Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:13-14).
Who gave you your name and why? For most of us our names are integral to who we are. Can we imagine having any other name than the one we have?
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As we approach today’s Gospel, I invite you to call to mind children whom you know. Think about what characterizes these and other typical children. You might recognize their innocence, playfulness, inquisitiveness, joy. Jesus tells us that if we are to understand the things of God, we must be childlike. Let’s explore what it means to approach our faith in a childlike manner and ask our heavenly Father to gift us with a childlike heart and mind.
Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop & Doctor of the Church
Do the works of God seem ‘normal’ to you? We participate in Mass week after week, year after year. It’s easy to get used to the way God works in our lives. Is conversion a word that brings more static memories than dynamic and present questions? This is most of us, and it’s who Jesus is speaking to in today’s Gospel. The difficult thing about God’s call is its constancy. God loves us always and every day. The Spirit enlivens us every day. So it’s very easy to take the every-day and let it be background noise that gets ignored. The reality is more nuanced. God’s everyday presence has different words for each different daily situation. As we move from season to season in our lives, God speaks the words we need to hear. The tough thing is to keep listening.
Memorial of St. Kateri Takakwitha, Virgin
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not to bring peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34). What are we to make of such a statement from Jesus?
Isaiah wrote that the Christ would be the “Prince of Peace.” Luke tells us that a choir of angels over Bethlehem announced his birth singing, “Peace on earth.” One of his Beatitudes is “Blessed are the peacemakers.” On that first Easter Sunday night, the Risen Jesus greeted his disciples with, “Peace be with you.”
Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Pop quiz! Who in one of the readings for today posed this question?
- Pontius Pilot
- Saint Peter
- Judas Iscariot
- Saint Paul
- None of the Above
Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot
Maybe having so many heart-wrenching stories in the news recently of families being separated against their will – especially parents and their children, even if adult children, whether it be a result of immigration and deportation enforcement or the tragedies of war or of natural disasters such as the recent flooding in Texas – maybe these have something to do with my heartfelt reaction to the reunion of Joseph and his father, Jacob (Israel), in today’s reading from Genesis’ 46th chapter.
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus sends out his disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. One of the central parts of Jesus directives involves sharing peace with the people that the disciples encounter. We are also called to bring God’s peace to the world, since it is this peace that is an important part of bringing the Kingdom of heaven to earth.
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I’m entitling my reflection today “Hard Mercy,” because I believe that true mercy is revealed and extended in the deepest depths of pain and suffering. At times we may exercise mercy as a “soft skill,” offered casually in situations that don’t cost us much personally. True mercy shows itself most when it comes at great personal price and inner sacrifice. Mercy can only be modeled after the Cross of Calvary. Joseph exemplifies this kind of mercy. Today, may we grow in our understanding of God’s mercy toward us and may we be filled with mercy toward even the most difficult people in our lives.
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Genesis story, Jacob leads his family out of exile back home to Canaan. At the end of such a long emotional journey, I would want to unwind and relax and get a good night’s sleep! Instead, Jacob is confronted by a night-long wrestling match with a man (identified as God or an angel of God). Eventually Jacob’s fellow wrestler concedes to Jacob, and dislocates his hip. When Jacob insists on a blessing, he is given a new name that acknowledges his transformation - Israel, meaning “one who wrestles with God”.
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The authors of Genesis pieced together legends from Israelite folklore, in particular in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. These tales spread orally for 900 years before being written down and another 400 years before taking the form that we can recognize. They are engaging narratives of the dysfunctional family of Abraham.
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
If you have spent any time with young children, you know the word “why” can be asked roughly 100 times per minute. They are trying to understand the world, and they have little shame in asking the same question over and over (and over). Talking about a shared experience is how they learn. Our (sometimes exasperated) hope as teachers is that they can make intentional choices based on learning and shared experiences.
In today’s Gospel from Matthew 9, we read: “No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.”
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do” is Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees in their judgment of him and his disciples eating “with tax collectors and sinners” in today’s gospel (Matthew 9:9-13). I hear an echo of these words in Pope Francis’ now famous quote about the Church needing to be “a field hospital” that cares for the sick and wounded after battle. How often I’ve heard people outside of church doors say they don’t attend because they feel judged and not welcome. Today’s gospel also reminds us that Jesus “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” And aren’t we all sinners?
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle
Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, the Apostle. Whenever his name is invoked the first thing that comes to mind is, “the doubter.” Thomas is the most famous “doubter” in history and he has been joined by other doubting “holy ones” along the way. As Jesus invites Thomas to draw closer and touch his wounds, despite his doubts, the Risen One engages those who sometimes doubt (you and me) to draw closer to him as well.
Yes we are in good company. Who were some famous “holy ones” who likewise doubted?
Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
There are moments in my life – staring out at a never-ending ocean, gazing into the vast openness of the Grand Canyon, stargazing in a California dessert, watching the eclipse last year – when I am physically reminded of my smallness in this gigantic universe. It is in these moments that I am also profoundly reminded of the majestic “bigness of God”. Thinking about how big God truly is often leaves me at a loss for words.
Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
How many times in life do we have the experience of our boat being rocked and pitched by a storm?
Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
On this feast of the first martyrs of the Church of Rome, I offer the following quote from Tacitus, Roman politician and writer of the first and second century:
“Nero fastened the guilty and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace… Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred for mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”
Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
I don’t know about you, but I am quite certain that I won’t be going tent camping in my 90s. Honestly, it would be a huge stretch for me to do that even in my 60s. Sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, with hard uneven ground beneath me, no toilet nearby, and humid air all around—that would be a recipe for very little sleep (any?) and one cranky Sue at breakfast.
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
About a year and a half ago I wrote about our new puppy; well, as one would imagine, that puppy is now almost two years old. His name is Bear and he is a “rescue” dog of mixed breed that has a lot of traits of a Border Collie, including high intelligence and lots of energy. We have an enclosed back yard where he loves to chase the squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and an occasional rabbit or groundhog. Given that the wooden fence is aging, he has on a couple of occasions found a loose slat and chased his prey right through the fence and out of our sight. He’s fast and focused when he’s chasing something. And that has resulted in “losing” him for a short period of time, inducing panic in me while I frantically search and call for him with his favorite treats in hand.
Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Each of us has a name that identifies who we are. There are also names or titles that help others recognize something that sets us apart. The name “Christian” was first used in Antioch (Acts 11:26), and this title indicates that a person is a follower of Christ or belongs to Christ. In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that just using His name does not make a person a true disciple.
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus tells us, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit . . . So by their fruits you will know them.” When we look at a tree growing in the woods, a park, or a field, we don’t always immediately recognize its species. My husband has an App on his phone that identifies plants, shrubs, and trees. He gets a real kick out of using it to help him gain the ability to more readily recognize plant species. But any of us can look at a tree and immediately determine whether it is diseased, dying, rotting, or decaying. Conversely, it’s easy to pick out a tree that is particularly vibrant – laden with fruit or nuts with healthy foliage and sturdy trunk. Just as our eyes can distinguish a good tree from a rotten tree, Jesus reminds us that it is by our fruits that we demonstrate to the world what kind of tree we are: morally and spiritually vibrant or the opposite. Let us ask God for the graces we need today to be spiritually healthy and maturing disciples and that the fruit we produce gives glory to God and leads others to him.