Articles for Lent

  Today is Holy Saturday. There are no Scripture readings for our reflection because there is no Eucharist celebrated during the day. This is so because Jesus is in the tomb. We are grieving and mourning. We should observe a great silence. If you pray the Roman Liturgy of Hours, you will find a very…

  In today’s first reading, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. God says, “See, my servant … a man of suffering … spurned … held in no esteem.” In the second reading, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we learned the name and identity of this servant. It is Jesus who was “able to…

  The highlight of the Mass on Holy Thursday is the institution of the Eucharist. We recall how Jesus at the Last Supper gave us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Our second reading captured this key event. Jesus took bread, broke it and said, ‘This is my body …’ He took the cup,…

  Once again, we have Judas Iscariot as a central figure in the Gospel. This time it is from the pen of St. Matthew. Judas is a picture of human tragedy. His was a failed life. He had been chosen by Jesus Himself. How could this have happened? Judas was probably a talented man, probably…

  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…

  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…

   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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  “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…

  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…

  “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…

  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…

   “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…

  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…

  “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…

  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…

  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…

  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,…

  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…

  “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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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.…

  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.…

    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…