Daily Reflections
“There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:42) In the Gospel story of Martha and Mary, we see two good responses to the presence of Christ. Martha is busy serving the Lord, while Mary sits at His feet and…
“He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him.” (Luke 10:34) In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ gives us a beautiful image of His mercy toward us. The man…
“There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.” (Matthew 21:33) In the parable of the vineyard, Christ presents us with a beautiful image of God’s generosity. The landowner…
Happy Marian Saturday, and to all my MIZZOU TIGER fans, happy Game Day! St. Maximilian Kolbe said about our Lady, “Be child, servant, slave of love to her in every way and under any name or formula uttered so far or devised in this our time or in the future. In one word: be…
Today is the great feast day of our dear Guardian Angels! We owe a lot to them; they are the ones who report to God our actions our deeds and our sins. As Jesus says in the gospel today, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to…
Today is the great feast day of one of the greatest missionaries who never set foot outside her convent! St. Therese of the Child Jesus wanted to be a missionary but knew that, with her health, the Lord was not calling her to do this. Our Lord said in the gospel today, which is…
Today is the feast day of St. Jerome. St. Jerome’s most famous quote is “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” In our gospel today, Jesus says, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” It has been like this…
Today is the Solemnity of Sts. Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, and are our secondary patrons at Conception Abbey! Our mother house in Engleberg, Switzerland, at Engleberg Abbey means Mountain of Angels. It is also a very special day for our McQueen family today! My great-grandfather Joe was wounded in three places during the Battle…
These readings today remind me of my grandparents, Bill and Peggy Burkhart. I know I have talked about my dear aunt Mary Joel Burkhart before. She was nine months old when she passed away on January 8, 1966—72 years earlier, St. Maximilian Kolbe was born on that date! My grandparents felt like the whole…
Today is the birthday of my twin brothers, Paul and Mike. When I used to live with my parents, I always heard them complaining to either mom or dad about how, “It’s not fair! Paul (or Mike) gets to do this, or that!” In our first reading today from the Prophet Ezekiel, the Lord…
Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men” (Luke 9:44). With these words, Jesus draws the attention of his followers away from their amazement at his miraculous deeds and points them toward the central purpose of his mission:…
King Herod’s question in our gospel narrative from St. Luke gives us pause for reflection: “‘Who then is this about whom I hear such things?’ And he kept trying to see him” (Lk 9:9). It is a question we must continually ask ourselves: Who is this Jesus? Of what importance is He in my…
In the gospel passage we read today from Luke 9:1-6, Jesus sends his twelve disciples on a mission “to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” What is significant is that he directs them to “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let…
In today’s gospel, Jesus redefines the bonds of kinship in his family: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 8:21). As Christians, we are all called into a closer relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This intimacy is even deeper than that of…
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist. The gospel recounts the story of his transformative call: “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9). This vocation account is…
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). These concluding words of the first reading of today’s Liturgy help our understanding…
Harvest season is beginning. The corn in the fields that were so rich and green suffered in the blistering heat of a few days ago. Now they are being cut and sent off to the grain bins to become feed for cattle. The soybeans that were once blankets of rich green are now turning…
Am I a follower of Jesus? Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. But he was not alone. Besides the Twelve, there were others as well, mostly women, it seems, whom Jesus had cured. Perhaps it was out…
Lady Liberty stands with her eyes covered, holding the set of scales in her hand. She is trying to tell us that justice is blind. She is not swayed by rich or poor, by gender, nor by the color of a person’s skin. She is not convinced by what the person is wearing. All…
St. Paul’s words about love come to us in a passage that we never tire of hearing. God created us for love, and we are his beloved children. I must confess that despite the beautiful description of what love is about, frankly it is not so easy to do. We experience such divisive attitudes…
The Cross. So often we associate it with pain, with suffering. It becomes something we would like to avoid if possible. If this is the case with the noun “cross,” there is more to be said for the adjective in describing a “cross” person. Such an individual whom we describe as cross, even if…
For those who have used the services of a physical therapist, my experience may ring close to home. I have been suffering from back surgery and a weakened leg. My therapy included many leg exercises to strengthen my walking. In doing so, I have occasionally had to wear weights. At first, they seemed awfully…
“I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because…
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” – Luke 6:39 Today’s Gospel reading shows us why self-knowledge is so important. If we are too focused on the sins of others, we can become blind to our own sins. This blindness makes us less effective evangelists and…
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” – Luke 6:27-28 In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us that we must love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. Of course, this is…
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.” – Luke 6:20 In today’s Gospel we find Luke’s abridged version of the beatitudes. Interestingly, both St. Matthew and St. Luke placed poverty first in their accounts. Poverty is meant to free us from being slaves to the world, and instead,…
“Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” – Matthew 1:16 In the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, we find a long genealogy of Jesus. Many of the names listed are familiar to us, such as Abraham and David from the Old Testament. The life of the Blessed Virgin Mary…
“Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.” Luke 6:10 As with many of the miracles Jesus performs in the Gospels, there is a deeper spiritual meaning hidden beneath the physical act. The physical act in this case is the…
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.” – Matthew 18:15 In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us that we have the duty to correct our brothers and sisters when they sin. When giving…
God presented St. Paul and all of the Apostles as the last of all, so that no one would be inflated with pride. The Apostles were ordinary persons who became good stewards over time. The mother of James and John requested that her sons sit at Jesus’ right and left when he came into…
St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” What is a steward? One definition is, “A steward is a person who manages property, looks after passengers, or protects…
In her liturgy today, the Catholic Church honors St. Gregory the Great, Pope from 590 to 604. Born into a wealthy family, St. Gregory was well-educated and rose to prominence in Roman society. He was involved in both politics and religion. Due to his writings and his influence on the Divine Liturgy and Gregorian…
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tries to explain the difference between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God; between the natural person and the spiritual person. It is natural to live according to our senses, to act based on how things appear, sound, smell, taste, and feel.…
The Spirit of God scrutinizes everything. It will search for the Truth of Christ within a person. The Truth of Christ will help us: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Should we fail…
Truth. What is Truth? St. Paul came to Corinth in weakness and fear and much trembling because he knew his proclamation must be based solely in Truth and not in sublimity of words or of wisdom. Although he was a scholar and a person of importance, these parts of St. Paul would need to…
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” “You duped me, O Lord. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.” “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” “The…
Today’s memorial is called the Passion of St. John the Baptist. This is a deliberate comparison to the Passion of Christ. John’s vocation was to go before Jesus in everything, preparing the way for him. He was born first and began his ministry first. According to the gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus begins…
Today, we have the parable of the ten bridesmaids, five of whom are wise, and five who are foolish. They are waiting for the bridegroom to come, but he is long in coming, and all ten fall asleep. They are awakened when the bridegroom arrives, but their lamps are going out. The five wise…
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Monica, while tomorrow we will celebrate the memorial of her son, St. Augustine. Now, St. Augustine wasn’t always very saintly. In fact, as his autobiography shows, from age 16 he rejected Christianity and embraced teachings that were contrary to the faith, and he began to behave in…
In the gospel passage for today, Jesus’ dispute with the scribes and Pharisees becomes personal. Jesus portrays them as saying: “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophet’s blood.” The scribes and Pharisees saw themselves as being faithful to the laws and…