Lenten Resources
In this Gospel, Jesus drives out a demon from someone who couldn’t speak. Jesus is immediately accused of being in league with Satan. Some people from the crowd said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Jesus’ response is wonderful in its directness: “Every kingdom divided against itself…
Continue ReadingToday, the Book of Deuteronomy describes Moses as the great teacher of the Chosen People. The Book is made up of three very long speeches in which Moses explains to the people how much God loves them. God entered into a special relationship with Israel. God would be their God. They would be God’s…
Continue ReadingIf we look back over our lives, most of us will find something or other that we very much regret. We might remember speaking or acting in ways that hurt others. Sometimes these experiences of personal failure leave us very burdened. In today’s Gospel, Peter asks Jesus, “How often must I forgive?” Jesus answers,…
Continue ReadingToday at Conception Abbey, we take a break from our regular observance of Lent. Instead, we celebrate a solemnity to honor St. Benedict. Tradition holds that this is the day he died. St. Benedict is one of my favorite saints. After Jesus and maybe St. Paul, he has been a big influence in my…
Continue ReadingIn today’s first reading, we are called to identify with the Chosen People, especially their experience of the Exodus. The Bible says that God led His people by day with a cloud and by night with a pillar of fire, feeding the people on their journey through the desert with Manna and bringing…
Continue ReadingWorking in our seminary, I see how greatly the relationships between fathers affect the lives of their sons. So important is the father’s relationship that it influences the adult practice of faith, self-discipline, self-worth, and identity. Nearly every psychological study on this issue has born out that a father who is present, caring, and…
Continue ReadingO my Lord, what you had to endure! O my Lord, what you must still endure from us, your wayward children! The parable of the Wicked Tenants is a strong indictment. The Jewish religious leaders apparently did not realize Jesus was using it to speak about them. They did, however, understand clearly that He…
Continue ReadingIn his new book Things Worth Dying For, Archbishop Charles Chaput shares a common image to describe both heaven and hell: a lavish banquet. The difference between the two, however, is vast. In heaven, guests use long utensils to feed one another. Conversely in hell, each soul feeds himself but starves! We can see…
Continue ReadingWhy 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 allowed them to make the ultimate…
Continue ReadingHave you gotten to the point in your life where you think: “Observing nine out of the Ten Commandments isn’t bad, right? Let me have one.” We should know that God is merciful but he is not nice. He will not abide any cooperation with evil or settle for anything less than holiness. Will…
Continue ReadingIf someone needs to gather within himself the confidence to have a job interview or speak in front of a large audience, there is a simple thing one can do. For two to five minutes before the event one stands up straight, plants his feet wide, and raises hands high and broadly above the…
Continue ReadingEach Lent, we hear about the Transfiguration. It is a sign of hope in the glory to come in the Resurrection despite the Cross. Yet, there is much more to draw from it. This particular account from Luke begins as so many of his do: with prayer. And given that prayer is one…
Continue ReadingWe believe that God truly speaks to us in times of peace but even more in times of turmoil, violence, and the brutality of war. We desperately need to know how to respond in this particular moment of history. The prophet Moses presented God’s covenant with instructions attached. God was promising to be their…
Continue Reading“Black Lives Matter” is a phrase that not only catches our attention because of recent history but also speaks to a universal truth about human nature. It resonates at the core of a thoughtful person. Being a member of the human race is based on the fact that our very existence is a gift.…
Continue ReadingWe could hardly imagine a more desperate moment of prayer than the one described in our first reading. Queen Esther representing her entire Jewish people was about to plead her case before the King and the outcome would determine the future existence of her people. She and her maids were preparing for this encounter…
Continue ReadingIf there is one thing that seems to drive commercial advertising these days, it seems to be the accepted first principle that every new product must be tagged as “new and improved.” The “new and improved” syndrome may have been at play when the crowds pressured Jesus for more and more miraculous signs. They…
Continue ReadingIt would seem that the format for making a promise in times past was a bit more formal than today. It was common for people to say “I give you my word,” or “my word is my bond.” Today, the most likely setting for those words is in the sacrament of marriage where the…
Continue ReadingHave you ever wondered if there is a difference in motivation to follow a posted list of “dos and don’ts” and the motivation to follow a spoken list of “dos and don’ts” by someone you know? Maybe our own childhood experience or raising children can add some insights here. I suggest that our Lenten…
Continue ReadingIsn’t it true everyone loves a story, even if we’ve heard it over and over? It’s easy to remember family get-togethers when someone begins telling stories that trigger other stories about the funny things that happened, or the exciting times with rescues just in time, or the hard times when everyone had to…
Continue ReadingJesus said to The Pharisees, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” St. Isidore of Seville says, “Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession, there is a…
Continue ReadingI remember a couple of years ago when my brother got married, he and his wife took a bus around Kansas City to take pictures, while all the guests were waiting on them to arrive. They arrived late because the bus got lost to the reception venue, so all of the guests waited and…
Continue ReadingToday Moses tells us in our first reading, “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving Him, and walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments, statutes, and decrees, you will live and…
Continue ReadingAs I read today’s readings, the word that comes to mind is humility. Yesterday we ate, drank, and were merry, but today we hear in our first reading, “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and…
Continue ReadingAs we approach this Lenten season, the first reading tells us to be prepared for the Grace that we will experience in the Paschal Season. We must ready ourselves and live soberly. We live a life that embraces the hope of the revelation of our salvation, which has been given to us in the…
Continue ReadingI am struck by today’s Gospel because of the initial joy and desire of the rich man. Jesus tells the man what he needs to do, according to the Law, to attain eternal life, but the man was already following the law from his youth. The rich man had a desire to do more…
Continue ReadingAs I reflect on today’s readings, the word that comes to mind is authenticity. We are called to be truly authentic to ourselves and to those around us. What is our true authentic self? It is that we are made in the image and likeness of God; that we are made in Love and…
Continue ReadingThese readings reminded me of when I was a child. I would always ask my parents for the most outlandish and expensive gifts for my birthday. Although I would not often get them, it exemplified a beautiful childlike innocence and reliance on those in charge of me. As we see in today’s Gospel, Christ…
Continue ReadingOur Gospel today looks at divorce and how the Pharisees saw divorce as permitted by Moses. After being questioned about divorce, Christ states, “What God has joined together, no human being must separate. (Mk10:9)” We as a culture have lost what marriage actually means. We have lost that idea of the total gift of…
Continue ReadingIn our Gospel today, we hear that if our hand causes us to sin, “cut it off.” God is not talking about cutting our actual hand, but rather things that pull us away from Him. As Lent nears, I have been praying about what I should give up and what was holding me back…
Continue Reading“Instead you should say, ‘If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.’” St. James warns us, in this first reading, of the dangers of relying on ourselves. How often do we tell ourselves we simply must “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” or “work a little harder?” How often…
Continue ReadingToday we honor the Chair of St. Peter, the first pope, given this office by Christ before His resurrection. Something undoubtedly worth noting on this feast is why Peter obtained this gift. On Good Friday, during the proclamation of the Passion narrative, we remember that Peter was the one who denied knowing Christ not…
Continue ReadingToday’s readings follow a theme of continual conversion. Although it can be difficult to acknowledge our sinfulness, we must do so for our conversion. How easy things would be if, like the boy in the Gospel, we would have outward signs of the impact of evil within us. He, possessed by a demon, foamed…
Continue ReadingThe Gospel today uses the phrase all of us know and have heard many times, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” But do we live it? As Jesus relates to us in the Gospel, it is easy to love those we can get along with, but where is that…
Continue ReadingIn today’s first reading, we hear how our mouth and tongue are “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Although we do acknowledge, “from the same mouth come blessing and cursing,” the reading focuses that our speech, along with the rest of our will, is in a fallen state due to the effects of…
Continue Reading“For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” St James is severely critical of those who claim to be believing Christians but do not act as if they are. Sometimes we can think that this does not apply to us because we feel like we…
Continue Reading“Who do you say that I am (Mk 8:29)?” Christ asks this of his Apostles today in the Gospel, but he invites us to answer him as well. Who would we say that Jesus is? Would we be quick to act like Peter and call Jesus the Messiah, or would we even be able…
Continue ReadingToday in the Gospel, we hear of Jesus curing the blind man. His sight was restored by having a personal encounter with Our Lord. Jesus is calling us to that same encounter, but we can all relate to this blind man in some way or another. What are we blinded by? What is blinding…
Continue ReadingIt is a common occurrence for people to become discouraged throughout their day because of temptation or misfortunes. Oftentimes, this can lead to a certain cynical attitude towards Our Lord. We must be careful not to blame him for these things, as they are not caused by Him, but rather, by our own sins…
Continue ReadingIn the first reading, we hear St. James exhort the Jews dwelling in the diaspora to be patient when they encounter various trials. Not only does he encourage patience, but he takes his advice a step further to the point of encouraging rejoicing when those trials are encountered. To our modern ears, we may…
Continue Reading“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” This theme of hope is present in all of the readings and psalms for this day, which should stand out to us. Hope, one of the theological virtues, is essential in the life of a Christian. It is through hope that we can have faith that…
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