Lenten Resources
The Holy Spirit will lead us to people and places that we never expected. Philip followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit and was led to the encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch. At this time, the followers of Jesus had not yet expanded beyond the Jewish people, and the Spirit takes this opportunity to…
Continue ReadingBy calling himself the Bread of Life, Jesus troubles the Jewish people who have revered Moses as the greatest of all people to have walked the earth. Moses gave them the Law, he spoke face-to-face with God, and he led the people through the desert, during which the Lord provided them with Manna –…
Continue ReadingWhen Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst,” he is not referring to physical hunger and thirst. Rather, he is referring to spiritual hunger—the hunger of the heart for meaning and understanding, the longing for companionship and for…
Continue ReadingStephen was not one of the Apostles who followed Jesus but rather came to faith after the Resurrection. Even so, he inherited the work of Jesus and embraced the Gospel to the point that he was granted grace and power to work mighty deeds in the name of Jesus. He imitated Jesus to the…
Continue ReadingStudy of Sacred Scripture is highly valuable as it informs us about many of the details surrounding the composition and maintenance of the Biblical texts, but study alone will fail if it is not accompanied by prayer. The Disciples received an understanding of the Scriptures when the Risen Jesus came among them and revealed…
Continue ReadingThe various Gospel accounts of the encounters of Jesus and His disciples on the sea are powerful. Away from the security and sure-footing of the land, the sea can be tumultuous and unpredictable, which leaves the disciples vulnerable. St. John recounted: “It had already grown dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.”…
Continue ReadingThe Responsorial Psalm refrain says, “One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.” Several years ago, I challenged a young man to identify his deepest desire. When he didn’t know what he desired, it helped us see that his lack of clarity was the root of many of his struggles.…
Continue ReadingWhen did we start caring so much about what other people think about us and what other people are doing? Our preoccupation with what is or might be going on in other people’s minds certainly occurred before social media, but social media most likely exacerbated the problem. Peter and the Apostles respond to the…
Continue ReadingPrison cannot contain the Apostles. It can restrain the strongest, but it cannot restrain their conviction to proclaim Jesus Christ. Even when locked up behind bars, the Apostles still experienced a deep interior freedom, which did not fade. In contrast, the hearts of the high priest and the Sadducees were filled with jealousy, and…
Continue ReadingThe Acts of the Apostles recounted: “With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus…” With great power… Bishop Barron is fond of quoting a twentieth century Anglican bishop who memorably expressed the insight: “When Paul preached, there were riots; when I preach, they serve me tea.” It makes me wonder…
Continue ReadingMary beautifully shows us what it looks like to be open to God’s plan and to participate God’s plan of salvation. But, let’s take a step back and consider the ways we resist following God’s plan. First, we have to ask ourselves honestly: Am I open to following God’s will or am I still…
Continue ReadingJesus brings peace, but on this Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church celebrates another powerful gift the Lord bestows—He comes with mercy. I want to highlight three instances where the Resurrected Christ offers the gift of mercy. During Jesus’ Passion, Peter denied Jesus and the Apostles had almost all scattered. In His greatest time of…
Continue ReadingIf loving the Lord is wrong, I don’t want to be right! I remembered this line from a movie as I read today’s first reading from Acts. The movie line basically reflects Peter and John’s stance before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin have sternly instructed them to stop preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.…
Continue ReadingYesterday, Jesus received the food. Today, he gives and serves the food to his sons. Two things I want to highlight here. When the disciples are being served breakfast by Jesus, it says that they dare not ask who he was. I believe they knew who he was, and that the reason they didn’t…
Continue ReadingEven Jesus gets hungry. Hungry for what, though? In our gospel today, Jesus, out of nowhere, appears before the disciples. They can’t believe that it is him; they think he’s a ghost. Jesus shows them his hands and feet to show he wasn’t. Jesus also asked if they had any food to give him,…
Continue ReadingOne of the things I usually say to a penitent after confession is when they sin again, not to wait a long time before they go to confession again. I say this on purpose because I think when we let these wrongs, these sins stay in us, they can erode our souls, they can…
Continue ReadingAngels guard the body of our Lord. If you have recently visited our Abbey Church at Conception, you probably noticed the addition of two angels painted directly behind the tabernacle in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The two angels flank the body of Christ. What we’ve added in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel is nothing new.…
Continue ReadingCan you let go and announce the Good News? Mary Magdalene and Mary have just discovered the empty tomb and running from it they encounter Christ. I’ve put myself in their spot. I’ve just seen the resurrected Christ! He is Risen! He is alive! Friends, I don’t know if I could have left him…
Continue ReadingLook at everything we do daily to stay alive, not to mention what we do to prosper and find happiness. We have to provide food and shelter for ourselves and our family or community and care for our children and the sick and elderly among us. We need to work, hopefully at a meaningful…
Continue ReadingAs we gather on this Holy Saturday, we find ourselves in a moment of quiet anticipation, awaiting the celebration of Easter and the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a day of reflection and contemplation as we consider the profound mystery of Jesus in the tomb. After the agony of Good…
Continue ReadingAs we gather on this solemn day of Good Friday, we enter into the heart of the Paschal mystery—the mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and, ultimately, His glorious resurrection. Today, we pause to reflect on Jesus’s profound sacrifice for each of us out of His boundless love. Good Friday is a day of remembrance…
Continue ReadingIn the Gospel narrative, we witness Jesus, the Son of God, taking on the role of a servant, kneeling before His disciples to wash their feet. This act was not merely a cultural gesture of hospitality but a powerful demonstration of His selflessness and love. When Peter objected, Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you,…
Continue ReadingIn today’s reading, we hear the prophet Isaiah speak of the gift of a well-trained tongue given to him by the Lord God. This gift is not merely for eloquence or persuasion but has a deeper purpose—to speak words of comfort and encouragement to the weary, to uplift their spirits, and to bring hope…
Continue ReadingJudas, one of the chosen disciples of Jesus, walked alongside Him, witnessed His miracles, and heard His teachings. Yet, despite this privileged position, he succumbed to the temptations of greed and ambition. In a moment of darkness, Judas decided to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, a symbol of worldly gain and fleeting…
Continue ReadingIn today’s Gospel passage, we witness a poignant moment between Jesus and His disciples, centered around an act of deep love and reverence shown by a woman. As Jesus reclines at the table, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, takes a costly ointment and anoints His feet, wiping them with her hair. This gesture of…
Continue ReadingPalm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, a time of intense reflection and spiritual preparation as we journey with Jesus toward his passion, death, and resurrection. And amidst the shouts of acclamation and adoration, a profound truth reveals the paradox of Christ’s kingship. Unlike earthly kings who wield power and authority through force…
Continue ReadingToday we are on the threshold of the holiest days of the liturgical year. The stage is being set for the events of the Paschal Triduum. At the entrance we hear Jesus’ prayer as the religious leaders devise their plot to kill him: “O Lord, do not stay afar off; my strength, make haste…
Continue ReadingHoly Week draws near. In the entrance antiphon of today’s liturgy, we glimpse the darkness of the coming days: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress. Deliver me from the hands of my enemies and those who pursue me. O Lord, let me never be put to shame, for I…
Continue ReadingToday, Benedictines throughout the world celebrate the solemn feast of the Transitus of St. Benedict. Transitus or “passing over” refers to his passage from this world into eternal life. St. Gregory the Great describes Benedict’s death in is biography of the saint, The Dialogues: “That day two monks…received the very same revelation. They both…
Continue Reading“My deliverer from angry nations, you set me above my assailants; you saved me from the violent man, O Lord” (Cf. Ps 17: 48-49). This opening acclamation of confidence in God’s saving action echoes the prayer of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego that we hear in the first reading from Daniel 3. The three young…
Continue ReadingA number of years ago, a Printery House customer wrote to inquire why one of our St. Joseph Day cards contained a scripture quote from Genesis 41:55 “Go to Joseph…” The writer asked: “What does a quotation from the book of Genesis have to do with St. Joseph?” The answer to that question provides…
Continue ReadingIn the first reading today, we hear the moving story of Susanna, an innocent and upright young woman who is wrongly accused of adultery by the two wicked elders. It is a narrative of God’s relentless longing for justice and his unceasing care for those who hope in him. Susanna’s prayer is one of…
Continue ReadingTensions rise in the gospel passages in these last days before Holy Week as Jesus’ adversaries hatch plots against him. They cannot tolerate the guilt that his words stir up within their hearts. Rather than seeking the mercy of God and embrace repentance and change in their lives, they close their ears and have…
Continue Reading“So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.” In today’s Gospel, we see the confusion that arises among the people about Jesus. Some hear his words and see his signs and see him as a great prophet.…
Continue Reading“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…
Continue ReadingToday we have two examples of humility and compassion. Moses is sent down from the mountain by God only to see the people worshiping and sacrificing to a molten calf and calling it their God, thus betraying the God who brought them out of the land of slavery. God threatened to destroy the people…
Continue ReadingJesus’s courage in today’s Gospel is so beautiful and awe-inspiring. The story picks up where we left off yesterday, with Jesus healing the crippled man on the Sabbath; and when the Jews heard of this they began to persecute him. Now Jesus answers the Jews, “My Father is at work until now, so I…
Continue ReadingThe crippled man in today’s Gospel has been waiting for 38 years for someone to bring him to the pool so that he might be well. He has no one, and when he tries on his own, he is ignored and people get there before him. That is until Jesus sees him in his…
Continue Reading“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Jesus says this to the people of Cana in Galilee who witnessed the miracle at the Wedding feast where Jesus changed water into wine. It feels like Jesus is asking, “How many signs do you need before you believe in me?” But Jesus…
Continue ReadingIn today’s first reading we hear of the infidelity of the people of God, they “added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple.” God, in compassion for his people, sent messengers to them. These prophets spoke the word of God to his people, calling them to…
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