Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Today’s responsorial psalm has an interesting refrain: “The Lord takes delight in his people” (Ps 149:4a). The root of this word “delight” is love, as is echoed in the line which says “For the LORD loves his people” (Ps 149:4). It is one of the great tenants of Christianity that God loves us, but yet we do not often think of the Lord delighting in us. We might notice that in this psalm, the people are described as also rejoicing in the Lord, praising God and exalting him. One insight we could take from this is that the Lord delights in human beings recognizing him as God. Of course he loves us regardless, but God really delights in us returning his love. Why might this be?
Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
As I prayed today’s readings, I strongly sensed God’s promise never to leave us, forsake us, or abandon us. I imagine that each of us, at one time or another – perhaps even today, have felt abandoned. Sometimes we feel abandoned by God; more often, perhaps, we experience abandonment by other people who should be accepting and inclusive. At times we project the rejection of others onto our relationship with God. In the brokenness of our human experience, feeling alone and isolated happens all too often. We hear God’s Word and sometimes, rather than feeling comforted and strengthened by it, we feel that it applies to others and not to us. I pray that today we might awaken more and more to the reality of God’s love and presence with us and to walk in renewed confidence that God’s promises are sure and true for each of us.
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Why doesn’t God speak to us? It’s a common lament. Yes, we are taught God speaks through the Word in Scriptures, and that Christ is present in various ways at Mass, and in the poor and marginalized of the our world. But why can’t the Lord just say ‘hello’ from time to time? It seems the life of faith would be a bit easier if we could just talk to God in a typical, carnal chat from time to time.
Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Today's reading really brought home the image of God as Alpha and Omega. Repeatedly we saw beginnings and we saw endings. In all of these there's God.
Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s First Reading (1 Timothy 6:13-16) opens with an assignment: We are charged, before the Father and the Son, to follow the commandments and to wait for the Second Coming of our Lord. We are reminded that God “gives life to all things,” that Christ “gave testimony” to his executioner, and that the fullness of God’s glory will someday be “made manifest.”
Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
In our readings today, Paul says, “The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tm 6:10). Greed is behind all evil designs. Money – and power, fame and influence--is not bad in and of itself. However, we can never serve God and money at the same time. The love of money sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, even our faith, leading us down the path of jealousy, hatred, suspicion, and conflict. While money begins by offering a sense of wellbeing, wealth can quickly lead to vanity, selfishness and sinful pride if we are not careful. When we worship money, it becomes an idol; disrupting our relationship with God and often our relationships with others.
Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Saint Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
There are plenty of times when I read the scriptures for the day and I am confounded by them. Often, they just seem to me to be from another world. And, of course, they are. And whenever I have that experience, I am humbled. As I should be. The Bible is an incredibly complex collection of texts. No doubt, that is a big part of the reason why we want to read it again and again and again.
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the day after the Feast of the Holy Cross. The coinciding of these feast days draws our attention to the connection between Jesus’ Passion and Mary’s sorrows. May today be an opportunity for us to unite our own sorrows to those of Christ through our Mother’s intercession. Perhaps today we can set aside some extra or extended time in prayer for this purpose. We might also ask our Mother to lend us her heart so that we might deepen our compassion for others and for ourselves, and have a keener appreciation of Christ’s suffering and a more profound gratitude for God’s gift of salvation.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
It probably felt a little frustrating when God made Moses raise a bronze serpent for the people of Israel to look at. Anyone who has ever gotten food poisoning might be able to imagine why. Our brains are smart – they are known to draw implicit connections between two events, like eating at our favorite restaurant and then getting food poisoning, without our planning to do so. This is a defense mechanism designed to keep us safe – our bodies tell us to reject the food that once made us sick, to avoid getting sick again. This is easy to do when it happens from something we can’t have often, (take that, street food in DC!) but much more difficult when it’s from our favorite chain restaurant (I miss you, Qdoba).
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
More often than not, I find that scripture is silent on some of the details modern storytelling has trained me to expect. In today's Gospel, one instance of that is the dynamics of the Centurion’s household.
I suspect that people who have created film depictions of Jesus’ life have done something similar to what I imagine. If I was telling the story today, I would imagine setting the scene by showing the dynamics in the Centurion's household. I would show the favor shown toward the dying slave. I would give back story so that the audience would know is this a servitude of debt, a prisoner from war, a person taken against their will, or the voluntary slavery of one choosing to entrust themselves to another as was a practice in the ancient world. I would show scenes that explore the dynamics between the other servants of the household and this favored servant?
Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
When facing the challenges of life, today’s gospel story reminds us of the importance of having a firm foundation. As Christians, Jesus is our rock and foundation. When we recognize our need for Christ in our lives, rely upon the gifts that He gives, spend time nurturing our relationship with Him, and follow Him in word and deed, we will deepen our foundation. Our lives will not be without challenges or storms, but with our lives rooted in Christ we will recognize that we are not alone, since our support comes from God who is always near.
Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
“Hyppo, hyppo, hyppo!!,” my teenage son likes to teasingly call me (no, not a hippopotamus) when he catches me doing the very thing I told him not to do. Maybe Jesus would use that slang if he were here now rather than, “You hypocrite!” that we read today in Luke’s gospel passage from the Sermon on the Plain. Why do we notice the splinter in our brother’s (or sister’s or spouse’s or coworker’s or parent’s or neighbor’s or enemy’s) eye, but not notice the wooden beam in our own?
Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest
In today’s gospel, there is a lengthy list of what following Christ entails. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Whew! Jesus’ list seems impossible to live out, yet if what he asks seems too much for us, we are beginning to understand that we cannot accomplish these tasks on our own, but only through God’s grace. By receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, we will be better able to witness the love, forgiveness and peace to which Jesus calls us.
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What a wonderful day to honor her, and to pray in gratitude for the “generous yes” that she offered to God in becoming the mother of our Savior Jesus Christ. Mary was born for that extraordinary purpose, a purpose like no other human being has ever enjoyed. And yet, as I celebrate her birth today, I’m mindful of how uniquely special and purposeful each of our lives are, and how God has known and called each of us from birth to play an important role in the Body of Christ. Today, may each of us offer or renew our own generous yes to God, surrendering afresh to God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Let us ask our Mother to intercede for us that we might receive the graces we need and have courage, as she did, to humbly pursue God’s call.
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Two questions strike me after reflecting on today’s readings. First, what are the ‘empty, seductive philosophies’ of our day? Second, why do we seek Jesus?
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Eckhart Tolle once said, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” Taking this statement literally would be an over-simplification of prayer, but the sentiment and spirit of the importance of gratitude is spot-on. Paul opens with it in today’s first reading: “As you received Jesus Christ the Lord, walk in him…abounding in thanksgiving.” When we worship God in prayer, we are only recalling the truth of God’s glory. When we pray our petitions and offer our longings to God, we are again only saying what God already knows we need. But a prayer of Thanksgiving tells God something new about ourselves: we are grateful. What do you want to thank Jesus for today?
Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The striking scene in today's gospel is so interesting to me. It contains history, irony, and a challenge even for us today. With my rudimentary understanding, I hope I can tease out all three that struck me in my prayer.
Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus is bold. Do you think about that much? You could rightly call Him lowly, meek, or humble, but you can’t call Him a coward. He listened to the command of scripture to “Be not afraid,” because He knew who He was. If you want to see this in practice, just look to our Gospel reading today.
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions. We have had the joy of celebrating our daughter’s third birthday, watching the excitement of our children as they return to school, and surprising my dad with a special gathering to celebrate his retirement. At the same time, my high school youth minister and friend of the family lost his life in a motorcycle accident, a very dear colleague and friend has taken a turn for the worst in her fight against cancer, and our prayer chain at school continues to grow. On a global scale, we witness flooding, hurricanes, wild fires, suicide bombings, continued suffering from the coronavirus, and so much more. It’s a lot to take in; enough to flood one’s soul with sorrow and pain.
Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The sentence that stands out for me in the reading from Luke is the one in which Simon says “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” What is so powerful in that sentence is that Simon tells Jesus that he is at his limit. He has worked hard all night and has caught nothing. And then he says that at Jesus’ command he’ll drop the nets again. He does so, of course, convinced that once again they won’t catch anything.