Articles for 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…
Continue ReadingNew 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…
Continue ReadingThe 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.…
Continue Reading“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…
Continue ReadingOnce 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…
Continue ReadingQueen 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…
Continue ReadingThere 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…
Continue ReadingWe’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?…
Continue ReadingWhen 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.…
Continue ReadingSeveral 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…
Continue ReadingIt 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…
Continue ReadingThe 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…
Continue ReadingIt 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…
Continue ReadingWe 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…
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…
Continue ReadingThe evangelist says, “Jesus addressed this parable” about the Pharisee and the tax collector “to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” We can actually divide this into two groups: 1) those convinced of their own righteousness, and 2) the self-righteous who despise everyone else. The latter group is…
Continue ReadingDuring our “pandemic year” at the seminary, we had canceled all of the seminarians’ regular breaks and kept them on campus. At first that was fine. We had a lovely Thanksgiving together. Yet immediately after that holiday both the administration and students had the feeling of being stir-crazy. I didn’t realize how exhausted I…
Continue ReadingWoody Allen famously said: “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” To what would we attribute the other twenty percent? The Prophet Jeremiah speaking for the Lord would say it is this: Listening to the voice of God. Only if we listen to God’s word then the Lord will be our God, we will…
Continue ReadingAs a priest, some of the best examinations of conscience I have are hearing confessions. A penitent’s sorrow over transgressions that I too easily dismissed as trivial can become a question to my own standard of judgment. For priests, teachers, and parents, we bear the responsibility for forming others in the faith. Challenge and…
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