Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth,” is the psalm response for today (Ps. 121:2). While it seems to be spoken confidently, the psalm itself bespeaks a kind of desperation, and a confidence in the Lord because of that desperation: “I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me?” (Ps. 121:1).
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
“Eat and Be Satisfied”
Today we celebrate that wonderful Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, the sacred mysteries we celebrate at every Mass, and every time we come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. This is a wonderful feast because it highlights for us the amazing gift Jesus has given to us of Himself, under the appearance of bread and wine.
Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and Martyr
Today’s readings challenge us to reflect on both apostleship and discipleship. As we come to the end of the Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy, Paul charges his young protégé to persevere in the work of spreading the gospel. As Paul has been sent (the word “apostle” literally means “one who has been sent”) by Christ, Paul is continuing the apostolic line by sending forth Timothy. Paul knows that his time on earth is coming to an end; he is about to be martyred. He has in Timothy, a successor in his apostolic work. Paul makes no bones about the difficulty of such a task – Timothy will need persistence to handle the hardships as well as wisdom to teach, to reprimand, to convince, and to encourage.
Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
As a pastor, there are numerous kinds of questions that I am asked. Some are meant to clarify issues, others are meant to decipher my opinion, and still others are meant to trap me. One teenager the other day asked me if I like beer. I evaded the question because I think the youngster was looking for a justification for her own behavior. If she could say that Fr. Satish likes beer, then she could find a reason to avoid kicking the habit.
Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga, martyr, and his companions, martyrs
Today’s first reading and gospel passage both feature the word “with.” Now, granted, “with” is not the kind of word that normally stands out. It’s a preposition, meaning that it serves to make a connection between two other words or phrases. But it stands out today because the connection it makes seems so important. In St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy today, we encounter “with” in a well-known passage: “If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tm. 2:11-12). These short sentences tell us something about life as a Christian. It is not life alone, it is life with Christ. Christians die with Christ, live with Christ, and ultimately, reign with Christ in heaven. We share Christ’s sufferings, Christ’s joys, and Christ’s final glory. Paul himself is performing this passage as he writes it; he is suffering for Christ in the hopes that others may share in this life with Christ. Again, the life of a Christian is not solitary. It is life with Christ and for Christ, with others and for others.
Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
It’s been said, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger?” For most of us, this statement brings very little comfort. Adversity is not likely to ever be seen as a friend of our faith, yet its existence demands we adopt a pro-active approach and response. As human beings it is difficult to imagine being fully prepared in advanced for the struggles that we will encounter, however our awareness is in itself important preparation.
Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
On this first day of the month of June, we are in the 9th Week of Ordinary Time. Sunday brought us the celebration of the Most Holy Trinity and yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now, however, we have just an ordinary day where we return to counting the weeks of our time walking with the Lord. Today we have a snippet of the Second Letter of St. Peter. This excerpt is eschatological; in other words, it is concerned with the end of earth. This is often a theme of early Christian writers; Paul as well as Peter. And when we look back, we might be tempted to think they were mistaken. They thought the end of the world was coming, and coming soon, and... it has been 2000 years.
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today in our country we celebrate Memorial Day, where we call to mind all of those who have died while serving in our armed forces. Such an observance reminds us of the cost and sacrifice of war. Today in our Church, however, we have a great feast that reminds us of the beauty and joy of bringing God to others. This is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when we remember Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Today we celebrate that great Christian mystery that God is one, but He is also Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the first reading from the Book of Proverbs we find wisdom personified. It is easy to see how the early Church fathers saw this holy wisdom present at creation as a reference to Jesus, and some authors saw this wisdom as a veiled reference to the Holy Spirit.
Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The scriptural readings for today focus on the notion of authority. This is an interesting subject to reflect upon precisely because our society is becoming increasingly distrustful of many traditional forms of authority. In many instances, “authority” seems to mean the domination of the will, as the power of one person (or small group of people) coerces the wills of other people for arbitrary reasons. In our world, we often encounter the misuse of authority and so we may view all authority through this lens. Today’s scriptural readings can perhaps help us to better appreciate the enduring importance of authority and the great responsibility that authority brings with it.
Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
I'd hate to be the fig tree in today's gospel (Mark 11:11-26). Through no fault of its own, entirely because it is the wrong season, it has no figs to offer when a hungry Jesus walks by. And for that crime, it is cursed and withers away in one day. You could say it went through a pretty extraordinary dry spell, in fact.
Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel passage from Mark is a healing story, and, as such, it might be easy to pass over it as unremarkable. A man suffering from an ailment (in this case blindness) petitions Jesus for healing, and Jesus responds by healing him. It’s a common plot, but that does not make the story uninteresting or unimportant. What stands out from this story is the closing line: “Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way” (Mk. 10:52).
Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
With Easter now behind us, we are into Ordinary Time. The challenge before us is to appreciate that there is nothing ordinary about being a disciple. Discipleship by definition means living as a “radical follower of Christ,” that is one who is “rooted” in the Lord.
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s first reading from the First Letter of St. Peter, we read about the glories which followed Jesus’ sufferings (1:11). We focused on these sufferings of Christ during Lent, and especially during Triduum, and then we celebrated the glories in the long Easter Season. Now we have begun the long march toward the end of the liturgical year, some six months, more or less, from now. But we must keep in mind during this time that we continually celebrate the glories of Christ. The Holy Spirit, whose descent we celebrated two days ago at Pentecost, brings us the manifold glories of Christ, and the Spirit does so at all times, and in all seasons.
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The liturgical season of Easter has finally ended, and yesterday we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost. Pentecost serves as a reminder to us that we were not left alone when Jesus ascended into heaven. Instead, we continue to have God with us, in the form of the Holy Spirit. So as we return to the season known as “Ordinary Time,” we must not be tempted to think of this season as ordinary or boring. Instead, we are back to counting the weeks of our walk with the Lord; “Ordinary” refers to the “ordinal” numbers with which we count. This is a Spirit-guided walk with the Lord. The Holy Spirit is among us, helping us to grow in love of God and imitation of Christ.
Solemnity of Pentecost
Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the birth of the Church and the descent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is a very important feast in the liturgical life of the Church, because it celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who comes to dwell within each one of us at our baptism. Confirmation is of course the Sacrament which helps us unlock the full potential of the gifts of the Spirit in our lives as Christians. But the importance of the gift of the Spirit in our lives, and thus in the life of the Church, is what makes Pentecost such an important celebration.
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
We have come to the last day of the Easter Season, and with it to the end of both the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John, both of which we have been following throughout the Easter Season. Both of these endings gesture toward the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome.
Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
I think sometimes people treat church like it is mainly a social outlet - a place to see friends and "be seen." Church is seen as just that thing most people do for an hour on Sunday rather than as a whole way of life meant to affect everything we do. Today's scriptures remind us of the reason for church and for this Christian way of life.
One of the story lines that is consistent throughout the Book of Acts, as well as evident in Paul's letters, is the ongoing question of whether Christians are Jewish, or their own separate group. At the beginning of Acts, they most clearly look like a small group of Jews. The twelve apostles are Jewish and their customs are very Jewish. In parts of Acts we read about how the earliest Christians went to worship in the synagogue, and that they read the Old Testament as scripture.
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Pentecost is quickly approaching, and the liturgical season of Easter finally coming to an end. What does the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost signify? Unity, for one thing. We see this foreshadowed dramatically in Jesus’ words of prayer in the gospel of John in today’s passage: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn. 17:20-21). The unity of his followers is something for which Jesus prays, and the cause of unity is one reason for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
As the Easter season draws to a close, the readings show us parallel images of Paul and Jesus drawing their ministries to a close. They are admonishing the believers to be protective of their faith. Both are mindful of the near future when their physical presence will be absent from the communities they have nurtured and guided to this point.