Daily Reflections

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

March 11, 2023

  “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…

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Friday of the Second Week of Lent

March 10, 2023

  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…

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Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

March 9, 2023

  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…

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Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 8, 2023

  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…

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Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 7, 2023

  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.…

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Monday of the Second Week of Lent

March 6, 2023

  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.…

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Second Sunday of Lent

March 5, 2023

    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…

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Saturday of the First Week of Lent

March 4, 2023

  “He is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways.” Ever since God walked with Abraham and Sarah, the Biblical question is the same – ‘Will you come along with me on your journey through life?’ Companionship with God implies holiness, and likeness to God. Doing things God’s way. We…

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Friday of the First Week of Lent

March 3, 2023

  “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” It has been said that the reason one comes to community is to discover the mystery of forgiveness. Regardless of the community, it is a fine reference to the Church, the redeeming…

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Thursday of the First Week of Lent

March 2, 2023

  “… help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord.” Prayer of petition rests on a consoling truth: God knows us. This is our belief in God and our understanding of who God is. Jesus tells us today: “Ask and it will be given to you.” If God knows us…

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Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

March 1, 2023

  “At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here.” We “have a greater than Jonah here.” The greater than Jonah is the Incarnate Word, Jesus, who is among…

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Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

February 28, 2023

  There is a contrast between the babbling that Jesus tells us to avoid in our prayer and the effective word which, Isaiah assures us, is God’s deed. God is the initiator of our lives; our work is to trust in the deed of God: “It shall not return to me void, but shall do…

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Monday of the First Week of Lent

February 27, 2023

  Holiness and Charity The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. When God tells his people to be holy, He is inviting them into the greatest intimacy. He asking us to be like He…

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First Sunday of Lent

February 26, 2023

   “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Temptation is like a probe. One meaning of a probe is to explore the unknown. In our story from Genesis today, Adam and Eve want to probe the unknown boundaries of good and evil. It is not just…

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Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

February 21, 2023

  Sirach tells us when we come to serve the Lord, prepare ourselves for trials and testing. And gold is tested in the fire and those found acceptable in the furnace of humiliation. The words of Sirach fit well with Jesus’ journey with his disciples as we hear it in the Gospel. Jesus was setting…

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Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

February 20, 2023

  The words of Psalm 50 set the stage for today’s gospel miracle. “Call on me in the day of distress. I will free you and you shall honor me.” The details are clear. This poor father was desperate for a cure, something to help his poor son. So, he brings him at last to…

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Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 19, 2023

  “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. At the end of today’s gospel passage, Jesus clearly states that in the end, he was calling his followers to “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” These are two tall orders.…

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Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

February 18, 2023

  At the Steubenville youth conference, high school students gather together to reignite their faith. Most high school students who attend experience what many people call a “Jesus High,” when they are on fire with their faith and filled with the love of Jesus. On the last day of the conference, one of the speakers…

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Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

February 17, 2023

  Today’s first reading and psalm put a special focus on the poor. In his letter, James remarks, “Show no partiality” between the rich and the poor. He follows this statement with a rebuke for those who judge or deal harshly with the poor. The point he is clearly trying to convey is that the…

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Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

February 16, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins to give the apostles a glimpse of the Father’s will for him. He explains that he must suffer greatly, be killed, and rise after three days. This must have been very difficult for the apostles to hear. We see this when Peter responds by taking Jesus aside and rebuking…

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Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

February 15, 2023

  “As the crow flies” is an expression that denotes the shortest and most efficient path between two points. It is a route without wrong turns, dead ends, or detours. No traffic jams, checkpoints, or road rage. It is a direct path to one’s destination. In today’s first reading, Noah has spent forty days on…

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Memorial of Sts. Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

February 14, 2023

  In our Gospel today, Jesus warns the disciples against false teachings using an analogy about leaven. The disciples are confused by his words, thinking that He is talking about food, which leads Jesus to ask, “Do you still not understand?” We are often told that the disciples were confused or didn’t understand where Jesus…

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Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

February 13, 2023

  In our first reading, we hear the story of Cain and Abel and the betrayal of brothers due to resentment. In the Gospel, we hear the Pharisees wanting a sign from Jesus, but he tells them “no sign will be given to this generation.” There are many things to say about these passages, but…

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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 12, 2023

  There are many out there who believe the Catholic Church to be an institution for the mere purpose of laying down many, many rules. “Do this with your life, and do not do that.” Today’s readings point to a different reality, however. The first reading points out that “if you choose, you can keep…

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Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

February 11, 2023

  Witness by Ariel Burger Seldom do you find a book that truly gives credence to its title, and yet Witness does. Ariel Burger is a Jewish Rabbi who mentored under Elie Wiesel, the writer, teacher, human rights activist, and Holocaust survivor. The author describes how he witnessed under the quiet and unassuming Wiesel whose…

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Memorial of St. Scholastica, virgin

February 10, 2023

  Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza Immaculee Ilibagiza was very young when the Rwandan Genocide broke out. She witnessed some of the worst evil that one could imagine. She survived because a local pastor took her and eight other women into hiding. She had to hide in a tight space for three months. She…

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Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

February 9, 2023

  Life of Pi by Yann Martel Very seldom is it that a book pulls a reader in and challenges their perception. This one does. Life of Pi is a novel written with deep philosophy. Pi is the main character. His family owns and operates a zoo in India. Pi grows up with a love…

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Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

February 8, 2023

  A Refutation of Moral Relativism by Peter Kreef We live in a time where objective truth is not recognized, and time-honored values are usurped by individual autonomy. In other words, we live in a time where too many people want to be their own gods without any rules or responsibilities. This book here was…

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Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

February 7, 2023

  The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Ratzinger This is one book of spirituality I cannot hesitate to share. Joseph Ratzinger is known most famously as Pope Benedict XVI. He came to prominence as a young theologian at the Second Vatican Council. He went on to serve as an acclaimed theology professor, and then…

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Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

February 6, 2023

  The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Few books have the power to make sense of life, and yet this book does exactly that. Dr. Randy Pausch was a young, gifted professor who taught at Carnegie Mellon University. He made a name for himself working in computer programming and research. He had quite a talent…

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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 5, 2023

  Forward: As always, writing about faith brings with it a unique challenge. How can I as a writer bring you a perspective on the faith that you haven’t heard already? How can I prepare reflections that will simultaneously aid your faith and inform you? So, this week, I’m doing something different. I will write…

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Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

February 4, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, Jesus sees the vast crowd that is looking for him and waiting for him, and he feels compassion for them. And he does something for them out of his compassion for them. First of all, this tells us how God feels about us, especially when we feel lost, confused, and far…

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Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

February 3, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, Mark recounts the events in Herod’s court that led to the execution of John the Baptist. Matthew also recounts the same episode in his Gospel. However, Mark includes an interesting little tidbit that Matthew omits, but that we should take a deeper look at. Mark writes that Herod was afraid of…

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Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

February 2, 2023

  Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Law of God commands that the firstborn son must be taken to the temple and offered to God, and so in obedience, Joseph and Mary do this with Jesus. It is interesting to consider that since Jesus is God Incarnate, before his Incarnation,…

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Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

February 1, 2023

  When the Holy Family returned from Egypt after the death of Herod, they left Egypt and settled in the town of Nazareth. So, Jesus grew up in that town. In today’s Gospel, Jesus returns to his hometown after having spent some time in his public ministry. Since Jesus grew up there, the people of…

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Memorial of St. John Bosco, priest

January 31, 2023

  In today’s Gospel passage, we are presented with two miracles. At the beginning of the passage, Jesus is approached by a man named Jairus, who is a synagogue official and whose daughter is ill. Jairus asks Jesus to heal his daughter and Jesus agrees to accompany him back to the home. When they arrive,…

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Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

January 30, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, passage Jesus travels to the land of the Gerasenes, and encounters a man who has been possessed by evil spirits. This man howls and screams every day and gashes himself with rocks, etc. His neighbors have tried to restrain him, but even chains cannot hold him. He just breaks free. So…

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Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 29, 2023

  In today’s Gospel passage, we see the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In the first sentences, Jesus sits and his disciples come to him and he begins to teach them. In our culture we are used to people standing behind a podium when they address us, so we find it striking that…

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Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

January 28, 2023

  Mission Accomplished Today, in the opening prayer, we ask God to grant “that we may understand what he (St. Thomas Aquinas) taught and imitate what he accomplished.” Whoa. Really? He wrote about 60 works. One of them contains about 3,100 articles (the Summa Theologiae or “Summary of Theology”). Through his writing, teaching, and preaching,…

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Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

January 27, 2023

  Mysterium “…[H]e spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it” (Mk 4:33). There was a priest-monk among our community who would love to talk with guests, especially those who had never been to the Abbey or for whom monastic life was a mystery (surprisingly a lot of people). They were…

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