Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Today is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. It is hard to think of St. Paul without first thinking of him lying flat on his back after the Lord decided it was time to talk some sense into him. Arguably, he has one of the most intense conversion experiences of anyone in Scripture. We see that there is power in it too. He uses the radical change that Christ wrought in his life to make clear that Christ is the Son of God. However, I think most of us have a decent level of familiarity with Paul's part in his conversion, let's turn our eyes instead to Ananias.
Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
I admit that I have been guilty of envy. I have been jealous of other people who seem to have what I want for myself or my family. And I have been envious of other people’s children when they seem to have it all together with almost no effort or struggle. Granted, what the outside world sees is usually not the whole picture. Except with the closest of friends and family, we often don’t see the true struggles that others are going through. And who doesn’t like to be admired and praised and thought highly of? I know it’s a real temptation to want to “look good” to others and to be envious of those who seem to have what we don’t. It can be a poison in our lives if it goes unchecked.
Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
Serving God faithfully is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple. This is not always an easy task as it seems we regularly encounter obstacles to our service. These situations or people may seem to us as impediments or challenges, and on one level this is true. However, there is another level that lies below the surface that suggests we look inward more deeply. The stories in our today’s readings leave us amazed as to the depth of courage needed to serve the Lord.
Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Yesterday we remembered a man of great faith and conviction, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps no other figure in the history of our nation embodied the power of faith in the struggle for justice. One of the themes Dr. King constantly returned to in his writings and sermons was the intimate relationship of “means and ends” in the pursuit of peace. For example, he states, “We must see that the end represents the means in process and the ideal in the making.” The pursuit of peace, authentic peace, cannot be enacted through violence, through the tip of the sword, or the barrel of a gun. For Dr. King, true authentic peace is more than the absence of violence. It is unity in Christ and the affirmation of the image of God in every person. This unity and affirmation is not only the goal but also the means whereby we achieve this goal. Today’s readings coincide nicely with our remembrance of Dr. King.
Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
While reflecting on today’s Scripture, I am struck by the contrast between the relationship God has with humanity before Jesus and after Jesus. I started wondering what it must have been like to live in Old Testament times before the coming of Christ. How can we possibly appreciate how great a blessing it is to live now—in the Light of Christ.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mikhail Kalashnikov died last month at the age of 94. For those of you are not familiar with this name, he is the inventor of the world's most familiar and widely used weapon – the AK 47. Mikhail Kalashnikov spent a lifetime designing and perfecting assault rifles and more than a 100 million Kalashnikovs were been sold. After his death, it was revealed that In May 2012, he wrote a letter to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. I want to read parts of the letter for you. He says, "I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?" "The longer I live," he continues, "the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man to have the devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression". He also reveals in this letter that he first went into a church at the age of 91 and was later baptized. He signs this letter, “A slave of God, the designer Mikhail Kalashnikov."
Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Analytically, there is a lot going on in today's readings. There is a call, an anointing, a promise, a commission, and then there is this passage: "While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot
I have several cookbooks that focus on feast days for saints. For Saint Anthony, one of these cookbooks offers a rich and hearty meal of barbecued pork ribs. It's a joke that this is the celebratory food, the cookbook notes, because Anthony, a desert hermit, avoided meat in his diet. Several stories are told about his life when he was tempted by food or sex but overcame it. He is honored particularly for his ability to face both fear and temptation directly, rather than trying to avoid or sugarcoat them. So, the cookbook author suggests: we can eat the pork - or maybe trying to stare down the pork dish and NOT eat it, in honor of Anthony.
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings bring up one of the hardest questions I have about faith – “Where is God when horrible things happen? Where is God when we feel we are defeated? Where is God in the pain?” I often wonder why God doesn’t stop the hardships and the tragedy, why we have to feel such intense pain and loss. While I do not have a theological answer to this question, I do have faith that God is with me in the hard times, not causing them or willing them, but holding, supporting and guiding me as I struggle through them.
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The readings today fit well in this first week after Christmas season as they give us an answer to the question, “well now what?” After all of the joy and wonder of the past few weeks, we have now entered ordinary time through the bookend of the Christmas season that is the Baptism of the Lord. It is through the waters of baptism that we enter a life of discipleship. Our discipleship can sometimes get lost in the day to day grind of living, our own “ordinary time”. Today’s reading is a guide of how to be alive in a way that leads us to serve the Lord faithfully.
Tuesday of the First week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading is a rather curious scene. A woman named Hannah is crying out to the Lord to help her bear a son. A priest named Eli sees her praying and it is so boisterous that he thinks she is drunk. He says to her, “How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!” Hannah’s misery is so great that she cannot control herself and she is “weeping copiously.” In the end, Eli realizes his mistake—Hannah is not drunk at all--and wishes her well. The story has a happy ending, with Hannah giving birth to Samuel, prophet and leader of Israel.
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today the reading is the call of the apostles from the Gospel of Mark. When I was reflecting on the reading, a song I learned long ago came to mind. “I heard the Lord call my name listen close you’ll hear the same. Take my hand and we are glory bound.” These lines remind me that each of us have a particular call to follow Christ, however it is when we follow Him and serve together that we are best able to give God glory.
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Nelson Mandela is one of my modern day heroes. I like him not only because of his struggle for freedom but I admire his character. I admire his political maturity, his patience and his single-minded devotion to the cause of freedom. I learnt after his death that while he was in prison he was actually very submissive. He submitted to hard labor in a stone quarry and to the very demanding prison regimen. But his dignified submission was also the secret of his authority. He was able to have influence over prison wardens and over fellow prisoners. He used the time to study Afrikaans, to know his oppressors, understand their philosophy, and gain absolute mastery over the situation. This dignified submission along with his knowledge of his oppressors helped him transition South Africa peacefully from an oppressive society into a democracy. At his inauguration as President of South Africa, he invited his prison warden to the ceremony, forgave him, and invited the rest of South Africa to do the same. His forgiveness of his oppressors was one reason that South Africa did not slide back into racial violence. Submission is powerful.
Saturday after Epiphany
As I fumbled with how to start this reflection I typed nonsense, wriggled my fingers above the key board, typed and deleted several attempts and then was convinced that I had no good way to start today's reflection. I mentioned this to my wife, Bess. She simply said, “Maybe that's what you should do. Just write about that and I bet it will tie in somehow.” Obviously, since this wasn't my idea, I thought it was preposterous... but low and behold, here we are. She was right – I imagine any wives reading this right now are nodding their heads knowingly. The whole encounter took me back a week.
Friday after Epiphany
I think one of the hardest things about being a Christian is living like we believe. It's so, so easy to get caught up in worrying about the future (or the past) and to forget the great love God has for us. That's especially because we don't (usually) feel or see that love all the time.
Thursday after Epiphany
What would you say if you were asked if you love God? It seems like a silly or at least very simple question, especially for someone reading a daily scripture reflection. I think my immediate response would be, “Yes, of course I love God.” Today’s first reading (1 John 4:19-5:4), however, can bring us to pause and consider how much we truly love God. It challenges that if we say “I love God” but then hate our brother, then we are a liar, for “whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (vs.20) This reading is saying that our love for God is shown in our love for one another. It may seem obvious, but if that is the measure of my love for God, then I’m afraid it wouldn’t measure up as much as I would like to think or say it does.
Wednesday after Epiphany
It is amazing how blest we are and yet how often we fail to recognize it. Driving to work on one of these icy days, my car slid a whole lane on the highway. My reaction, after I got beyond the fear, was that I was lucky that no one was in that lane. Recently, my brother was driving in a snow storm and had to swerve to miss a carpet and carpet tacks lying across the lane in which he was driving. After safely getting past this carpet, he decided to stop and pull the hazard to the side of the road so that no one else might be put in danger. While moving the last piece of debris, which was heavier than he expected, a car came flying down the road towards him. In nearly, white conditions he just barely got off the road. After he got past the fear, he realized that he had been protected by something beyond natural. My brother believed an angel saved him and that it was a miracle.
Tuesday after Epiphany
Today’s scriptural passages are so rich for reflection that it’s a bit difficult to narrow it down to a few paragraphs. My thoughts for today will revolve around the term empowerment. Empowerment is a common term, applied in a multitude of contexts. However, I’d like to focus on how these scriptures speak to our empowerment as disciples and the Body of Christ.
Monday after Epiphany
A friend of mine and her husband have been going through a difficult time the last few months. She was diagnosed with cancer and has undergone major surgery and months of chemotherapy. Many people have been praying for them and will continue to do so. My friend has good days and rough days. Sometimes she becomes very fatigued suddenly and their activities are arranged so they can get home quickly in case she needs to rest. Her husband takes to her chemotherapy, and appointments and Mass and has even tried his hand at cooking. Their relationship and devotion to one another touches me. What they have been through these last months and how they have lived it reminds me that, on this way to Jesus, we do not bring only ourselves—we bring one another.