Thursday of the First Week of Lent
In today’s first reading we meet a Jewish woman named Esther who is Queen of Persia. After learning her people were to be killed, she prepared to enter the presence of the king without permission —a move that risked her own life. Before she did this, she prayed to God to protect His people and to help give her courage to address the King. She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids, from morning until evening knowing that her fate and the fate of her people were totally in God’s hands. She ultimately convinced the King to let her people defend themselves and the Jewish people survived.
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
We’re quite accustomed to reading signs, aren’t we? We need directional signs to help us navigate while driving. We look at signage to identify places of business as we walk down a sidewalk. The signs in Lowe’s help us find the plumbing fixtures, electrical boxes, or whatever. When hiking, I’m always thankful for signs along the trails that tell me I’m still following the correct path. Advertisers compete to make their signs most attractive so that I’ll be drawn toward their company’s goods and services. We rely on signs throughout every day to guide us and give us confidence that we’re headed in the right direction, staying true to course, making wise choices, and finding the thing or destination we seek. I wonder if it’s because of the reliance on signs in the day-to-day that many times we seek signs in our spiritual life, in our journey of faith. If I’m out on a long hike on unfamiliar and unmarked trails, I may become fearful of losing my way. I lack confidence in my ability to find my way without adequate signage. Maybe it’s the same sometimes as we seek to remain purposefully on the path God lays out for us. Today’s scriptures tell us that we don’t need a sign when we have the very real presence of God. Our confidence comes not from being convinced but from the conviction that God is with us.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
I love the Our Father, and there is so much to love in it.
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
Today is the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. I know, we Catholics are not only crazy enough to bless our cars, houses, and pets, but we also have a feast day for a chair! We are an interesting breed aren't we?
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
It is Lent. We are getting deeper into a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. During this time it is easy to get distracted by what we aren’t doing. There are habits, foods, or drinks from which we are fasting and that is good. However, sometimes I don’t think we explore enough prepositions. Not only are there the things from which I fast, there are things for which I fast. This broader view can be summarized to include fasting for prayer, fasting for charity, and fasting for obedience.
Friday after Ash Wednesday
We tend to hate fasting in our household. When we are hungry, we can become more irritable, prone to arguments, and generally grumpy. Snickers latched on to the idea several years ago with their slogan, “You’re not you when you’re hungry”. We have noticed this to be pretty accurate in our experience with our children as well. As dinner time rolls around each evening, if we haven’t fed them by a certain time, there is a noticeable tension that builds (and sometimes bursts). But how do we transcend this tension when we are called to fast?
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
In his wonderful book, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Richard Rohr (a Franciscan priest) writes eloquently about these two halves of life and why we must, one way or another, make our way from the first into the second.
Ash Wednesday
Imagine the most incredible invitation you could ever receive. Take a moment and imagine what that might be for you. The most incredible invitation . . . Some of the world’s amazing invitations include things like attending a Royal Wedding, induction into the Hall of Fame for your given profession, attending the Academy Awards, consideration for a Nobel Prize, performing at the half time show of the Super Bowl, receiving a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious university, receiving an all-expense paid luxury vacation, the list goes on . . . it struck me today that Lent is one of the most incredible invitations a person can receive. God invites you; God invites me, God invites us together to embark on the journey of a lifetime! God invites us to a unique opportunity to shed the things that hold us back, to become reconciled with God, to grow in intimacy with God, and to become more like Christ. You may have a particular attitude and approach toward Lent each year, but this year I invite you to enter into Lent as if it were the first time. Accept this invitation of a lifetime with a fresh and generous YES and allow the wonder of endless possibilities for growth to overwhelm you. Let’s throw wide open the doors of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to receive all that God has for us this Lent.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
I hear a parental God in today’s readings. A very frustrated, parental God. In fact, in the first reading from Genesis, God is so frustrated with the state of the world, the “wickedness” of human kind, that God even regrets that he made human kind. And God’s “heart was grieved.” That’s pretty strong emotion. Similarly, in the gospel reading from Mark, we hear of Jesus’ frustrations with his disciples. Almost like a frustrated parent, we hear Jesus
exclaiming, “Do you not yet understand or comprehend? …Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember…? Do you still not understand?”!!
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
When I was in college, people would sometimes get ready for a night of partaking in the college party scene with the words, "Time to make some poor life decisions." It was said in jest, and yet with a lot of truth. Looking back, I don't know if they were embarrassing this foolhardy attitude that sometimes accompanies those years or if it was an initiation for someone to step in and say something. Regardless, those moments are what came to mind as I read today's first reading.
Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
As disciples of Christ, we are called to serve others as a way of giving glory to God. The Jesuits (founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola) use the term “Magis” (Latin for “more”) to inspire people to seek ways to do more for Christ. Magis is closely related to the motto of the Jesuits- Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God.) Jesus does all things for the glory of God the Father, and He invites us to join Him in doing the same. We can do the “Magis” by reflecting on how we can find ways to allow God to be at the center of all that we think, say and do.
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
I was raised to not be afraid of snakes, to appreciate and respect them as one of God’s amazing creatures. My mother taught me how to hold one safely so that it can’t bite you (with your thumb on the back of its head and the other hand holding the lower part of its body). Of course some snakes are deadly and deserve a healthy fear, and I wouldn’t welcome a surprise visit from a large snake while gardening, like my friend had! And I would certainly be taken aback if one spoke to me as in today’s reading from the book of Genesis.
Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s gospel, Jesus is visiting the district of Tyre. Although he tried to remain hidden from the crowds, he could not avoid one rather persistent woman. The unnamed woman was a gentile born in the lands near Syria and Phoenicia. She was experiencing great difficulty—her daughter was possessed by a demon. Turning to Jesus for help, he answered her dismissively. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7: 27). Although the reason for Jesus’ initial response is unclear, perhaps we can assume he was experiencing a moment of frustration and impatience. However, the woman does not back down from her request. She replied, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps” (Mark 7: 28). In this moment, Jesus expanded the scope of his ministry, and his concern was no longer confined exclusively to the Jewish people. Jesus granted her request, and her daughter was healed. It seems that the early church needed reminding that it was meant to reach out to all people. Presently, Pope Francis reminds us that we too are called to expand our horizons and spread Jesus’ message—reaching out especially to those who feel alienated. Perhaps, like the early followers of Jesus, our view can be widened?
Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Today is the Memorial of St. Scholastica, known for her devotion to God from an early age, and patron saint of Benedictine nuns. I chose to reflect upon the readings for the feast day, as they draw us into the unquenchable love of God and impel us to more fully surrender to that love. Today is a great day to get lost in God’s passionate, fiery, and irresistible love – that love that is relentless until it consumes us fully.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Recently I’ve been reading a book about all the discoveries that are being made in astrophysics, thanks to a small constellation of various types of telescopes up in orbit. I am constantly amazed at the vast scale of the universe and how incredibly ordered it is. This side reading has brought new meaning to psalms of praise like the one we have today: “When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers…what is man that you should be mindful of him?” Considering that humanity’s best guess is that God initiated the creation of this universe a little over 13,000,000,000 years ago, and that humanity in its present form was created around 100,000 years ago, that the story of Abraham is set about 5,000 years ago, God’s interest in you and I at this moment in time is truly something special. There is a lot of beauty in this huge Universe. So much time has passed. It is far bigger than the psalmist ever knew, and he was already amazed that God cares about us at all. Yet we learn from the Spirit that we tiny little humans are indeed the great treasure of creation. God longs to be in relationship and communion with you and me and all of us as the people of God.
Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Healing is a fascinating process. It engages people and transforms them. It invites us and draws us. When we bear witness to healing, we rarely come away unchanged ourselves. Healing just doesn't seem to have any clear boundaries to it.
Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
A line from today's first reading from Hebrews struck me today. It reads, "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind” (Heb. 13:16 NAB). This seems pretty simple, right? Any basic catechesis we received will tell us that sins of omission, failing to do something, are real. We even say it when we recite the Confeitor with these words, “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, … in what I have failed to do.” So we are certainly supposed to do good and we are supposed to share. Hebrews tells us to share what we have and that is where we should spend some time today.
Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
How fitting are the readings today for the memorial of St. Agatha, one of the most well-known names of christian martyrdom in the early church? Agatha was deeply devoted to Christ and held fast to her faith in the face of threats, imprisonment, torture, and death. She embodied words in our psalm: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” (Ps 27:1) Following her torture, her story states that she went to prison ‘radiant with joy and with head held high as though invited to a festive banquet. And she commended her agony to the Lord in prayer.’ Similarly, today we read, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” (Heb 13:6) With the trauma of a global pandemic, racial and political violence, and all of the struggles surrounding us, our readings today call on us to follow St. Agatha’s model and turn to Christ in our fears; offer our sufferings to the Lord; look to God for strength.
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
After Bill’s luggage was lost (never to be recovered), not on the international leg of our trip but on a short direct flight from Atlanta to Dayton, we resolved never again to check a bag. With a bit of internet research on how small a bag has to be to make it onto pretty much any flight going anywhere, I headed to the mall and picked out a couple of very compact carryon bags.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel moves me to reflect upon the domestic church. We find Jesus returning home and receiving a less than warm welcome from his community. Despite acknowledging Jesus’ wisdom and power, the people took offense at him. He observes, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” Paraphrasing St Mark, the people’s amazing unbelief formed a barrier to the power of Christ’s ministry. Jesus’ very own domestic church did not embrace him, at least not fully. I find in today’s Gospel an invitation to reflect upon our own domestic churches and to pray for the domestic church around the world.