Daily Reflections
One of the hardest things to overcome as we mature spiritually is this: self-deception. We rationalize our sin or the gravity of it. “Nine out of ten commandments ain’t bad…” “Well, I’m not as bad as that person over there…” “I know this is a bad habit, but I will stop doing it… tomorrow…”…
“In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son” (Heb. 1:1-2). This reveals a central truth of Christianity: God is Trinity. Our God is a communion of divine Persons. This tri-personal God revealed by Jesus is…
John begins his letter with striking simplicity. He speaks of what he has heard, seen, touched, and witnessed. He does not offer theories or abstractions. He offers experience. And he offers it so that you may have communion with God, the same communion that shaped his entire life. His words invite you to look…
The day after Christmas places us before the witness of Stephen and his story might feel jarring. Yesterday celebrated the gentleness of Christ’s birth, yet today shows us the cost of following him. Stephen’s courage was not loud or defiant. It was the kind that grows from an interior life rooted so deeply in…
In this time of wintry weather and long dark nights, we Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus who is God’s light, joy, and love. Isaiah spoke in the first reading: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” With the birth of Jesus, God entered our world which we made dark,…
David wants to build something solid for God, something impressive and worthy—a beautiful temple. Yet God redirects him. Instead of receiving a grand project, David receives a promise—a future he cannot see, a legacy that will unfold slowly and quietly through generations. This moment speaks directly to the tensions in your own life. You…
Malachi speaks of a messenger who prepares the way, someone who will refine, purify, and turn hearts back toward one another. This is not abstract prophecy. It reaches into the real, complicated terrain of your own life. The refining Malachi describes often happens through situations that unsettle you, interrupt your expectations, or expose what…
Hannah enters the temple carrying the child she once feared she would never hold. There is no spectacle, no dramatic gesture. She simply offers Samuel to the Lord with the quiet strength of someone who has prayed, waited, and trusted when nothing seemed to change. Her gesture invites us to look honestly at our…
As we begin the final days of Advent, we will notice a thread throughout the coming week. Again and again, the readings reveal a God who chooses to work through hiddenness and humility. This is not only a feature of Christmas, but it is also the pattern of God’s action from the beginning. Over…
“Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to thy will!” Our Lady’s fiat (yes) to the Lord! Very fitting that the Annunciation account comes on a Marian Saturday during Advent. St. Maximilian Kolbe once said, “This time of ours is the era of the Immaculata, or,…
“Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’” You would think Zechariah would have believed when he saw the Archangel Gabriel with his own eyes! But no. Still doubting God’s plan for him and his dear wife Elizabeth, he…
Today is my mother’s birthday! I will not say how old she is, but today in our immediate family, we celebrate the gift of life! She was adopted, and on the day my grandparents were bringing her home from old St. Anthony’s orphanage in Kansas City, my grandmother said to one of the sisters…
Today begins, as I like to call it, the Holy Week of Advent with the “O Antiphons.” Our first Antiphon is: “O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love; come to teach us the path of knowledge!” In our gospel today, we hear the genealogy of Jesus. I love…
Jesus said to the Chief Priests and the Elders of the people… A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son said in reply, ‘I will not.’ But afterwards, he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other…
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the Chief Priests and the Elders that he would let them know by the authority. He does all of his merciful love so that they would need to answer him, “where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” Jesus shows Divine Mercy to these…
Today the Church celebrates Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. We rejoice because we are at the midway point of Advent not because we get presents soon, but that we get to commemorate the Lord’s nativity! Today would have also been the feast day of the great St. John of the Cross, the spiritual director of St.…
In today’s gospel passage, the disciples are beginning to realize who Jesus is, that he is the Messiah. And so they ask him about Elijah, who was supposed to come first. Jesus assures them that Elijah did come first, but that “they” did not recognize him and did with him whatever they pleased. Once…
I was a priest of the Archdiocese of Kingston in Jamaica for nearly eight years of my 10 years in Jamaica. Every year during the week after Pentecost, all of us who were serving as diocesan clergy in the archdiocese would go on our annual retreat at a retreat house in Mandeville, Jamaica. On…
Right in the middle of today’s gospel passage is one of the most puzzling statements that Jesus ever makes. Jesus says, “From the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent are taking it by force.” It is possible that Jesus is referring to the opposition that both…
Today’s gospel passage is very short, only three short verses (Mt 11:28-30); and it begins very comfortingly: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The next verse becomes a little bit more intense but still comforting: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,…
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus tells us the parable of the lost sheep. I am sure that all of us, when we hear this parable, identify with the lost sheep, and feel some comfort when the shepherd leaves all behind to go and find the lost sheep. I am sure we all have times…
Today we celebrate the patronal feast of Conception Abbey. Interestingly enough, the town in which the Abbey was founded was already named Conception after the Immaculate Conception even before the monks arrived. According to Wikipedia, there was a post office in the town named Conception from 1864, some nine years before the monks arrived.…
John the Baptist’s vocation was to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” according to today’s gospel. His basic message was to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He also told the people about someone who was coming. Someone who was so high in stature that John was…
We began this week of Advent as pilgrims launching into the story line of God revealing the Kingdom of God for all peoples. It’s a revelation that continues to take shape around the person of Jesus who chose twelve disciples and gave them a special mission. That mission was to extend the Spirit of…
Progress on any pilgrimage is measured not so much by the number of steps we take (even if counted!) as by what comes to us by sight and insight. This means that new and nourishing insights can come at any point along the pilgrimage if we’re open to that gift. Our Advent pilgrimage leading…
Does the Advent season have a split personality and a double purpose? Is Advent a time of constantly moving forward or is it a time of waiting? In other words, is there an emphasis on constant growth and moving deeper into the mystery of the Lord coming to us in history, mystery and grace?…
Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? Have you ever been a hitchhiker? This was a common way to get around a good number of years ago, but today, hardly ever. Times have changed. What if our Advent pilgrimage called us to use our imagination such as traveling a road which allowed hitchhikers, and…
Videos of toddlers and cute puppy dogs at play never fail to get your attention. The Prophet Isaiah is riveting our attention today with images of innocence and impossible relationships. What is the message behind pairing up the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the young goat, the calf and the lion, the…
Our Advent pilgrimage has begun and already from day one our readings begin to drop markers and themes pointing to our ultimate destination. Look closely and you’ll find the theme of “great expectations.” Our critical and cynical world seems to thrive on finding fault with everything and everyone who projects a personal hope or…
In sports and other areas of life getting a great start is essential for the outcome. Today we begin the season of Advent which of course begins the entire Liturgical Year, a nice occasion to wish someone a “Happy New Year” and leave them wondering what you meant! This beginning is quite different from…
Tomorrow is a new year. Tomorrow, we begin to anticipate the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord. His Advent is upon us, but we must first move on from what came before. If we wish to meet our Lord with confidence, we should cleanse ourselves of our faults through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.…
Sometimes we can lose vigilance in our religious practice when we repeatedly hear about the end of the world but it never happens… Except, it does happen. Over and over again. The world is completely different than it was 2,000 years ago. Empires rise and fall, philosophies change, and technology alters how we live.…
The word “Eucharist” means “Thanksgiving.” Every time we celebrate the Mass, we are giving thanks to God. As a matter of course, we should enter the celebration with particular things in mind for which we are thankful, but our salvation through Jesus Christ is always at the forefront of that thanksgiving. It is the…
We often only come to appreciate our trials some time after the experience, when we can see the fruit that they produced. It is like athletes who challenge their bodies to run faster, jump higher, endure longer, or lift more. They experience pain in the moment, knowing that it will help them in the…
As human beings, our natural perspective is very limited. We tend to see the world around us in terms of what we have individually experienced. This is especially so for young people who generally have less experience than those who have lived through more events, but we are all prone to view everything in…
Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, acknowledging Jesus as rightful ruler of all creation. Our first reading today describes the exile of the Israelites from the Promised Land after their kings had failed to lead them in the ways of God. Whereas Jesus exercised true power by submitting his will to…
Power is the enemy of those who seek it. Many start out with such good intentions, wanting to make a difference in the world, so they seek to become important in order to have influence over people. But the pursuit of power enslaves us. You know the saying: power tends to corrupt, and absolute…
Monks are said to live the “Angelic Life,” because we anticipate heaven, forsaking marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of God and devote ourselves to prayer. We, therefore, point to the resurrection in Christ with our whole lives. The most important aspect of this life is the part that lasts into eternity and…
Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple at Jerusalem. It comes from the tradition describing Mary as the miraculous child of Sts. Joachim and Anne, from a long line of blessed elderly people who had been unable to conceive in the Bible. Like the parents of Samuel, they dedicate…
This reading from the Book of Maccabees is likely hard for many of us to stomach – let alone understand why it’s in the liturgy. Suffice to say, that the extinction of right worship by an aggressive power left few options for an oppressed people. In our own time and country, freedom of speech…