Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Life’s not fair, and then you die” is a figure of speech you can hear repeated in my in-law’s home. It is a throwback to one of my mother-in-law’s many quips that she would say in response to her children’s normal statements. It might not be as witty as “then put mustard in your shoe,” in response to “there’s nothing to do,” but it does possess more relevance to today’s readings.
Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
I found myself laughing in the middle of today's gospel story (Matthew 13:54-48) at the people who "were astonished" at Jesus. They've known him forever, watched him grow up, maybe know some embarrassing childhood stories, saw him working with Joseph in the workshop - and now here he is, doing "mighty deeds." They're incredulous, to say the least. Perhaps more than one of them is thinking, "So now this guy is coming in and pretending to be all high and mighty? Whatever."
Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
I like to go camping. There’s something about the simplicity of it that calms and strengthens my soul. After settling on a campsite, there’s a bit of work to do to prepare a temporary dwelling. The way I camp changed after getting married. Now, I was not only setting up a place for me to sleep, I was also setting up a place for my wife, the royalty of my life. While keeping it simple and portable, I also wanted the campsite to be pleasant, beautiful, and comfortable in a way that didn’t occur to me before. I imagine Moses must have felt the same way as he set up the tent of the Lord’s Presence. Knowing God so intimately, he wanted the Dwelling to be a place where the Lord would be eager to meet him and be visible to the whole Chosen People that were camped all around. Generations later (as we hear in today’s psalm), they were still singing songs about the blessing and beauty of God’s Dwelling place, which had changed to the Temple.
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
As we approach each day’s readings, the context is always so important. It’s helpful to go back to the beginning of Exodus chapter 34 to flesh out the richness of today’s passage. God summons Moses back to Mt Sinai so that God can rewrite the commandments on stone tablets to replace the ones Moses broke. As Moses comes into God’s presence on the mountain, God speaks, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin” (Ex. 34:6). God continues, “I am making a covenant with you . . .” (vs 10). God makes a covenant with the people. It’s a covenant of faithful love. God goes on to describe the divine intentions and gives Moses many other directives and instructions beyond the Ten Commandments. Fundamentally, however, the covenant isn’t about rules and regulations; God’s covenants with God’s people always center in love.
Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Maybe you’ve heard of epigenetics -- the process in which the expression of genes is modified without changing the DNA code itself. It is a newer area of research, but studies have been looking at how the change in the expression of genes can be passed down to future generations. In particular, there is growing evidence that the effects of traumatic experiences such as hardship and violence from war (or perhaps severe poverty) may reverberate down through several generations, influencing physiology and mental health. This may seem a little far-fetched, but it is what came to mind for me as I reflected on today’s readings.
Memorial of Saint Martha
Reading the story of Martha and Mary, it's easy to feel a bit conflicted. Most of us can easily identify with Martha, busy and overwhelmed with 'many things'. It's her anxiety and urgency that strikes a chord. Jesus tells Martha (and us) to take a step back. Jesus reminds us 'there is need of only one thing'.
Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
In the reading from Exodus, I have to wonder how many of the eager and zealous Israelites, crying out their obedience to the Lord, were looking around at one another thinking, “Yeah, right, he doesn't mean that, I heard him complaining as we came through the desert.” Despite those silent accusations, how many of them, I wonder, would find themselves worshiping the Golden Calf not long after this? Though in all honesty, would I be any different? Would you? Our memories of others faults can last forever, while our foresight to see our own can be so short. In this way, we love neither neighbor nor God.
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Jesus' parable in today's gospel reading (Matthew 13:18-23) really strikes me this week. All the ways he describes seeds and soil make me wonder - what kind of soil am I planted in? In particular, his admonition to seeds sown among thorns, which are distracted by worldly ambitions and the lure of riches, makes me think about the soil of me and my community here in the middle-class US. As a person with a good job, and a job that encourages me to be very ambitious, I find it helpful to use these verses to reflect on my situation today.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Making connections is something that come easy to many people. Yet as Church attendance declines for many faiths it seems concerning that people are not making the connection between worship and their daily journey of faith. The readings today challenge us to fully understand that our very being is connected to Christ and the one by whomever he was sent. This connection is so intertwined with Jesus that his death and resurrection are at work in our lives.
Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
Have you ever stopped to think about what we ask for when we pray this portion of the Lord’s Prayer? Perhaps for many of us it’s a petition for the day’s need for nourishment and sustenance. I’ve often thought of it that way. But our Lord assures us, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink . . . your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:25, 32). Today’s readings show us the deeper meaning behind our petition for daily bread.
Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
On one side of things, we have the Israelites. They have escaped slavery in Egypt only to find themselves stranded in the wilderness. To make matters much worse for them, Pharaoh and his armies are in hot pursuit. The Israelites have no weapons with which to defend themselves and are on foot. As for their leader, Moses does not appear to have been a great choice. After all, he’s the one who got them into this mess—with the Egyptian armies to their backs and a sea in front of them. And now Moses is telling them not to be afraid and to head right into the sea. In the verses that precede those before us today, the Israelites cry out to Moses. They want to know why Moses brought them out of Egypt only to have them die in the wilderness. Why couldn’t they have just stayed in Egypt and continued to serve the Egyptians? Good questions!
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Although she is remembered for many things, I think the most remarkable part of her story is her great love. Like St. Mary Magdalene, each of us is called by God into a relationship of love. When love of God becomes the foundation, the inspiration, and purpose for being then everything we think, do and say will be a witness to Christ in our world.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A few years ago I came across the line “Sometimes delayed obedience is disobedience.” It always sounded like a nice phrase to me, a little catchy quote to offer when I don’t know what other advice to give, but it never had much teeth. I casually assumed that delayed obedience becoming disobedience was someone else’s problem, much like the way we assume bad stuff happens to someone else until it finally happens to us.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I've spent the past several weeks overseas for work - and so I wasn't home when I learned of the devastating tornadoes that hit the Miami Valley; my neighbors hosted a trash clean up day for our mailman, who lost his house, and I couldn't make it for that. I also couldn't bring my family along with me, so I wasn't home for them either, for their doctors' appointments and end of school gigs. Coming home has been wonderful in all kinds of ways, but it's also been overwhelming, because there is now -as ever - so much need, so many places I could be, so many things I could be doing for love of God and neighbor.
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
This world keeps moving faster and faster. Do you ever feel like it’s tough to keep up? There is always another urgent task getting added to the list. Is this the way it was meant to be? The Lord has something to say about the ‘forced labor’ that humanity gets caught up in. For the Israelites, it became literal slavery. They came to Egypt as a free people, but were caught up in the fears of the powerful. After enslavement, their time, energy, and hard labor didn’t benefit them. We are similarly enslaved by sin. Some sins are obvious because we have clear rules against them: lying, stealing, violence. But a common modern sin that is less obvious (while enslaving many) is the sin of ego, of failing to rest in God because of something that seems ‘more important.’
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
If you’re like me, you tend to think of biblical figures like Moses as giants of the faith. People like Moses, King David, Deborah, Isaiah, Esther, Jeremiah, St Paul, the Twelve Apostles – they seem like spiritual super-heroes. I think we often view the saints the same way; somehow, they seem larger than life. Sometimes we place godly priests, religious, and other professionally trained religious leaders on the same pedestal. If we’re not careful, we begin to feel inferior, like we can’t measure up. It’s good to have role models to respect and desire to emulate, but we have to recognize that these mentors are frail, fragile humans who fall short just like we do. We share the same weaknesses, we suffer the same hardships, we face the same challenges. We also share a common calling: to love God and love neighbor and follow God’s summons to serve.
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading from Exodus recounts the story of Moses’ life being spared as an infant. A familiar story, you may recall that at that time Pharaoh was ordering that every boy born to a Hebrew woman be killed. Being a mother, and having two sons, I cannot imagine the fear and heartache that would bring about. Moses’ mother was very clever and guided by God, I trust, in hiding her baby boy as long as she could, and then devising a risky plan with the hopes of saving his life, which worked, but still meant being separated from him most of his life. We know the rest of the story, and what a tremendous role he played in God’s plan to deliver the Israelites out of slavery, although not without hardship. What I really hear in today’s passage are echoes of the heartache the mothers (fathers, too) and children being separated at our borders are feeling today.
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure
Today's Scriptures remind me of a long-time friend of mine. No matter where she is or who she's with, she truly flaunts her Christianity. Though we often disagree on matters and methods, it's hard not to admire her fearlessness when it comes to verbally expressing her faith in every situation. Of course, she endures her share of rejection and hurt. But my friend really expects rejection in the world as much as she expects God's help to make it through. She always says, 'with God's help', just as Psalm 124 says, "Our help is in the name of the Lord".
Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reflecting on today's readings, I found myself focusing on one common theme: fear. If we had to be honest with ourselves, all of us are probably afraid of something. Perhaps take a moment to reflect on what you're most afraid of. Or, in the words of one of my favorite Catholic speakers, Ennie Hickman, what's your worst case scenario? Since the time we were kids trying to determine if we should climb the tallest tree in the neighborhood or ask a certain girl or guy to the school dance, we begin our discernment by thinking to ourselves, "What's the worst thing that could happen?" Maybe we fall from the tree and break our arm. Maybe she says, "No." Sometimes our fears are unfounded, but often we do have legitimate fears and concerns. My worst case scenario is easy to pinpoint- losing my wife and son. There's a legitimate fear that I have in my worst case scenario. Initially, it can be somewhat crippling to think about, but there's also a great sense of freedom and peace in bringing my worst case scenario to God (and hopefully that's your experience as well).