Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Let your "Yes" mean "Yes" and your "No" mean "No."(Matthew 5:37)
In the past, whenever I’ve read today’s Gospel passage, I interpret its message as say what you mean and mean what you say. However, perhaps there’s a deeper meaning. Jesus is not just saying do what you say you’re going to do but also be intentional with what you are going to say.
Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
June is here, flowers are blooming, and gardens are growing to produce delicious fruits and vegetables in due time. As someone who enjoys working in the dirt, I realize that there are some essentials when planting- good soil, sunshine and water. In today’s readings, we hear about the importance of water in giving and sustaining life. How often do we take this precious gift for granted, and in what ways can we gratefully protect this important resource?
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today presents the remarkable story of the Prophet Elijah taking on the prophets of Baal in an epic confrontation. As the last remaining prophet in Israel, Elijah is determined to call the people back to the One true God and to demonstrate the futility of serving false gods. This powerful narrative serves as a reminder to us to serve the Lord our God and God alone. Today let us repent of the ways in which we may have placed our trust in anything or anyone other than God and to recommit ourselves to Him, asking for the grace we need to be faithful and obedient followers.
Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle
Inspiration for my reflection on today’s Gospel comes, once again, from the wisdom of my kindergarten students this past year. During cafeteria duty I noticed that about once a week the kids’ meals came with a soft pretzel on the side. I love salty snacks and would have to say that pretzels are one of my favorite go-tos for a lunch side. But as I walked around I noticed most of the kids either didn’t eat their pretzels or picked the salt off them. Curious, and a little horrified, I asked a few of them one day why they did that. The answer was always the same, “It’s too salty. I just like it plain.”
Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Mountains and hills dot the landscape of Palestine and are mentioned more than 500 times in the Bible. High places had a logical symbolism being “closer to the God who dwells in the heavens.” A mountain top was a natural place for theophany. God’s revelation was often on a high place. And such Old Testament references mattered a great deal, particularly to Matthew’s Jewish laden audience.
Matthew has six significant mountain scenes: Jesus’ temptation (Matthew 4:8), the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12), a number of healings (Matthew 15:29-31), the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), Jesus’ final discourse (Matthew 24:3), and the commissioning of the Twelve (Matthew 28:16-20).
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“And his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51)
Today’s memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary directs us to look at Mary’s interior life. In the Gospels, we read twice that Mary kept things in her heart: today’s Gospel passage when she and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple and in Luke 2:19 when the shepherds told Mary and Joseph what the angels said. Therefore, Mary is a model of prayer for us, so we can learn from her how to pray with and see God in the events and interactions with people in our lives.
Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
“O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you!” (Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, 84) We have a two foot tall statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the mantel in our living room that was passed down from my grandparents. It holds a special place in my heart (not nearly as sacred) because of the familial connection and because of how it has inspired our family to pray together. In the Spring of 2020, soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we started a 54-day novena to the Divine Mercy. Each night at 9PM, we gathered on zoom with our parents and LeeAnn’s grandparents to pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy together. We finished the novena and decided to just keep going. Selfishly, it was a great way to connect with our parents and grandparents, all of whom live hours away so our kids not only got to pray with them, but they talked to and saw them regularly. Four years later, we still have a standing nine o’clock virtual meeting to pray the chaplet. Some nights the call is quick because we just log on, pray, and say goodnight; other nights, we are on the call for 45 minutes telling stories and sharing updates. The Sacred Heart of Jesus has drawn us into closer relationships with one another and created a powerful connection for our family.
Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
I teach a class at UD in which we study the rhetoric of Protestant fundamentalism and the Amish. On the first day of class, I always ask students to reflect a bit, first on paper and then in discussion as a class, on the tradition in which they grew up. For most students, that is Catholicism. Most, in fact, not only went to Mass every Sunday but also attended Catholic schools from elementary all the way to UD.
Inevitably, as we study the rhetoric of fundamentalism, they recognize it. They didn’t know that what they were being taught in Mass and in school had its origins in fundamentalism. Now they do. And it puzzles them that their Catholic world has been infiltrated by a belief system that is in many ways different from the Catholicism of the Church since Vatican II.
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
I love post-it notes. I love all the fun colors and different sizes and how they help me organize my life. While I use post-it notes to remind me of my to-do list, record groceries we’ve run out of or make lists of the things I need my kids to do, I also love to write sayings or verses that strike me that I need to remember. I write them and hang them on my mirror or my door – places I will be sure to see them every day. As I read through today’s readings, I needed my post-it notes.
In the first reading I found myself drawn to the lines, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord…but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings present several invitations to keep our focus on God’s gifts to us and “the hope that belongs to God’s call” (Alleluia verse).
Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Psalm 93, our responsorial today, is the basis of one the most popular of Catholic hymns: On Eagles Wings: “You who dwell in the
shelter of the Most High/ who abide in the shadow of the Almighty/ Say to the LORD, “‘My refuge, my God, in whom I trust.’"
Writer Colleen Dulle put it this way: “We Catholics hold a few unshakable truths: Jesus is present in the Eucharist, Mary was conceived without sin, and when On Eagles Wings plays, we cry.”
Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.” (Psalm 63:2)
I used to live in Southern California. While I lived there, I learned that people talk about water quite a bit or rather the lack of water. California is in a drought, so much of the vegetation there is brown, not green. I lived in a city called Riverside which is next to a river, but the river is dried up. People referred to the spring, summer, and early fall as wildfire season, but because the land was so dry, wildfires could happen any time of the year. However, during one of the winters while I was still living there, the area received a lot of rain. Afterwards, grass grew and flowers bloomed. To illustrate, in Riverside, there is a mountain with a hiking trail called Mount Rubidoux, which usually looks brown and dry, but with all the rain, it was very green, covered in grass. Upon reflecting on today’s Responsorial Psalm, plants needing rain is a good analogy for our faith. Do we water our faith and let it blossom or does it dry up?
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I don’t recall previously knowing that my grandmother’s birthday is on the Feast of the Visitation, although there’s a good chance I did know it when younger and forgot. Now that I’m older and reflecting more on family and faith, especially those who “have gone before us,” this seems important to me. My mother’s mother whose middle name was Elizabeth and named her youngest daughter (my mother) Elizabeth, who gave her middle daughter (that’s me) the middle name of Mary, who gave her (my) only daughter the middle name of Elizabeth. This feast of the visitation of Mary to her kinswoman Elizabeth has a greater significance for me in this year of my mom’s passing.
Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s first reading, we are called to be “living stones” just like Jesus. Nature is often used to convey ideas about experiences related to our faith, although our busy lives lessen our awareness of the created world around us. What might it mean to be “living stones” and how are we called to live out this calling?
Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Isn’t it wonderful to recognize progress in the spiritual life, both in yourself and in others? “Every day is a new day to begin again,” my husband always says. Every day brings a new opportunity for conversion; another invitation to become a little bit more holy, slightly more like Jesus, perfected in love even just a bit. As I prayed today’s Gospel, I suddenly recognized some of the conversion that took place in the Apostle John. Perhaps the growth that marked the life of this great saint might inspire us to lean into our own conversion this day.
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“Be holy because I am holy” Our readings present a call to discipleship that is very challenging. At first glance it’s nearly impossible. We are to be holy like Jesus? That’s a non-starter. I am very aware of my foibles and failings, and get discouraged facing big projects and long-term goals. When I view holiness as a perfection that only canonized saints ever attain, I want to give up even trying.
Yet, the call to holiness is for everyone, and is rooted in our Baptism. The meaning of the word holy is being sacred, set apart and belonging to God, and to be a vessel of God’s presence. Each of us is unique, with our own set of gifts and challenges. The call to holiness is to be truly and fully who we are as beloved of God - no more and no less. The world needs each of us!
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” - Mark 10:25.
Since the third century, scholars and saints alike have explained that the “eye of the needle” referred to a particular gate in the wall of Jerusalem. During the day, this large entry was wide open through which a camel could easily pass. But at night, the larger gate was closed leaving a smaller opening in the gate that allowed only people to pass. A camel, however, could not meander that smaller opening unless it got down on its knees, had its load removed from its back, and crawled through.
Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading is about the importance and power of prayer. St. James advised Christian disciples to pray when someone is suffering and/or sick, for each other, and for those who have wandered away from the faith. He wrote, “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful,” (Jas 5:16). I remember when I was an RCIA sponsor, the catechumen I was sponsoring asked me for recommendations on prayers to pray. Even though she was asking for specific formulaic prayers, I told her to just talk to God instead. Weeks later, during a small group discussion during an RCIA session, she spoke about how helpful her conversations with God were to her faith. As St. Alphonse Liguori in his work Selected Writings wrote, “Never forget the sweet presence of God, as do the majority of people. Talk to God as often as you can, for he never tires of listening to you as do the great ones of this earth.... Tell him everything that happens to you; tell him about all your concerns just as you would to a dearest friend." If we are to deepen our relationship with God, especially as a “dearest friend”, we need to encounter and spend time with God, which is done through prayer.
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another” (Jas 5:9). Oh man, talk about coming right out of the gate with a strong message in the first reading today. Naturally, I think about the many ways my children find to complain about each other on a daily basis. I have distinct memories of doing the same thing with my siblings growing up. It seems to be a natural human habit that begins at an early age and continues throughout life, in every group, setting, relationship, and community. I can cite examples in my house, at work, in the church, and find lots of examples throughout the Bible. But James warns us today to beware of internal bickering. Do not turn on one another. We need to lean on our brothers and sisters for strength, encouragement, accountability, compassion, and love as we journey through the joys and challenges of this world. And despite our complaints and grumblings, “the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (Jas 5:11).
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time
Two Sundays ago (May 12), Father James Heft gave those gathered at the 11:00 Mass at Immaculate Conception a brilliant homily in which, among other things, he reminded us that the Bible is complicated and that we need to be able to hear when the texts we encounter are hyperbolic. One of the examples he pointed to was the reading before us today. As he put it (I am obviously paraphrasing) is that if all sinners—that is, all of us—were to take Jesus’ commands in Mark’s text literally, we would be reduced to torsos with no appendages and no eyeballs.