Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene
This past weekend was an intense lesson on marriage. On one hand, my brother in-law was married in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His wife is a wonderful person. The wedding was beautiful. It was a fitting start to a long and fruitful life together. On the other hand, the day before the wedding my wife’s grandmother passed from this life. Only a handful of weeks earlier, her husband, my wife’s grandfather, also passed from this life. Though unspeakably sad, the two passing so close together was also quite romantic and deeply touching. Thus, in the midst of celebration, there was mourning. In the midst of mourning, hope and joy. Two sides of this wonderful sacrament of marriage converged over one weekend.
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” In reading this, I may be tempted to go to Kroger and buy everything I need to make a fresh blackberry pie. In that case, I will have completely missed the point! The point is that most of us walk around unaware that God is present to us in every single moment of our daily lives. We are mostly unaware of his presence. In fact, if we actually recognized the presence of God at every single moment, we may indeed walk around without shoes for the rest of our lives!
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of last Sunday’s gospel about the sower and the seed. Today we have the parable of the weeds among the wheat, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the yeast in the dough. These parables are so powerful that it is often possible to miss the detail that the parables are about the the ‘mysteries of the Kingdom of God.’ Jesus says, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.” In a very real sense, then, to focus merely on the parables is to miss the point. We should really be focusing on the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that these parables reveal.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Thank the Lord for my wife, Bess.
Really, I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m honestly starting this reflection this way because I am truly grateful for her. Bess is, as I told Immaculate Conception’s Youth Ministry, my prophetess. She doesn’t predict the future, but she does challenge me as prophets in the Biblical sense are supposed to do. To put it in the words of my father, “She seems really good, she calls him on his crap.” One of the biggest areas that I need this challenge is my own forgetfulness.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's gospel reading one of my favorite Gospel readings. Jesus says to us, "“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest."To know that there is a place of rest and peace amidst the work we do is so refreshing, so uplifting, and so hopeful. I have often heard this gospel reading used at funerals, to reassure those mourning that the deceased is now in a place of rest and peace. While I think this is very important, I think that there are also three very real ways to find rest from the work and to lighten the burden here on earth too.
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A friend and I were recently discussing this previous Sunday’s gospel reading the parable of the sower. As we were talking, I shared about my own experience of gardening. After having let the garden go I have spent much of spring a summer trying to recover the good plants from the weeds and thorns that have been choking them. Pulling the weeds helped but when I didn’t get the roots, it looked pretty for a few days and then the weeds were right back. What remained hidden was a vast root system that empowered the bad plants to continue to thrive. What lay beneath the surface had more power to control what was on the surface than I could have anticipated.
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure
Today’s psalm will jump out to anyone who has been following international news in the past few weeks. Although it has unfortunately been happening for so long, the violence in Israel-Palestine has opened fresh wounds of animosity and hostility in the Holy Land. There have been numerous deaths on both sides, and the violence shows no signs of stopping any time soon. In the midst of such tragedy, it is difficult to pray today’s psalm: “God upholds his city forever.” Jerusalem is still standing, and although a beacon of hope for peaceful coexistence and community among the world’s religions, sometimes one wonders if it isn’t a fragile treasure on the brink of becoming a casualty of war.
Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Family is a very important part of my life. Trying to create harmony within my family and make everyone happy has always been something that I strive to accomplish. That is why today’s gospel reading causing me to pause and wonder what Jesus is trying to tell me about what it means to be a family in Christ. The family was a very important part of the Jewish culture in which Jesus had been brought up. Why would He suggest that parents and children would be turned against each other because of Him? I think that Jesus is calling us to a different way of being a family with Him at the center. If I am going to follow Jesus, then He should come before all things- including my family. Jesus should be the one who shows me how to be wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister. For me this is not an easy task, since doing His will may sometimes be a source of conflict for other family members or friends. Jesus does not call me to love my family less, but to love Him more than anything or anyone else. Jesus reminds us if we want to “find our life” and who we are meant to be in our family, we must lose our lives and “follow Him.”
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In my hands I have my Bible. This Bible was not a gift. I purchased this Bible about three years into my seminary life. I saved money for six months to purchase it. After my initial conversion from being a nominal Catholic to a more serious Catholic, God’s word became my passion. Part of my initial conversion was the realization that my primary call was not merely to be a priest but first and foremost to be a disciple. And the question I struggled with was, “Who is a disciple?” If Jesus were to call me like he did the disciples, what would he want from me? To understand this, I delved into the gospels and later into the whole Bible like a child into a cookie jar. And if you glance through my Bible, you will see that it is highlighted in rainbow colors. This Bible is twenty-eight years old. It was in tatters and falling apart. I wanted to replace this old one with a new one but I soon realized that this Bible was not just another book. This Bible represented my conversion, my faith journey, my life and my relationship with God. This Bible was not something, it was somebody. In many ways, this Bible was a Sacrament, the real presence of God through God’s word. Knowing how dear this Bible was to me, a very dear friend of mine got is restored. Today, I take the Bible on all my retreats, classes and seminars. This Bible is not my book. This Bible is my best friend.
Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My son, Andrew, is obsessed with "Thomas and Friends" - a popular cartoon featuring a diverse collection of personified trains living on the Island of Sodor. In fact, my wife recently heard him making "choo choo" sounds in his sleep. The next morning she asked him if he had been dreaming about Thomas the Tank Engine and he promptly replied, "Yeth" (Yes). We've watched so many episodes of "Thomas and Friends" that I often find myself randomly singing the theme song throughout the day! Like many cartoons scripted for small children, lessons of honesty, compassion, teamwork, perseverance, and respect for authority are readily offered to the young viewing audience. However, I've noticed that "Thomas and Friends" does something that I rarely see other cartoons doing- something I like quite a bit. And that's this: the personal flaws of each character are obviously made known to the viewer, while never being glorified. It's no secret that Thomas can be a wise guy, Gordon is pompous, and the Troublesome Trucks are rude and mischievous. Even in the theme song, the children unashamedly sing that "James is vain" as the credits role.
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As our scout troop was setting up our campsite this week, we were working ahead of schedule and all was going well until it started to get dark. Upon asking the scout in charge if we were going to put up any lanterns he shared with me that one of the lights was broken and two others needed batteries. Fortunately, we had some extra batteries and with extras from the scouts, we did just fine. It also helped that most of the scouts had their own flashlights, so we were covered.
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings are quite challenging. Both are prophetic criticisms of misunderstood faith and practice. Each, in their fashion, describe the desire to domesticate the love and glory of God in human structures (otherwise known as idolatry). In both cases, this idolatry is perceived as faithfulness to the God of Israel. In both cases, even these well intended structure becomes an obstacle to God. Ultimately, these readings challenge us to reflect on the ways that we often confuse our frail and finite edifices for God’s enduring and eternal holiness.
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend an extended period of time with my niece’s two year old daughter, Brynn. It was so much fun for me as I do not get the opportunity to be around toddlers very often. They are certainly a busy lot! I noticed how determined she was to do everything by herself. She would try and open a juice box or do something else all by herself and when she found she couldn’t do it she would get frustrated and impatient. Eventually her mom or dad would say, “Say ‘help please’”. So she would blurt out ‘help, please!” And then everything would work out fine. I was so struck by how I can identify with this 2 year old! I do not like asking for help. I like to think I can do everything by myself and I don’t like asking for help from anyone. But what my niece and her husband were teaching this precious baby was that it is okay to ask for help from other people. And not only that, but when we feel helpless and are humble enough to ask for help, things get accomplished that would never happen when we insist on doing it alone.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I was on my way to St. Helen for mass on Thursday. I had just crossed Linden Ave on Woodman Drive. This segment, all the way up to the Wright Patterson air force base, is a target speed enforcement zone. When I go for mass in the morning is also peak traffic hour. On Thursday, as soon as I crossed the lights, I noticed a red truck behind me. He was driving too close to me for my comfort. Obviously, he could not change lanes because of the heavy traffic on the left lane. I put my right turn signal early enough for the driver to know that I will be right turning into St. Helens. Like all people do, I slowed down close to the drive ti turn. And as I did in the rear view mirror I saw the driver flip me off. Did he do that simply because I had slowed him down? Did he do that because I drove the speed limit? Did he do it because he was impatient? I have no idea. I only know this – that this is a learnt behavior.
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I might be the only one, but have you ever questioned why you should go to confession? Maybe the idea didn’t even come from you. Maybe you were having a conversation with someone that went a little like this (we’ll call the other person Siegfried):
Siegfried: Hey, do you want to come over on Sunday.
You: Actually, I can’t I have to go to church.
Siegfried: Oh, ok. So are you Christian?
You: Yeah, I am; I’m Catholic.
Siegfried: Don’t you have to go to a priest or something when you do something wrong?
You: Well, I mean, kind of…
Siegfried: Why?
You: …
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle
Today’s Gospel reading is a familiar story to many of us – in it we hear how Thomas did not believe until he touched the wounds and put his hands in the side of the Lord. He had doubt – serious, strong, faith-shaking doubt. This is not unusual for us. I think that most of us have gone through times in our lives where our faith did not make sense to us, and we prayed as Thomas did, to have concrete, tangible evidence of the Lord. Often times these moments make our faith even stronger once we come out of them.