Posts by Kaity Holtman
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The exchange between God and Moses comes after one of the great low points in Israel’s history. Moses was delayed in coming down the mountain, and the people lost faith and turned their backs on the Lord (who had very recently rescued them in a rather dramatic way from slavery in Egypt), and they…
Read MoreWednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own…” Jesus saw Himself to be totally dependent and in union with the Father. I’ll admit, I try to do a lot on my own, and it doesn’t go well. This is why I take the time in prayer…
Read MoreTuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
“Do you want to be well?” The answer to Jesus’ question seems obvious. This man has been ill for 38 years, and he is just lying there. But, Jesus’ pointed question seeks to draw out the desire in this man’s heart—Jesus wants him to activate his faith. If we are not in touch with…
Read MoreMonday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Before Jesus heals the royal official’s son, the Gospel provides an important detail. In Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, we know He was rejected and thus the Matthew’s Gospel recounts, “And Jesus did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58). But, at the outside of today’s Gospel,…
Read MoreFourth Sunday of Lent
If you had never heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son, how would you think it would end? Wouldn’t most of us conclude it this way: I shall get up and go to my father, and I shall say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve…
Read MoreSaturday of the Third Week of Lent
Jesus’ parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee leaves all of us feeling a little uncomfortable. It should; that was Jesus’ intention! Lent is an appropriate time to examine our interior attitude toward prayer. This gospel passage holds up a mirror to our spiritual lives. Most Catholics take on bona opera or good…
Read MoreFriday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s gospel from St. Mark opens with the beautiful words of the Shema, the prayer mounted on the doorpost of every Jewish home: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with…
Read MoreThursday of the Third Week of Lent
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Ps 95:8). This responsorial refrain echoes throughout the readings in today’s liturgy. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims the Lord’s message in unvarnished words: “Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in…
Read MoreWednesday of the Third Week of Lent
The Torah was the foundation stone of the faith of ancient Israel. God made a covenant with his chosen people. They were to be a people particularly his own. He would bring them into a land of promise, flowing with milk and honey, and protect them on every side. For their part of the…
Read MoreSolemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. The angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is to be the mother of the Savior. On this day, nine months before Christmas, we celebrate the reality that Isaiah proclaimed: “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name…
Read MoreMonday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s first reading relates the story of Naaman, an Aramean army commander who suffered from leprosy. Naaman, a pagan foreigner reluctantly approaches Elisha, the prophet of Israel, to find healing for this dreaded disease. Doubtful that the prophet’s seemingly simplistic instructions to plunge into the Jordan River seven times could possibly bring about a…
Read MoreThird Sunday of Lent
On this third Sunday of Lent, we are presented with Jesus’ remarkable parable of the fig tree. We are told the story of a frustrated owner of an orchard who instructs his gardener to cut down a fig tree that has not borne fruit for three successive seasons. The owner reasons that the unproductive…
Read MoreSaturday of the Second Week of Lent
Motivation itself can fail. When you focus on motivating yourself to do something, it is easy to give up once the enthusiasm fades. Focusing on the goal or end we have can fade, too. Different sources about motivation and self-improvement inform people to focus on the process of their work instead of the reward…
Read MoreTransitus of St. Benedict
St. Therese of Lisieux kept locks of her hair in the hope she would become a saint. That would leave relics behind for devotion for others. This act seems bizarre to us. Really, it is good hope for a Catholic. She had the right kind of ambition. In business, companies will often look for…
Read MoreThursday of the Second Week of Lent
Jim Collins is known as one of the best writers on business. He wrote about the greatest American companies. He discovered that the best companies and leaders knew how to make a good return on luck—luck being the hand that they were dealt. Faith isn’t business, and some people have better circumstances than others.…
Read MoreSolemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We have to confront brutal facts to get anywhere meaningful in life. How we think about the harder parts of life determines how we face reality. We can linger in denial or a false sense of naïve optimism instead of accepting reality and learning from it. A better way of thinking is to face…
Read MoreTuesday of the Second Week of Lent
The wise say that we find our calling where our needs and God’s will come together. It seems too simple, and yet it is so true. God calls all people to holiness. He calls you to accept his love and mercy right now in your life. Gurus and lifestyle coaches can make things overly…
Read MoreMonday of the Second Week of Lent
New beginnings. Lent means beginning again for us Catholics. Whether this is our first time in Lent or our fiftieth year of Lent, we are on this journey again. There is an old monastic saying that says “What we do daily, we do dully unless we do it deeply.” Again, what is done daily…
Read MoreSecond Sunday of Lent
The desert is a place of spiritual rejuvenation and renewal. We journey with Christ again to return to our original grace. This Lent is a rare time, a scarce time. Lent comes every year, and still it is the only time in the year we can have to reset and prepare for Easter glory.…
Read MoreSaturday of the First Week of Lent
“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,” is a parallel to the story of the Rich Young Man. The rich man goes away sad because he has many possessions and is unwilling to give them up to follow Jesus unreservedly. What could be scarier than choosing poverty in order to accept…
Read MoreFriday of the First Week of Lent
Once I got very upset with a group of seminarians who presumed permissions to do something that I, as Dean of Students, had not allowed. Not only did I think I had given my directions quite explicitly, but also, I was upset that they did not ask me. Then, several days later I turned…
Read MoreThursday of the First Week of Lent
Queen Esther’s prayer is desperate. She lays flat on the ground with her face in the dust and shakes with anguish from morning to night. It might sound extreme, but I would imagine most of us who have lived long enough and been persons of faith, have had these times when we felt like…
Read MoreWednesday of the First Week of Lent
There is a form of biblical interpretation that is within the Bible itself: typology. In this, we look at an event or person from the Old Testament and find how Christ parallels, fulfills, or surpasses these mighty deeds and prophets. In today’s gospel, Jesus does typology about Himself. He compares Himself to both the…
Read MoreTuesday of the First Week of Lent
We’ve all probably had the experience of putting a dollar bill into a vending machine, and instead of taking the money, it spits it back out. It’s frustrating. We were doing all the right things, we had the right tender, why would this stupid machine not take our money and give us our chips?…
Read MoreMonday of the First Week of Lent
When we read a gospel like this, we have to face some hard truths. We realize that hell is a real state of being, not set up to scare us straight. And although faith is a gift that leads the faithful to salvation, we are apparently going to be judged by our charitable works.…
Read MoreFirst Sunday of Lent
Several years ago, we constructed the new seminary dormitory, Good Shepherd Hall. It was a welcome upgrade, but the building process happened to be going on right next to the seminary chapel. During each morning meditation period where the seminarians and formation personnel were dutifully being good boys, praying in silence, we would hear…
Read MoreSaturday after Ash Wednesday
It is easy to fall into judging other people. It happens all around us, almost as if the air itself is diffused with judgment. Certainly, there is no shortage of suffering and harmful acts around us, but we often make assumptions about people’s motivations and designate them as evil. When Jesus encounters the tax…
Read MoreFriday after Ash Wednesday
The monastic tradition has always emphasized that penances must be discerned with the guidance of a wise elder in order to avoid the sins of pride and vainglory. Those who are zealous for God can find themselves moved to perform burdensome penances in imitation of great saints or to purify themselves of vice. It…
Read MoreThursday after Ash Wednesday
It seems backward that we should lay down our lives in order to save them. All of our basic instincts are oriented towards self-preservation: finding food, running from danger or attacking threats, seeking relationships for their support, etc. Just like any animal, our natural inclination is to avoid death. The difference, however, is that…
Read MoreAsh Wednesday
We begin the Season of Lent with Ash Wednesday, and there is always discussion about whether we should keep our ashes on our heads throughout the day or wash them off after Mass. The Gospel reading suggests that we should wash our faces and not at all look like we are fasting because the…
Read MoreTuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
For it being Fat Tuesday, Jesus is sure talking about sacrifice a lot. He is not just talking about chocolate or snacking between meals, he is talking about giving up houses, friends, and even our lives. This may not seem very cheery for Mardi Gras, but these are the very things the Lord gave…
Read MoreMonday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
How wonderful it is to know that the Lord desires each one of us. Not only does He desire us in our brokenness and pain, but He does not leave us there. Sirach describes life away from God as already being dead. He says in today’s first reading, “To the penitent God provides a…
Read MoreEighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This last Sunday of Ordinary time is a fitting time to reflect on our sinfulness, especially as we prepare to enter the season of Lent.…
Read MoreSaturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
I was on a retreat recently, and a piece of text stuck out to me. “Do not be afraid of your weakness.” All too often, I let my pride get in the way of prayer. My worries about how I am doing or how others view me can lead to me not being able…
Read MoreFriday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Love is the greatest commandment our Lord Jesus Christ gave us! St. Francis de Sales called friendship the most dangerous of all loves. Why? Because while other forms of love can exist without communication or closeness, friendship is entirely built upon them. True friendship means sharing in both the virtues and faults of the…
Read MoreThursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
As we begin today’s reflection, let us pause and let the words of today’s Alleluia verse, often sung or said right before the Gospel proclamation, take root in our hearts: “Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God.” In the Gospel today,…
Read MoreWednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
What a beautiful selection of readings the Church has chosen for today. In the first reading from the book of Wisdom, one of the main themes is that wisdom is lifegiving; we find fulfillment in gaining wisdom. However, the journey of gaining wisdom has many challenges. As the first reading lays out, wisdom tries…
Read MoreTuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Two important themes from today’s readings are perseverance and collaboration. It is important that we are patient with the Lord and with ourselves. With this patience, embrace any trials and tribulations that may come our way. If things become difficult, it is crucial to remain steadfast in the Lord because He is the Good…
Read MoreMonday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“The Lord is king: he is robed in majesty” (Psalm 93). The Lord speaks to us in various ways. Today, the Lord wants to speak to you with words of healing and mercy if you let Him. The Lord changes lives and brings new meaning, healing, and mercy. Have you asked the Divine Physician…
Read MoreSeventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High.” The world declares that we love those who love us, but no more than that. God, however, calls us to a higher form of love. A…
Read More