Posts by Kaity Holtman
Tuesday of Holy Week
Today’s gospel has two principal characters, besides Jesus. The first is Judas. St John describes how Judas headed off into the dark. It was night! The second is the so-called “beloved disciple.” This is the disciple Jesus loved. He is described as having reclined next to Jesus, literally, “close to his chest.” In his…
Read MoreMonday of Holy Week
We are within Holy Week, a time to reflect prayerfully on the final journey of Jesus to his Passion. Yesterday’s Gospel, the Passion according to St. Matthew, told us how much Jesus suffered for us. Today’s Gospel, from John, is different. Yesterday, most of the people Jesus met in his final days were against…
Read MorePalm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
We are celebrating Palm Sunday. It is important to notice what Jesus is doing. Jesus is entering Jerusalem to begin the greatest week in all of history. How is he entering the Holy City? By riding on a donkey. He is riding on the animal of simple, common country people. And the donkey…
Read MoreSaturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
I think much of what the faithful Christian can offer today’s world is hope. The Prophet Ezekiel encountered many difficulties (like many of us do), but the latter part of the Book is very hopeful. The Prophet Ezekiel wrote: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Even though the people…
Read MoreFriday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Jesus is performing the good works of the Father, yet He is treated with contempt. He is rejected and threatened with physical harm. Have you ever felt a similar feeling of hurt and pain? Jesus escapes from them when they try to arrest Him, and He goes back to the Jordan, the place where…
Read MoreThursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
God makes three promises to Abraham. But first, put yourself in Abraham’s place—none of these promises seem to be happening, and some of them seem like a far and distant reality (if not an impossibility altogether). Abraham probably felt some doubt and uncertainty about how all of this would come about. Like all human…
Read MoreWednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Jesus says: “The truth will set you free.” In response, the Jew said, “We…have never been enslaved by anyone.” I imagine that many people in today’s world would believe that they are free and not enslaved by anyone or anything. But, what is freedom, and what does it look like? Freedom is not doing…
Read MoreTuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
It can often be the case that not only do we want our struggles and challenges resolved, but we also want them addressed immediately and taken away. The Israelites struggle and complaint is that they have no food or water. And, even what they have, they think is “wretched food.” It’s interesting how the…
Read MoreMonday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The lengthy yet powerful story from the Book of the Prophet Daniel is worth further reflection. The two men who accused Susanna were enslaved to their passions and to the lies that they told themselves. Sadly, they were unable to live in the light of truth. In the midst of the story, the characters…
Read MoreFifth Sunday of Lent
St. John’s account of the raising of Lazarus focuses on a mighty deed of Jesus, but the story is also something of a journey of faith—a journey of coming to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus hears that Lazarus is ill, Jesus reassures those with Him that…
Read MoreSolemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Jesus said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘as is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’” A common theme on this Solemnity is the will…
Read MoreFriday of the Fourth Week of Lent
“But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” How is it that Christ is coming into our lives? I think that often we say to ourselves, “but I know where he is from so he can’t be the Christ,” and thus we avoid…
Read MoreThursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Today’s first reading is a great example of how we should interact with our fallen world. The people of Israel had turned away from God, made a molten calf, and begun to worship it. Because of this, God’s anger rose up, and He was going to destroy them and promised Moses that he would…
Read MoreWednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
“Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted.” This verse in our first reading speaks of the promised liberation and restoration of Zion, for they were a people in exile. We too are a people in…
Read MoreSolemnity of the Transitus of St. Benedict, Abbot
Today’s readings have a common theme of life-giving waters. In the first reading, we hear about the waters that flow from the temple of the LORD. This water turns into a river that makes the salty waters fresh, brings life to animals and fish, and waters all the plant life so that their leaves…
Read MoreSolemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We celebrate today the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. Today there are two options for our Gospel, and I will use both to help us reflect on the great gift of St. Joseph, the patron of the universal church and father figure to us all. We…
Read MoreFourth Sunday of Lent
“Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and rejoice.” We have reached the halfway point in our Lenten journey, and we say rejoice, in Latin, Laetare. But what are we rejoicing in? Is it simply that we are halfway through our Lenten journey; we are…
Read MoreSaturday of the Third Week of Lent
Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that Christ willingly gave his life to save you? Trusting that God loves us can be a hard reality to accept sometimes. We may have had a difficult upbringing, and we were taught that we must earn love from a parent, and thus, we…
Read MoreThursday of the Third Week of Lent
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste.” These words speak to each of us in various ways. It can easily correspond to our nation, our Church, our parishes, and often our homes. It can, however, also refer to our hearts. We have competing desires and hopes in our personal lives. You may…
Read MoreWednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Have you ever considered what Israel’s vocation was? They are God’s chosen people, and God called them, through Abraham, to be a people with a mission. That mission, outlined in our first reading from Deuteronomy, was to show their “wisdom and intelligence to the nations…for what great nation is there that has gods so…
Read MoreTuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Do you pay attention to the Our Father? You have probably prayed it many, many times. Sometimes, we forget to pay attention and understand what we say because we become so used to reciting it. One line of the Our Father stands out as particularly important, yet we skim right over it, “forgive us…
Read MoreMonday of the Third Week of Lent
Have you ever heard the modern parable of the man asking to be saved from an oncoming flood? He prays to God, “save me!” Each time a set of rescuers come—a fireman, a boat, a helicopter—the man says, “no, God is going to save me.” The man dies from the flood and asks God,…
Read MoreThird Sunday of Lent
The first reading from Exodus and the Gospel from John speak of thirsting for water from two very different perspectives. After setting out from Egypt, Israel began complaining they had too little water. Traveling with such a large group, think thousands, and with their livestock, they would have required much water. It is a…
Read MoreSaturday of the Second Week of Lent
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” In another place the scribes and Pharisees will ask, “Who but God can forgive sins” (Mark 2:7)? Indeed, forgiveness of sins is what reveals Jesus’ divinity. It was absolute blasphemy for this man to do what was possible for God alone. Fr. Francis Carvajal comments: The…
Read MoreFriday of the Second Week of Lent
Why does Jesus say that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from the Jewish leaders and given to others? Israel was not just made God’s Chosen People but that designation also had a vocation. Their calling as the smallest but most blessed nation was to be a Light to the Nations. They…
Read MoreThursday of the Second Week of Lent
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, specializes in its foundation house on one thing. They find people on the streets of Calcutta who are dying in abject poverty. They bring them to their hostel, wash them, give them a clean bed, and treat them with the dignity of a…
Read MoreWednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Why is Lent forty days? Why do we celebrate Lent every year? Because it takes a lifetime to be conformed to Christ. Perseverance and constancy are hard. Those who become martyrs were frequently not last-minute zealous disciples. Rather, their choice each day to place the Father’s will first allow them to make the ultimate…
Read MoreTuesday of the Second Week of Lent
The comedian and actor Adam Sandler once had a standup bit where he said that when his family asked about whatever happened to an ex-girlfriend, he would just say: “She’s dead, Grandma.” The point was that it was too tedious to get into why the relationship went south or to have to admit failure.…
Read MoreMonday of the Second Week of Lent
One of the strains of Jewish theology found in the first part of the Old Testament is known as the Deuteronomic Principle. The basic notion is that if an individual or the people as a whole are faithful to the ordinances of the Lord, one or corporately they will receive blessings corresponding to obedience.…
Read MoreSecond Sunday of Lent
A Diptych is a hinged, two-panel painting. Although both panels may make up a single scene, they are often separate images that are nonetheless connected thematically. Typically, one panel only finds its meaning when compared to the next. An example is the Wilton Diptych (c. 1395-1399). It was a kind of portable altar…
Read MoreSaturday of the First Week of Lent
“He is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways.” Ever since God walked with Abraham and Sarah, the Biblical question is the same – ‘Will you come along with me on your journey through life?’ Companionship with God implies holiness, and likeness to God. Doing things God’s way. We…
Read MoreFriday of the First Week of Lent
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” It has been said that the reason one comes to community is to discover the mystery of forgiveness. Regardless of the community, it is a fine reference to the Church, the redeeming…
Read MoreThursday of the First Week of Lent
“… help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord.” Prayer of petition rests on a consoling truth: God knows us. This is our belief in God and our understanding of who God is. Jesus tells us today: “Ask and it will be given to you.” If God knows us…
Read MoreWednesday of the First Week of Lent
“At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here.” We “have a greater than Jonah here.” The greater than Jonah is the Incarnate Word, Jesus, who is among…
Read MoreTuesday of the First Week of Lent
There is a contrast between the babbling that Jesus tells us to avoid in our prayer and the effective word which, Isaiah assures us, is God’s deed. God is the initiator of our lives; our work is to trust in the deed of God: “It shall not return to me void, but shall do…
Read MoreMonday of the First Week of Lent
Holiness and Charity The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. When God tells his people to be holy, He is inviting them into the greatest intimacy. He asking us to be like He…
Read MoreFirst Sunday of Lent
“Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Temptation is like a probe. One meaning of a probe is to explore the unknown. In our story from Genesis today, Adam and Eve want to probe the unknown boundaries of good and evil. It is not just…
Read MoreSaturday after Ash Wednesday
On Ash Wednesday, at the distribution of ashes, we hear “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Today we hear the call of Levi, the tax collector. He heard Jesus’ invitation: follow me. The gospel tells us, “leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.” This makes it all so very simple. He stood…
Read MoreFriday after Ash Wednesday
Today we hear more about fasting. On Ash Wednesday, the gospel cautioned us about the way we fast. Fasting is not to be noticed by others but by God. Fasting is not an external, observable practice, performed for others to see, but rather a discipline that helps to direct us towards God. Today in…
Read MoreThursday after Ash Wednesday
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict says this about Lent. “For the monk, his entire life should be one continuous Lent.” At first, hearing that is not a pleasant thought, at least for me. St. Benedict goes further: “Since not all have the strength for this, let the brothers increase their austerity beyond the…
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