Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
In today’s psalm we are told, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” I hear in this message that we must take all things we do to prayer. In this prayer we must ask the Lord, to be our guide and to show us the way. It is better to live a life following God’s will and living out Jesus’ message than it is to give into the worldly pressures of our society. We are told that those who build their houses on rock – Christ – will survive and those who build their homes on the things of this world – sand – will crumble.
Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
Have you ever climbed a mountain? How does the experience of being on a mountain differ from being in the valley? Mountain climbing certainly can be a physically exhausting process. Yet part of the reason for going up a mountain often goes well beyond the physical. For those who have done it, getting to the top of a mountain is gratifying in an almost surreal way. Being at the top can be a spiritual experience. From the mountain top we see a perspective of the big picture that is often invisible from the valley. In my own experience, the beauty of the mountain top is enlivened by snow, clouds or even a fast approaching storm whose electricity demands our flight.
Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
In 1980, CNN started the first ever 24-hour newscast. Back then, people were skeptical, and the network’s ratings showed it. Who needed news 24 hours a day? Wasn’t the nightly network newscast coupled with a local newscast and maybe a newspaper enough for the average American? Apparently not as many other 24-hour news networks followed and, over time, gained in popularity.
Monday of the First Week of Advent
Advent is the favorite time of year for many, shining with the virtue of hope. All religions are about faith and love. But Christianity alone places hope on equal footing.
Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus warned his disciples of being lax in their expectation of the coming of the Kingdom of God and the Son of Man. The evangelist Luke wrote to the early Christian community who were expecting the second coming of Jesus to arrive soon. Perhaps they were trying to predict specific dates and times of when this will happen. On the contrary, Jesus said that rather than be concerned about the precise date, his disciples should be vigilant.
Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Although humanity has experienced violence, wars, and natural disasters (not counting global climate change) for more than the two thousand years since the gospels were written, it seems we still hear (or say) the end times must be near. And as a people, don’t we like to know, to predict, to plan for and have control over our lives and future? It seems to be part of our human nature. The disciples of Jesus similarly wanted to know what to expect and when.
Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Today is the feast day of the apostle St. Andrew. Both readings today highlight the importance of listening to and acting on God’s word. There are several times in the gospels where Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” How often are we listening to hear God speak to us, and if we aren’t listening, how can we do His will?
Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The title of today's reflection, a play on the line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, illustrates the dichotomous light we may need to illuminate our own actions. Although the readings speak to the end times, a more overwhelming message rises to the top as we quickly approach Advent. Simply put, the times of trial and persecution will lead us to testify to our faith, in other words, to glorify God.
Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The future is not known to us human beings. And we don’t like that very much. To make it more rather than less predictable, we build structures in our lives—like jobs, schedules, habits, savings accounts, and so forth. These structures give us a sense of security and peace about what the future will be like.
Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today our response to the first reading from Daniel is a canticle also from Daniel:
Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever!
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever!
Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Both readings from today are intriguing. The Gospel seems like it is a commentary on marriage, but actually, it’s the attempt of the Sadducees who don’t believe in the resurrection to trap Jesus who preached about resurrection. Some context might be helpful. In Jesus’ time, it was believed that one or really a man (women weren’t considered in this Jewish law) continued his life by having children. However, rather than contradict himself by specifying a brother or saying that all the brothers were the wife’s husband, Jesus responded to the Sadducees that in the resurrection, people don’t die and thus there is no need to continue one’s life by marrying and having children. Looking at the reaction of the scribes, it seemed that Jesus was successful at getting out of that trap.
Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves (Lk 19:46). At the heart of today’s gospel is Jesus coming into the temple and cleaning house. He proceeded to drive them out with the words above, referencing Old Testament scripture from Isaiah and Jeremiah. The irony of this gospel falling on the infamous US non-holiday tradition of ‘Black Friday’ and the day after Thanksgiving is not lost on me either. Along with schools, many businesses and organizations are closed this weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanksgiving Day
I think it’s safe to say that most of us have heard or read today’s gospel story (Luke 17: 11-19) many, many times in our lives. The Healing of the Ten Lepers is a very familiar story, which, as a result, can cause us to skim over it quickly and not reflect deeply, being tempted just to say, “Oh, I know that one,” and move on. I encourage you to read it again and take a closer look at it with me today on this day of giving thanks.
Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
It is with powerful yet somewhat violent imagery today that the readings speak of giving each of us all we need for the building of the Kingdom of God. The story from the Second book of Maccabees shares the image of a faith-filled family. The narrative has the family being tortured for their beliefs. As each brother refuses to obey the command of the king, they are executed, all this while their mother watches. The mom waxes poetically about how the creator of the universe gave each child life and to them they will return. Her statement is not defeatist though, as she encourages her sons to accept their fate with hope that a merciful God will reunite them all again some day.
Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The readings for this week look forward to the Solemnity of Christ the King on Sunday and to the season of Advent starting the week after. Advent is a time of expectation, of waiting in hope for the birth of the Christ child in our lives. It is a penitential time, a time of self-examination, meditation, and reflection. Advent is also a very busy season, and it sometimes leads people to feel a lot of stress. It can be easy to forget, amid the many holiday celebrations, the shopping, and the gift giving, that the person whom we are expecting with such eagerness and whose advent we are celebrating is Jesus himself.
Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Mark was the first to tell the story of the blind man who called out to Jesus at the gates of Jericho. He even names him, “Bartimaeus,” or Son of Timaeus. “Timaeus” means defiled, profane, unclean.
Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
To help his disciples understand what he was teaching, Jesus often used parables. Today’s Gospel is the parable of the widow and the judge in which the widow is persistent in asking the judge for a just decision. The widow kept bothering the judge, who was described as dishonest, to the point that the judge felt that he had no choice but to give her a fair judgment. Through this parable, Jesus taught that our prayer should be like this widow’s, persevering and steadfast. Sometimes, I find myself and encounter others who are either afraid or don’t want to bother God by asking what we need and want. However, like the widow with the judge, we should be unafraid to make requests and petitions to God. Having a relationship with God sustained by prayer also means coming to God with our whole selves including our needs and wants. In addition, the widow was dependent on the judge’s decision so we too should be dependent on God to provide what we need.
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
“Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them.” (Wisdom 13:3) As I was reflecting on today’s rather poetic First Reading from the book of Wisdom, you might say I was “distracted” by the beauty (and adorableness) of a little three-month-old puppy who joined our family this past weekend. Yes, I am smitten with this little creature/creation with its perfect little puppy eyes and nose and ears, even its little white puppy teeth and pink tongue, not to mention the rest of its perfectly puppy body all the way to the white tip on the end of its tail.
Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
All of my life I have had a particular interest in weather. Even living in Ohio, I have been fascinated by hurricanes and weather related storms that impact our lives. As I read today’s gospel reading, I was struck that Jesus uses lightning as the imagery to describe His return to the disciples. What might Jesus be sharing with us, and how should we respond?
Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters ten men afflicted with leprosy. Desperate for healing, and recognizing Jesus’ power and authority, they cry out to Him. Jesus has mercy on all of them, yet only one returns to worship Him. What are we to make of this powerful encounter and how do we apply it to our lives today? Worship is our response to the God who heals and saves. And far from a singular response, let us determine today to order our very lives toward and in the One who created us for a life of Beatitude and makes that life possible through the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ our Healer and Redeemer.