Daily Reflections

  “And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and server the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.” What is it that God asks of us? What does it mean to fear…

  In today’s readings, two themes jump out at me; being called, and encountering and dealing with distractions from our calling. In today’s first reading, we see Elijah being called to “go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” Standing on the mountain, he experiences many things;…

  We end this week with two tender but powerful Scripture readings. The combination of tenderness and power is an unusual pairing for our modern sensitivities since they are normally in opposition to one another. Perhaps a closer look will strengthen our appreciation of each. Today’s words of Moses suggest the words of a wise…

  Our first reading today coming from the Book of Deuteronomy almost sounds like God’s litany of favors the Hebrew people have received since their covenant relationship. Why would they need to be reminded? Why do we need to be reminded of all the blessings we’ve received? The short answer is we human beings have…

  The power of the seed to spring into new life is fascinating. Just mention that to the farmer, the gardener, or anyone sensitive to the beginnings of new life. It opens up an attitude of wonder and personal humility in the presence of a mystery that defies full understanding. Jesus uses the agricultural image…

  Even a quick dip into the Old Testament, especially the Pentateuch, soon convinces the reader that the Chosen People and their leaders had a volatile relationship with God. God’s Covenant of promised faithfulness was meant to anchor a wandering people to the same kind of fidelity. It was God who continually called the people…

  Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew is clearly an extension of yesterday’s description of Jesus feeding the hungry crowds. We can almost hear his words and feel his relief as He dismissed the people on that day: “At last, I can tell my disciples to go fishing and I can go up to…

  Suffering the loss of a loved one is exhausting in every way, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. The closer one has been to the deceased, the greater the emotional cost and need for rest. Today’s Gospel reveals the human emotions of Jesus grieving the death of John the Baptist and needing to take his small…

  Who has not been mystified by a magician making something disappear or reappear right before your eyes? Our immediate question is: “How did they do that?” Magic is great entertainment but we can fall into the mindset of always trying to figure out how a surprise happens rather than accepting the fact and meaning…

  Yesterday, we read St. Matthew’s account of the rejection of Jesus by his own people of Nazareth. They lacked faith in him because he seemed too “ordinary” to be the Savior of Israel that they expected. This story of non-acceptance opens the fifth part of St. Matthew’s gospel. It is followed immediately by a…

  In today’s gospel, Jesus experiences rejection by the people of his own hometown. His fellow villagers “took offense at him” because he was too well known to them and they found it difficult to believe that the son of a carpenter could be capable of such wisdom and mighty deeds. St. Matthew concludes the…

  The scripture passage from Exodus today recalls the building of the meeting tent which housed the ark of the covenant and was the visible Dwelling place of God among his people. So important was this Dwelling that the Lord gives Moses very specific and detailed instructions concerning its fabrication with special pedestals, columns, bars,…

  Jesus’ explanation of his parable about the weeds among the wheat is presented to us today for our reflection. Jesus identifies himself as the one who is the Sower of the good seed. The devil is the enemy who scatters destructive seeds and the weeds represent his followers. The harvesters are the angels who…

  Today’s gospel presents us with further parables of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a great tree—home to the birds of the sky who dwell in its branches. It is also like a small bit of yeast that leavens a large batch of dough that…

  My father enjoyed attending estate sales. Often, at the end of the bidding, the auctioneer would box together smaller, leftover items and sell them off for lump sums. My dad sometimes came home with one of these boxes of “stuff” which he purchased for less than a dollar—much to my mother’s dismay. He delighted…

  Martha, Mary, and Lazarus – the saints we celebrate today – were dear friends of the Lord Jesus. He made time in his busy schedule to visit them and stay with them. And, when Lazarus died, Jesus wept. Martha and Mary knew Jesus so well that, when he came to them after Lazarus’ death,…

  The Exodus account continues with the gift of the Ten Commandments. You may notice significant explanation amid the first three Commandments followed by very little commentary about the other seven. The first three, of course, deal with our relationship with God, while the last seven pertain to human relationships. The Commandments regarding human relationships…

  On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. This is the type of appearance we expect from God. The “Almighty” God should have power over nature,…

  It is easy to forget the many blessings we have received when focused on something missing from our lives. While traveling through the desert, the Israelites complained about a lack of food. Never mind that the Lord had worked great wonders to free them from slavery in Egypt. Even the parting of the sea…

  When life is going well, we tend to feel pretty good about ourselves—about our accomplishments, our talents, the compliments we receive, etc. This positive feeling can distract us from the greater reality that God accomplishes all that is good and may set us up for embarrassment when we fail. When we lose sight of…

  The prophet Jonah initially refused to preach repentance to the great city of Nineveh because it was a powerful enemy that had abused and attacked Israel. He neither wished to put himself at risk in their presence nor desired for them to receive God’s mercy. In Jonah’s eyes, Nineveh could not be redeemed. God,…

  Jesus has been preaching a great deal in parables of late. There are various reasons for him to use parables, even for the purpose of remaining mysterious or confounding those who have no faith. In the case of preaching about the Kingdom, however, you could say that Jesus is limited to using parables because…

  In the accumulated reflection of the Church, we come upon what is called the “Three-Headed Mary.” The identifiable facts of St. Mary Magdalene’s life are that she had suffered under demonic possession that Christ wrested from her. She, along with several other women, subsidized and accompanied Jesus and the Twelve in the public ministry.…

  I was a pastor when the COVID-19 lockdown occurred. Every church in the U.S. was reduced to a congregation amounting to a handful and livestreamed Mass. After we were told that two weeks would continue on for some time, I started to hear strange things about my parishioners’ experience of livestreamed Mass. Some said…

  The energy drink Red Bull has an ongoing ad campaign with the tagline: “Red Bull gives you wings!” It was memorable for its cartoon commercials. In ads, an individual would get out of a tight spot by popping open a Red Bull, sprouting wings, and flying aloft. These Red Bull ads remind me of…

  Most are familiar with the holy name of God revealed to Moses on Mount Horeb. We will get this in tomorrow’s reading from Exodus: I am who am. This could be the revelation of God’s nature, as the One who is being itself, existing for all eternity without beginning or end. It could also…

  When I was a young monk, I would sometimes judge harshly some of the monks who were my senior. They seemed not to try as hard with prayer and discipline as I expected. Why did they come to the monastery? Such thoughts could not only make me disrespectful to certain individuals, but they also…

Maybe I’m cynical. I started to notice a throughline in global secularist bugaboos (something that causes worry). From the 1970s onward, you can take whatever the current major problem is – economic advancement, women’s rights, climate change – and the cause of it was always the same: overpopulation. The thing we should all be afraid…

Perhaps you have had the experience of putting a dollar bill into a vending machine, only to have it spew it back out. The sale is void. The bill is creased and crumpled and must be smoothed in order to purchase the soda or chips. So, what do you do? You take the bill and…

  In the school for the Lord’s service, a disciple (student) can become like his teacher, but he is not above his teacher. And it is required of both teacher and disciple (after the necessary training) to be not afraid to proclaim what has been learned. In the school for the Lord’s service, the student…

  The readings at Mass this week have recounted how persons have left their families and homes and ended up dwelling in a foreign land. Jacob left his parents (Isaac and Rebekah) to live in Haran. Joseph (unwillingly) left Jacob, his father, and was taken to Egypt. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, whose memory is honored by…

  I can’t help but think that Joseph enjoyed (a little too much, perhaps) “torturing” his brothers, but I may be projecting. When he realized how much they loved their father and their youngest brother, however, the genuineness of his love for his entire family was undeniable. With wise eyes, he saw the hand of…

  If someone asked you to design a program which would save a nation and advance the knowledge of God, what would it look like? Would it include jealous brothers conspiring to kill one of their own? Or how about sending twelve persons out with the command to teach and heal, but who had never…

  Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of our Holy Father St. Benedict. St. Benedict lived his entire life in Italy, at a time when the Roman Empire was collapsing and outside tribal forces were frequently sacking Rome. Public confidence in many of the social structures of the day (military, government, economy) was very…

  Have you ever had one of those days? You follow the instructions of someone you trust, and you seem to be rewarded by another for doing so, but then you end up being sent to a foreign land by these very people, AND your brother hates you, too. Frankly, the last thing on my…

  The prophet Zechariah depicts the triumphant entrance of a King into the Promised Land of Israel, specifically into the Holy City of Jerusalem. It seems odd that such a powerful person is entering Jerusalem on a donkey (who would do such a thing??). Even more odd is the description of the King as humble,…

  In commenting on the story of Rebecca and Jacob’s deception, St. Augustine wrote: Non est mendacium sed mysterium – “It is not a lie but a mystery.” St. Augustine, of course, knew very well that Jacob’s lie was just that! But he was pointing to the mystery of God’s dealings with us humans. It…

  Jesus passed by, saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post (and) said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed him. The Sacred Scriptures tell us that no one can come to Jesus except that he or she is drawn by the Father. Today’s incident, the calling of St. Matthew,…

  “God put Abraham to the test….” Every now and then I hear an expression that usually sets my mind on alert: “Trust me!” I heard it when I was boy from my father who knew what he was doing, and I was to trust him! This is what we have today in our first…

    The Oxford Annotated Bible makes a comment on the term, “unclean spirits” which might be helpful in hearing today’s Gospel: “The spirit or demon, was called unclean because the effect of the condition was to separate [people] from the worship of God.” St. Catherine of Siena makes a helpful remark: “Understand that if…