Lenten Resources

  It takes either a lot of child-like trust or a lot of maturity to be a follower of Jesus. Paradoxically, time-tested maturity can lead to child-like trust. Kids see something and want it. They don’t consider whether or not it is safe, healthy, ethical or legal. Sometimes, they get the big bag of candy, devour it,…

  The reading today from Ephesians makes some people cringe.  It seems so outdated. Of course, St. Paul was living in a different time and in a different culture.  But if the Word of God is timeless, it needs to speak to all times and all places. The timeless and universal message is choosing to…

  The Catholic Church venerates all of the Apostles, and today, in a special way, Sts. Simon and Jude. St. Paul says that the household of God was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Although not much is revealed in Holy Scripture about Simon and Jude, it is known that Jesus handpicked…

  Today’s Gospel story about the blind Bartimaeus can be read and interpreted literally. The calling of a blind man by Jesus resonates very well with the reading from Jeremiah, in which the Lord gathers the remnant of Israel (including the blind) to Himself. The restoration of sight by Jesus the High Priest also dovetails with the…

  Here we are, Saturday, another great day for MIZZOU football (hopefully) and another great Saturday to honor Our Lady! St. Maximilian Kolbe said simply, “Jesus is our love. Mary is our hope; you can do all things through her.” If we ask Our Lady for help, she will come to our aid, and the…

  In our Alleluia verse today, we hear, “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” I remember being home in Kansas City and going to Mass with my family. After Mass, my nephew Bennett said to me “Br. Max, let’s go to…

  The Lord wants to shake up the world in a good way. He says in our gospel today, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is…

  Today’s gospel may hard to hear because Jesus gets to the point. We don’t know when the final day will come. People in the world today act like it won’t even come at all. That’s why in the gospel we hear as Jesus explains to his disciples “That servant who knew his master’s will…

  Today is the optional memorial of Pope St. John Paul II, as we like to say in the Burkhart family, “we are JPII Catholics,” meaning my parents found their faith when John Paul II was pope. My siblings and I found our vocation under his pontificate. Most importantly, we found our devotion to Mary…

  In our responsorial psalm, we hear “The Lord made us, we belong to him.” This should give us great peace. It reminds me of the lost sheep, no matter what the Lord will leave the 99 and go out and find that one lost sheep. We are all precious in the eyes of the…

  “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This is the last part of our gospel reading today, and it is very important! We must imitate Christ. We hear in our second reading, “For we do not have…

  Integrity to Jesus “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge…” (Luke 12, Gospel Reading) Oh no, not another set of martyrs to reflect on! Yes, another set of martyrs. And we should rejoice especially at these, because they worked to evangelize Native Americans in the region…

  The Lord Stands By Us “Luke is the only one with me.” (2 Timothy, First Reading) A desperate, perhaps lonely St. Paul… We can sense his humanity in his writing to St. Timothy. In his letter, he reports the loss of personnel working with him in the mission field—Demas, Crescens, Titus: they “deserted” him.…

  The Blood in Words “The blood of the prophets is required, from Abel to Zechariah.” (cf. Luke 11:50-51, Gospel Reading) I think of the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This children’s rhyme was taught to encourage resiliency in the face of insult. However, in…

  The Light of Life “Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.” (cf. John 8:12, Responsorial Refrain) What is light? Consider the light from your lamp, or the light emanating from your device, or the sunlight pouring into your room through the window. What is light? Scientifically, visible light is both…

  Faith Working Through Love “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” (Galatians 5, First Reading) How can I be sure I am following Jesus and living the Gospel? I am baptized, yes, and I have received the other Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Confirmation and…

  Freedom in Christ “For freedom Christ set us free.” (Galatians 4, First Reading) Our American minds think of red, white, and blue, and patriotic songs when we hear the word “freedom.” This is fine and understandable, especially as a major civic election draws near. But this is a spiritual reflection, not a political one.…

  Sin & Forgiveness “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel.” (Ps. 130, Entrance Antiphon) With God there is forgiveness. Thank God! Between fellow human beings, not always. Oh, the humanity! When there is forgiveness between two people, it is beautiful.…

  “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it.” Saturdays are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Liturgical Calendar when no other saint or feast is celebrated. Mary holds the place of honor in the Church as the Theotokos, Mother of God. She is so richly blessed that one…

   “The Kingdom of God has come upon you.” Jesus drives out demons by God’s power. He can command them by divine right. He is, after all, the Son of God and an equal person in the divine communion of the Holy Trinity. Do you believe he can set you free? Do you trust him?…

  Persistence. We hear this word in the Gospel, and what a story it tells. A man would not open the door for his friend out of friendship. The door gets opened by persistent knocking. There is some humor in this because knocking on someone’s door late at night will get the cops called on…

  “Lord, teach us to pray.” What a profound scene this is. Jesus’ disciples want to learn from him how to pray. Prayer is so essential to the Christian life. It is comparable to breathing for the body. Prayer is breathing for the soul. So many saints this month—Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Faustina…

  When we feel pulled towards a person, there is a reason. Some people just have a certain magnetism. A special character that invites us towards them. We are pulled toward them without any fear or coercion. They just have a halo effect where we admire something about them and want to follow after them.…

  For these reflections, I want to offer meditations that have less verbiage and invite you to search for insight within yourself. We read the story of the Good Samaritan who came upon the man who was robbed and left to die on the road. Reciprocity is the key here. When a person does something…

  Jesus tells the Pharisees that God gave life to humanity, recalling Genesis, and he created us as male and female. He challenges the notion that a man can dismiss a woman with a bill of divorce. He says that it was because of “hardness of heart” that Moses made this prescription in the Law…

  Everyone likes happy endings! If this is true it provides the reason for the popularity of so many novels, films, short stories, and musical masterpieces down through the centuries. All’s well that ends well and brings a certain satisfaction and lasting joy. Our Scripture readings for today combine to bring two very different stories…

  We celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi today with all the Franciscans (women and men) of the world and there are many. In fact, as the old joke has it: “How many Franciscans are there?… Only God knows, and God is not sure!” We do know, that Francis of Assisi continues to…

  It’s true. The Gospels, and all the various books of the Bible are full of abundant material for reflection. However, they also contain gaps concerning human interest information. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers to use their own best writing skills as well as the community’s collected memory which of…

   “Children should be seen but not heard” is a well-known proverb. Historians trace its usage to sometime in Fifteenth-century England. We can guess that some adult coined the phrase when some kids were raising a racket and were having way too much fun in the wrong place. Apart from the challenge of dealing with…

  The Scripture readings for today seem to highlight the word “disappointment.” The whole book of Job seems to be an example of “disappointment” on steroids! What more could happen to an upright person who had followed all the rules and yet saw his treasures come tumbling down around him? “That ain’t fair!” might well…

  St. Jerome, who lived from 347-420 was considered one of the most learned of the Latin Fathers of the Church. Some people just naturally do everything in a big way. St. Jerome took on the Herculean task of translating the Hebrew scriptures into Latin without the benefit of dictionaries and a wealth of commentaries.…

  The Peanuts Comic cartoon of years ago comes to mind as I reflect on the readings for this 26th Sunday of the Year. I’m reminded of Charlie Brown making an innocent, solemn wide-eyed, heart-felt pronouncement: “I love humanity!” which is immediately followed by a fire-breathing smoke-filled “It’s people I can’t stand!” How well we…

  Sometimes it is the responsorial psalm that brings together the two readings at mass. Such is the case today I believe. Today, Psalm 90. “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You turn man back to dust, saying, Return, O children of men. For a thousand years in your sight are…

  The words of Qoheleth continue in their haunting mood. There is an appointed time for everything under the sun, a time for everything. When we are in a reflective moment, this could be an assurance that all our days are not just about business—frantic rushing from one thing to another. This passage is sometimes…

  Vanity of Vanities. All things are vanity! What way to start? “What profit has a person from all the things labored at under the sun?” So begins the Book of Ecclesiastes. And it does not sound very encouraging either. “One generation passes to another.” This book serves as a corrective to puffed-up egos, overconfidence,…

  So they set out and went on their way spreading the good news and curing diseases. That is the conclusion of all Jesus’ training of the 12 for their mission and the rather simple instructions he gave them. Recall one of the purposes of Jesus calling the twelve was first that they might be…

  Where is wisdom to be found? What exactly is wisdom? The dictionary defines it as accumulated philosophic or scientific learning/knowledge; insight; good sense; sound judgment. It is something acquired over time. It is the good judgment that flows from reflection. For us, the wisdom we seek leads us closer to God. This is an…

  Today we begin readings from the book of Proverbs. Throughout the first chapters, we hear verses like: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and reject not your mother’s teaching.” Prov 4:1, “Hear, O children, a father’s instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding.” These verses are all reminiscent of the opening lines of…

  The questions of Jesus in the Gospels: Who do the people say the Son of Man is? Who do you say that I am? Today, what were you arguing about along the way? What do you want me to do for you? Can you drink the cup I will drink? Do you also want…

  Don’t blink, or else you will miss today’s Gospel. All Jesus said was, “Follow me,” and that changed Matthew’s life forever. It also changed the Church. Funny how simple the beginning of a vocation can be. For my parents, it was a glance at a dance (they arrived with different partners). For me, I…