome. I admittedly know little about him other than the fact that he is a doctor of the church and was most well-known for producing a new translation of the bible. In reading a little more about him, I came across a quote attributed to St. Jerome: "I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: 'Search the Scriptures,' and 'Seek and you shall find.' For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." I find his reflection fascinatingly similar to the message of Jesus today in the gospel. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Lk 10:16) What a poignant call to discipleship. We are invited into relationship with our good and glorious God. Our relationship with one another should reflect our relationship with Christ.
Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
Before us today in the Gospel reading are three very interesting figures. Three figures we can learn from.
First, there is Phillip. “Follow me,” Jesus commands. And Phillip does. That sounds so simple. Jesus is the Messiah. The Son of God. King of Israel. The Lamb of God. Rabbi. Phillip got all this. So, when Jesus hailed him, he followed.
Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
If you’re a parent, you know that the worst part of going to the park (or anywhere fun) is leaving the park to go home. On a good day I can offer a 5-minute warning, let them know when it’s time to choose one more thing and then announce that it’s time to go home and all four of my children will obediently walk to the car. But who am I kidding? A typical trip to the park ends with them pretending not to hear me, bargaining for more time, pleading for one more chance to swing on the swings or stubbornly deciding they need to go down the slide just one last time.
Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Sometimes it seems like there’s no clear reason for our lives. We may feel useless and our daily toil and worry seems to be of no avail. At such times life can appear to be meaningless and without purpose. As the writer of Ecclesiates writes: “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1: 2-3). Perhaps, like Job, we even curse the day we were born, thinking it better if we had never existed (Job 3: 1-15). But even if we don’t go that far, we can sometimes wonder why we bother getting out of bed in the morning. Wouldn’t it just be easier to sleep all day – to “drop out” of our busy lives? This is not even to mention the fact that good people seem to suffer and those who do great injustice to others often seem to escape without punishment or even seem to prosper.
Monday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?”
If martians were monitoring us exclusively through our media they would have a disoriented image of earthlings. They might say upon visiting earth, “We’ve been duped! Not all earthlings are successful, influential, or beautiful!”
Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
In a recent article about the “nones” in our society, I was struck by a comment that mentioned one of the reasons that some were leaving religion was because they felt that life was good, and therefore there was no need to believe in a higher power. Both of today’s readings remind us that there will be both times of blessings and difficulties as part of living. If we live our lives rooted in gratitude and trust in God, then we will be able to navigate the ups and downs of daily life and be a witness to the world around us.
Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
With the Autumnal Equinox earlier this week, Fall is officially upon us in the Midwest. This change of seasons seems fitting with today’s reading from Ecclesiastes (3:1-11), “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every thing under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant….” Autumn is probably my favorite season, but it is tinged with a little sadness as I know we are leaving behind the long days and warmth of summer and heading into the sometimes harsh reality of winter, once again.
Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes I feel like a hamster in a hamster wheel going around and around and not really getting anywhere. Some days and weeks feel like the same chores, the same work being done just to have to do them all again: meals to be made, dishes to be done, school lunches to be packed, laundry to be washed, homework to be supervised, lessons to be driven to; grocery shopping, cleaning, paying bills, scheduling appointments, running errands, ‘round and ‘round and ‘round life goes.
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Today is the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle, and Evangelist. Matthew’s life and witness prompts me to consider what it means to be with Jesus and consequently what it means to go where Jesus goes. I pray that today we might all be drawn more deeply into the love and presence of Christ and that we might have the kind of loving and merciful hearts that compel us to go where Jesus goes.
Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
How is your prayer life?
It’s a necessary and important question. Possibly THE most important question. So take five minutes, stop reading, and honestly reflect – how is your prayer life?
Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Upon the death of Pius XII in 1958 the conclave that gathered was depleted as cardinals hadn't been appointed for some time. They chose a stopgap (so they believed) successor to Peter, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who took the name John XXIII. They thought him transitional (which he was) and that he wouldn't make waves (which he did).
Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one
Being “earthly” in Scripture always sounded so gross and slimy to me. I always have to read Paul's words with a grain of compassionate sodium chloride, though. The reality is that we are human - from the earth, the dirt, the atoms (read Adams).
Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
What a bunch of pathetic schmucks! Right? Did this Jesus guy really come back from the dead? Sounds like zombie-talk…perhaps the origin story of The Walking Dead? (disclaimer: I only know this show has zombies; I’ve never seen it nor do I know any information about the storyline or plot). Paul strikes at the core of our Christian faith today. Jesus' resurrection is the linchpin to the whole ordeal. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, the Gospel is meaningless and all of us who believe in him are a bunch of deluded and gullible fools. If the resurrection isn’t true, then our faith is in vain. We might as well eat, drink, and be merry because this is it. If there is no resurrection, there is no hope. If there is no resurrection, then everything we thought we knew about God is a lie. If there is no resurrection, then all we have is this life. And the good news that Jesus is proclaiming in the gospel is not really “good news” at all.
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
As I read the lectionary selections for today, I was stunned by the juxtaposition of the excerpt from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and the Gospel reading from John. And what popped into my head was one of my favorite hymns, an African-American spiritual that (I learned today) probably predates the Civil War.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The moment I turned to the readings for today, I felt a profound sense of awe. This Feast Day brings me to my knees. Humbled and overwhelmed by gratitude, I simply desire to pray at the foot of the Cross. I invite you into that space with me.
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
When first diagnosed with Celiac Disease several years ago, I was severely anemic, and my doctor ordered me not to engage in any strenuous exercise because I was at a higher risk of having a heart attack. This really surprised me. Obviously not being a physician myself, I had to learn about what was happening inside my body. Basically, my understanding is that this autoimmune disease was causing the lining of my intestines to be damaged when I consumed any gluten, which in turn was preventing my body from absorbing the nutrients and minerals it needed, including iron. I learned again that our bodies need iron to carry oxygen to the various organs, including the heart. This compromised my heart, apparently putting me at greater risk for a heart attack (although I was fairly young) until the iron my body needed was able to be replenished. Thankfully, once I removed all gluten from my diet, the intestines healed and I was able to absorb the iron I needed. This experience truly emphasized for me the complex interconnections within our bodies, and the important role that even small, usually unseen, parts play in sustaining the body and keeping it alive and functioning well.
Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
At our parish today, we are participating in a retreat that is called Discipleship: Journeying Together. A very important part of this journey relies on our ability to listen and then act upon Jesus and His words. Today’s readings remind us that we are called to be one family celebrating Christ as our foundation. It is our shared faith and actions based on this faith that provide the strength that allows our church to flourish even in difficult times.
Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
What's in a name?
For the ancients knowledge of a person's name enabled a kind of control over them. This is why YHWH, in the burning bush, would not give Moses his name. You can't try to control me, Moses, as you did the gods of Egypt. A turning point when driving out evil entities is to get the demon to divulge their name. Remember that when you next assist at an exorcism.