Articles for Lent

  Vanity of Vanities – the theme recurs. Qoheleth sets out the joys of youth, contrasted with the inevitable weakness that comes with age. The many references in this passage pose somewhat poetic images to represent the advancing of years. I’ll leave it to your own reflection to draw out those references. Because man goes…

  Every time I encounter these lines from Ecclesiastes, I cannot help but hear the melody of a pop song of the 1960s. Younger readers may not know it: “Turn, Turn, Turn,” by the Byrds. There is an appointed time for everything under the sun. That’s very different than saying there is time for everything.…

  Vanity of vanity, all is vanity and a chasing after wind :: the refrain uttered numerous times in the book of Ecclesiastes :: from the mouth of the teacher, Quoheleth. Whenever we hear the opening lines of the book of Ecclesiastes, with its solemn tone – vanity of vanities – we cannot help but…

  “They set out and went on their way, traveling from village to village, spreading the good news, and curing diseases.” Ready or not, we might say, Jesus was sending them out to spread the Good News. Jesus sent them out with little training (by modern standards in ministry), and the instructions he gave were…

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

  “I plead with you… live a life worthy of the calling you have re¬ceived.” These are the words of Paul. The words of John Chrysostom, whose feast we celebrated last week, tell us “I do not think it possible for a person to be saved who has never done anything for the salvation of…

  There’s a saying that goes something like this: “the ocean of God’s love is bigger than a thimble of the human mind.” Isaiah tells us that God’s “thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” In today’s parable, the vineyard owner proves to be very generous to his workers. Even to…

  1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49; Lk 8:4-15 “As for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” These words, coming at the end of our Gospel today, give us some understanding of…

1 Cor 15:12-20 + Lk 8:1-3 From our Gospel today, I suggest a thought from the very last line: “who provided for them out of their resources.” This undoubtedly refers to their material resources. However, I suggest we think about another resource place – the human heart. The catechism [#2563] describes the heart as the…

  1 Cor 15:1-11 + Lk 7:36-50 Hidden in our Gospel today is a beautiful little lesson in humility. It goes like this: the passage usually rendered, “her many sins are forgiven her because she has shown such great love,” is more accurately to be rendered, as we read in today’s text: “her many sins…

  1 Cor 12:31—13:13 + Lk 7:31-35 We wonder how our Gospel today is putting us, our “generation” of believers, in question. Jesus told those of his generation, the people of his time, that they were refusing to listen and choose. He compared them to children who were stubborn and wanted things their own way.…

  Heb 5, 7-9; John 19:25-27 “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’” Today we focus upon the mystery of Mary’s sorrow as playing a part in Christ’s redemption of the world.…

  Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. I offer a word which perhaps gives us a way into our readings today. That word is eventfulness. We can apply this word to our lives: ‘What is the eventfulness of my life at this…

  It is a coincidence that our first reading today and the Gospel are about vengeance and forgiveness. This occurs shortly after the anniversary of the events of 9/11. Vengeance was the cause of that tragedy. But our first reading tells us that “Wrath and anger are hateful things.” And, “the vengeful will suffer the…

  Today’s Gospel is from the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. If we look back over the whole sermon (see Luke 6:20-49), which we heard this week, what might we gain from such a spiritual treatise? There is no other teaching quite like it. The kingdom of God values the opposite of what…

  If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! (1 Corinthians 9:16) Let me be honest. I am unworthy to preach, and even to write these reflections: unqualified, immature in the faith,…

  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) This has been called the “Golden Rule” with which many of us are familiar. It is “golden” perhaps because it is a principle that, if lived by, is known to bring divine blessing, peace between the parties, and even success in…

  Today the Church commemorates a Spanish missionary who is known for his untiring ministry to Africans as they arrived in slave ships on the shores of Cartagena in 17th century Colombia. For almost forty years, Pedro Claver, “slave of the slaves forever,” as he called himself, cared for their bodily and spiritual needs. It…

  Today the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary, the wife of Joseph, and the mother of Jesus. Her birth is not recounted in Sacred Scripture, but the circumstances of her marriage to Joseph and of the birth of her son are (in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2). From these sacred stories and also from…

  On a certain Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught. (Luke 6:6a) Let us go in with him. Let us hear what he has to say. Yet, today it is not so much what he says but what he does that is the lesson. Who is there in the synagogue? There was a…

  Jesus said to his disciples…. Jesus spoke. He spoke a language his followers could understand. Yet, at times they did not understand. Some of the things he said were puzzling and even turned some of them away. A similar dynamic is true today. Jesus speaks to us. Though, we often need interpreters, scholars, and…

  St. Paul discusses in today’s first reading what being an apostle entailed for him. For as I see it, God has exhibited us apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death Paul knew that is wasn’t easy to be an Apostle, but required the virtue of perseverance. I’ve been taught as…

  The Pharisees compared Jesus’ disciples with those of John. They questioned why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast and offer prayers in the way John’s and their disciples did. Jesus gives a classic response. “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus was pointing out that there is a proper…

  You’ve probably heard a great deal about vocations in recent years. It seems every Catholic Church has some vocation poster for this, that, or the other thing. We all have a vocation. The vocational majority will start families and have kids. There is discernment involved in finding someone you are meant to be with.…

  Recently I’ve been reading Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm. This book is a classic. Basically, it asks (or asked) the question of why people in free societies would sometimes give up their freedom and support authoritarian regimes. Erich Fromm had a startling but clear answer for this: freedom in individualistic societies could lead…

  It has to be one of the greatest ironies in the Gospel. As Christians, we learn from a young age that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Yet the people around Jesus did not know or understand this fundamental truth. In the Sunday reading 10 days ago, Peter called Jesus the Messiah, the…

  This week we take a tour through St. Paul’s powerful first letter to the Corinthians. In it, he calls the Corinthians to clean up their act and return to the Gospel. He tells them that he didn’t come to them with “sublimity” or high and mighty words. He came to them with the truth…

  “You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped…” We can all relate to this on some level. We start out on a path with high hopes and dreams. Then we run into challenges we never saw coming. Oh, the things we never signed up for! I started out at Conception Abbey…

  We often have to admit that God’s ways are not our ways. Sometimes God’s ways seem to derail our desires and best intentions but even make no sense from our perspective. That struggle to accept God’s ways can leave us weary and even wondering whether our God is a loving God. The worldwide pandemic…

  Yesterday’s celebration of St. Monica was a natural introduction to the towering figure of her son St. Augustine of Hippo. As an early theologian and doctor of the Church, St. Augustine set the bar very high for all who would lift up the mysteries of faith to greater understanding and appreciation. Augustine brought a…

  I once heard a story about an exam given to police recruits to test their response to unusual situations. The question was: “What would you do if you had to stop a speeder who turned out to be your mother?” One young man answered: “I’d call for back-up!” It is true that mothers can…

  COVID-19 has drastically changed the way people around the world live and interact with one another. What was once normal is no more. Social gatherings carry the danger of disease. Rather than gathering in person, many now turn to the computer and its ability to transport people through the wonders of virtual reality. In…

  We have some very avid gardeners in the monastery. They love to get their hands dirty with digging, planting, weeding, and then nurturing with plenty of TLC. Those tomato plants get extra help when a wire cage is put around each one to hold it upright. Is St. Paul speaking as a tomato grower…

  We’ve all see those “pay-for-view” telescopes around major tourist sites. Put in the right coin, and you can scan the distant object of interest or even zoom in on some unsuspecting pedestrian who is simply walking by. The point is that we often need help to see something truly important whether it is an…

  The worldwide fascination with exploring the surface of Mars makes us think long-term. What will we earthlings bring with us as we land and begin to populate new living spaces? We could bring contaminating germs and microbes or positive enthusiasm for new possibilities for building a new lifestyle with room to grow. It would…

  Jesus said, “You have but one Father in heaven; you have but one master, the Christ.” As we have one Father and one Master, Jesus wants us to give God our entire self, our whole being — to give ourselves to Him entirely — not holding back, not half-hearted, not reluctantly, but totally and…

  I was reading a Gospel reflection, and a sentence stuck out as if God had taken a bright yellow highlighter and clearly marked it for me. The line read: “No love can ever fill your heart like the love of God.” This statement could not speak the truth more clearly, yet I think about…

  St. Bernard, whose memorial we celebrate today, was born in 1090, in Fontaines, a castle not far from Dijon, France. In 1112, Bernard entered the monastery of Cîteaux (France) and became a magnificent reformer and preacher. In one of his sermons for the feast of the Ascension, St. Bernard exhorts the faithful to humility…

  Growing up as the middle of three boys, there were plenty of opportunities to object to my parents: “That’s not fair!” I can think back on the portions of food or drink given to us, permissions to play with friends, or even television time — if any one of us felt that it was…

  The Prophet Ezekiel has some strong words for the leader of Tyre (the ancient Phoenician port city) who in his haughtiness believes himself to be something greater than who he really is. Ezekiel exclaims, “Yet you are a man, and not a god, however, you may think yourself like a god.” This foreign leader…