Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel passage captures one third of something called Lewis’ Trilemma. Here is how Lewis describes it: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. … Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse" (Mere Christianity 56). This is commonly represented as “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.” The goal today is not to discuss all of the flaws or merits of his argument, but to draw from it the startling connection in Mark today.
Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
When I read the passages for today, I am reminded of all the times I teach ethics courses and seminars, but then see people shake their heads and tell me, “You’re just being too idealistic. The ideas of just wages (or abolition of the death penalty, or saying no to premarital sex – fill in the blank) can’t work “IN THE REAL WORLD.” Even the seemingly smaller things, like responding to someone kindly when they’ve yelled at you, seem an impossibility.
Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Now that we’re back in Ordinary Time, it’s good to reflect on more ordinary topics; today’s readings give us a chance to reflect on what success looks like in different states of life. The common idea is that success is meeting your own goals, or making a lot of money, or being a popular, influential, or powerful person. In the first reading, we see David doing what he did on the ranch; using a slingshot to take down the enemy. It was a Philistine soldier instead of a wolf or lion or bear, but a formidable opponent nevertheless. David becomes a successful warrior, protecting God’s people from surrounding nations and would-be oppressors. Success for him was following the call of the Lord, and working with what he had. It reminds me of the old saying: “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those He calls.”
Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot
Serving God faithfully is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple and it demands a we follow the Lord with a deep trust. This is not always an easy task as our lives are filled with clutter and busyness. These challenges, along with obstacles that come from people or situations present us with roadblocks. These may be true barriers to moving forward. However there is another level that lies below the surface and they call us to dig deeper. The pretenses of today’s scripture stories leave us mystified as to the depth of courage needed to serve the Lord.
Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
A new semester is just beginning at the University at Dayton. For those of us privileged to teach there, that means we have been hard at work on our syllabi for our courses. Much of the work that goes into a syllabus focuses on the substance of the course—the readings, discussion topics, paper assignments, and so forth. Just as important as the content for a course are the rules set forth in a syllabus that determine such matters as when assignments are due, whether late work will be accepted, and how many absences are allowed.
Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture readings
While reflecting on today’s Scripture, I am struck by the contrast between the relationship between God and human beings before and after Jesus. I started wondering what it must have been like to live in Old Testament times before the coming of Christ. The Incarnation of Jesus allows us the opportunity to live 'on earth as it is in heaven' right here and now.
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
I was watching a show on the Hadron collider, the most expensive scientific experiment ever done. The collider conducts experiments in particle physics to recreate the same condition that existed when the Big Bang occurred. How much do you think has been spent on this experiment? Thus far $ 6 billion has been spent and another 5 billion has been dedicated to it. This makes experiment controversial. Is this experiment really worth it? Should we not be spending this money on other urgent human needs? Particle physicists justify the experiment by saying that the more we discover about the origin of the world the more we can say about ourselves and build a better future. I personally think that it is important that we know about ourselves, but there is another significant question. If our experimentation is only going to tell us about the origin of the world and how the world is held together, how much should we spend for knowing the meaning of life? If we take today’s scripture seriously the most significant question about the meaning of life does not cost us money, but rather, it sets us on a life-long quest.
Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading captures the essentials from Saul’s appointment as king of Israel.
Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
This weekend, we observe a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion of civil freedoms and martyr for that cause, and so this is a fitting time to think about what it means to be free. Today's scriptures help us reflect further on what it means to be free.
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Somedays I’m 100% on board with God’s plan to bring us all into communion. And then there are the other days. Those are the times that I question whether God is much smarter than the person who invented the college dormitory (seriously who thought that was a good idea? Giving young people an overdose of freedom while supervised by their peers. Yikes!). The worst rough days are when I hear phrases like “He was just trying to help.” That phrase is uttered when he not only failed, he actually hindered everything I wanted to do. And the worst part is that he didn’t mean it. It is precisely the well intentioned bumble that Jesus was trying to prevent in today’s Gospel.
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Our culture in recent years has gone through a transformation on the meaning and use of words. In our culture as a whole there seems to be this movement where if I see something on TV, read it or hear it repeated numerous times by the people in authority it becomes the truth. Or if you have a different ideology then what you have seen or heard is untrue. It is almost as if in many ways words are losing the power to speak to us.
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Within the first couple of verses of our reading for today in 1 Samuel we encounter Hannah. She is very upset and weeping.
The Baptism of the Lord
Some of us were baptized as infants and others as adults, but I doubt that anyone of us recalls a booming voice from the heavens telling us that we are beloved when we were baptized. Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, where the Father announces to all His great love and blessings on Jesus. As disciples of Jesus we receive this same outpouring at the time of our baptism, and therefore we can live in the knowledge that we are His beloved. This awareness of our favor in the eyes of God provides us with the courage to go forth into the world not just to share His love, but to bring justice and peace to the world around us.
The Epiphany of the Lord
Last week, I had, what I am now calling, “homily fatigue.” I think the way Christmas fell this year took its toll on me. Hence, what I have for you today instead of full length homily, is a brief reflection.
Today is the feast of the Epiphany. Even though this feast is about Jesus, I want to begin with Mary. Today’s scripture tells us that the Magi “were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.”
I absolutely love this image… the child with his mother, Mary.
Christmas Weekday
If it were a tad warmer in Dayton, one might see a greater effort to begin the dismantling of Christmas. Lights have to come off of gutters. They have to be extracted from bushes and unraveled from around trees. Of course, in homes, people may have already begun to put away ornaments and take down trees and stockings. And, despite what my wife would argue, that's ok. Seasons have their time because they have a beginning and an end and Christmas is no exception to that rule. As we near the end of the Christmas season, our first reading from John reminded me of a part of this season that should go on even after our ornaments are snug and lights coiled.
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
The first reading at first seems a contradiction. We know that we are all sinners. Yet it says that anyone who does righteous deeds is righteous, and anyone who sins is a child of the devil. Here on Earth we sadly have our feet in both worlds; we’re all “a little bit bad and a little bit good.” From my Baptism, I have been in the family of God, a son of God and a brother of Jesus. But certainly I have sinned since my Baptism! So what is John trying to say here?
Christmas Weekday
It is my favorite time of year because we get to spend time with family. It is great hearing old stories, making new ones and keeping traditions alive. I especially appreciate getting to eat meals with family and friends. Eating with my children recently, I got more than I wanted to hear. I was singing a Christmas song quietly. They asked why I always look so sad while singing, even at Church. Of course, I was unprepared to hear the truth.
Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Are you the Christ?
No.
Are you Elijah?
No.
Are you the prophet?
No.
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
I've always wondered what it was like to have lived under 'law' as Mary (and everyone else) did before the coming of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was certainly at work, but the birth of the Christ through Mary changed everything for humanity—and the entire universe. From that time, in the fullness of time, humanity was given the choice to live in the freedom of the Spirit of God. The challenge, of course, is making that choice and living it completely. Do I live enslaved or choose God's gift of freedom through Jesus?