Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I like benches. I know some people like phone booths, or toll booths, or fractional train platforms, but I really like benches. I also really like trail cairns, but that is for a different reflection. Anyway, let's get back to benches. I like their intimacy. I like that they force those who share them to share the same perspective. I like they are often placed in beautiful or serene places.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In the midst of today’s many issues, sometimes I feel like there is nothing that I can do to help create justice and healing. Today’s gospel reading tells us that Jesus quietly was bringing hope to people in ways that were not always seen or heard. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to be like Him bringing peace, love and justice to all people. Jesus shows us that there are small, quiet and yet powerful ways that we can make a difference in the world around us.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have been formed in faith, raised in a family, taught by, and work among, educators that hold high the values of love, compassion, respect, integrity, and community (along with many other things). One of the greatest developments of my faith has been the recognition of the centralizing and centering power of Jesus--in name, in word, in sacrament. We hear in today’s Gospel, “for the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” The Pharisees are following Jesus and his disciples around, finding yet another technicality to complain about. The disciples are picking the heads of grain to eat...on the Sabbath! Shame on them! That is against the law!
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today Jesus invites us to rest. Paradoxically this rest comes by submitting to carrying a yoke. But rather than heavy and burdensome, Jesus’ yoke feels easy and the accompanying “burden” is light. Our Lord presents us with an opportunity today to take off whatever heavy yoke we may be carrying and to trust in his promise to lead us into rest by the way of meekness and humility.
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Jesus winks at us in today’s Gospel reading, giving us a hint that the ones who understand God’s Kingdom best are the childlike. What a playful paradox! We are accustomed to the adults being the ones who have the answers and the solutions; we laud the experts as being the wise ones. But according to Jesus, it’s the kids who have it all figured out! Today, let us tap into our inner child and discover a fresh take on what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Isaiah the prophet had a great message for trembling King Ahaz. I wonder, what do we have in common with him? He was set to be attacked by two other armies at once; that’s a good reason to worry! In these days we also have plenty of very legitimate reasons to worry. The world is not alright. What does the Word offer us in these uncertain times?
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Paul promises us that, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Nowhere in those words does he promise that all Scripture will be easy to hear. Today's readings definitely fall into the category of being difficult to hear. The challenge they bring is a healthy and holy disruption to our illusion of self-reliance. Ironically, it is only by first disrupting our placid status quo that the Lord leads us to true peace. So let's contend with these readings.
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
For the past few months, each night at bedtime, I tuck my 6 year old son in and almost immediately he tells me, “Mommy, I’m scared.” When I ask him what he’s scared of he often can’t put into words what he is fearing. Sometimes it’s a fear of bad dreams, sometimes it’s a fear that something bad will happen to him or to someone in his family. Oftentimes he can’t name the source of the fear, he just knows he’s scared. This is developmentally appropriate for this age, especially in light of the heightened anxiety our whole world seems to be existing within right now. Each night, as I try to alleviate his worries, we say a prayer. In the darkness of his room, we pray for God to protect him and watch over him, we ask God to watch over his family and we pray that God will fill his head with good dreams, and then we say thank you for the many blessings that have unfolded in his day.
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
A common theme among today’s readings and psalms reminded me of Episode 1, “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit” from Fr. Satish’s recent YouTube series “A Disciple’s Pilgrimage: The Sermon on the Mount.” Maybe because I’ve never really understood the Beatitude “blessed are the poor in spirit,” I was struck by the way Fr. Satish explained that one who is poor is “one who has no other help but God alone.” Today’s readings are beautiful and genuine expressions of this desperation and need for God alone.
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Every now and then in my generally comfortable life, I hear these words from Jesus afresh: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” I am hearing them especially fresh today as I reflect on Friday morning.
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My friend and I are cultivating a garden. This is my first time to tend such a large and diverse garden, and I’m delighted by the opportunity to watch the various seeds sprout, grow, and bear fruit. It’s great fun to pick fresh produce and bring it immediately into the kitchen to prepare it for dinner. We just harvested the garlic on Saturday, reaping what we sowed back on All Saints Day. The theme of “sowing and reaping” is a recurrent one in scripture. I’m grateful for the times that God gives us easy metaphors to understand our lives as children of God and followers of Christ. It’s obvious that if I plant brussels sprouts seeds that I will harvest brussels sprouts from the resulting plant. I wouldn’t look for brussels sprouts under the leaves of my zucchini plants! The same is true in my life. While the “sowing and reaping” imagery makes sense and is obvious, it’s not always easy to recognize within ourselves the type of seeds we are sowing. Sometimes we look at the harvest – the behavioral patterns of our lives, the health of our relationships, our spirituality – and we puzzle over these situations, unsure of how things got to be as they are, oblivious to the seeds we planted along the way. In today’s first reading, the prophet Hosea gives us a clear directive regarding the type of seed we must sow and what we can expect from the resulting harvest.
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
While little is known about Hosea, a good deal is known about Israel during the time in which he prophesied. It was a time that followed peaceful rule and preceded the fall of Israel to the Assyrians. It was a time in which kings were assassinated, corruption was rampant, economic disparities were great, the rich increased their abuses of the poor, and Israel’s relationships even with its allies were rocky. To make matters even worse, as the prophet tells us, the people of Israel had taken to creating and worshipping false gods. In all of this, the people of God are about as divided from God as they can be. Naming this, Hosea promises that God will remember their sins and will punish them.
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
After our youngest was born we had a little scare in the hospital. My wife, Bess, was getting cold and was having trouble staying awake. We discovered that she was hemorrhaging. The doctor returned treated her and we thought she was good to go. For a stretch of time, probably close to a month, we continued to see signs that concerned us and her energy stayed incredibly low. In the end, we returned to the doctors and found that she needed a little more medical attention to be treated. Ever since then we have had an attachment to the story of the hemorrhaging woman. We even have a painting of her that Bess' sister made.
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As I reflect on our nation as we celebrate our “independence” day, current events have encouraged me to re-evaluate what is meant by justice and how we might find peace and freedom for all people in our land. Today’s readings describe God’s desire to restore peace and justice. These worthy goals require a new way of thinking and living, so we can help bring God’s truth to rule our land.
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle
It’s the Feast of St. Thomas, “Doubting Thomas,” Apostle of Jesus Christ. I wonder how Thomas feels about that nickname. But it fits him well. He did doubt, at least according to the Gospel of John that we read today: “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (20:25b) Maybe, like me, you’ve been known to say at least once or twice in your lifetime, “I’ll believe it when I see it!” But Thomas didn’t just want to see Jesus, he wanted to touch him, to place his finger and hand in his wounds, to feel and know that this truly was the same person he had walked with, eaten with, laughed, prayed, and probably cried with; that this was the same man in whom he had placed all of his hopes and dreams, only to be shockingly crucified between two criminals. How else could he believe what the others had seen and claimed to be true?
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
When Jesus saw the paralytic man in today’s gospel reading from Matthew he said, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Perhaps if we witnessed this scene we would have found it confusing that Jesus was focused on the man’s sins as opposed to his inability to walk. However, Jesus’ primary concern was not for man’s physical need, but rather his spiritual need. He wanted to provide him the opportunity to restore his relationship with the Father. It was the forgiveness of sin that mattered more to Jesus. The scribes, unable to see this distinction, accused Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus cleverly responded, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” But to prove that Jesus has the power to forgive sins, he also said to the man “‘Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.’ He rose and went home.” Jesus showed the teachers of the law that he had not only the power to heal, but the authority to forgive. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and they glorified God.
Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
On August 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In that proclamation, King referenced Amos 5:24, the verse that closes out today’s first reading. Dr King declared, No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Here we are 57 years later, living in a world torn apart by many forms of injustice, some obvious and some insidious. Dr King cried out on behalf of people of color across our land; that same cry for justice rings through our streets today. Sadly, the issue of systemic racism has been reduced to one more element in our polarized political environment. People tend to line up on this issue based on their political bent or party affiliation. As Catholic Christians, the only “side” for us is God’s side and God’s side is with the poor and the oppressed. God’s side is the side of justice. As Catholic Christians, we must take our stand with God and seek God’s righteousness in every aspect of life. The lament taken up by Amos in chapter 5 speaks prophetically and profoundly to us today. Systemic racism is only one of many, many forms of injustice plaguing our world. Actually, any broken relationship is a form of injustice. Today, I invite us to humble ourselves and look deep within. Let us ask God to shine the light of truth into our own darkness and expose any root of evil or hate that may have taken hold in us. Let us seek good and not evil; let us choose life and not death.
Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Does the word of God ever catch you off guard? The place and time of Amos was a time not unlike our own; overall a prosperous time, punctuated by various natural and political disasters. According to Amos, the lesson of all those calamities was to return to God and follow the commandments. Yet, we are no doubt surprised by the threats and curses embedded in Amos’s prophesy. I certainly was. In our present time, what do we take from a fiery prophet?
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
The Church issues a challenge to each of us today in her choice of readings. Certainly, on this day that we remember Peter and Paul we could hear numerous readings. Paul easily has more books attributed to him than any other New Testament author. Peter on the other hand is one of the most-mentioned figures in the New Testament after Jesus. With all that we have at our disposal, we should be attentive to what the Church offers.
Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today comes from the book of Lamentations - a very appropriate book for us to read at this time. The word “lament” means to “cry out loud because of great sadness.” I believe that we, right now, are in a time of lamenting - a time of mourning and grief. We may each be lamenting for different reasons - loss of a loved one, loss of our normal way of life, processing the sin of racism, broken relationships with loved ones, loss of income or work. But I think it is safe to say that each of us has something we are currently or have recently been lamenting. The author writes, “worn out from weeping are my eyes.” (Lamentations 2:11) How many of us have felt like this over the past few months and weeks? Worn out from the challenges that this year has presented, one after another.