Daily Reflections

  This day of commemoration of all the faithful departed, with its prayers and readings taken from the Masses for the Dead, evokes many of the same thoughts and feelings that we experience at a funeral. There is a sadness, a sense of loss, and a reminder of the reality of death and our own…

  All Saints’ Day reminds us that our ultimate goal is union with God in heaven. Thankfully we have countless saints who have already walked the path, been tested, and proven worthy to enter the Kingdom of heaven. The sheer diversity among the saints attests to the many and varied graces that God bestows on…

  We have watched for several days as people, “were observing Jesus carefully.” The Pharisees have already noticed He appears to be an irreligious Sabbath-breaker. And now they will see how He conducts Himself at a meal – surely, He will show that He does not carry out the proper purification rituals to handle food.…

  St. Paul writes to the Philippians from prison. Compared to Galatians and 2 Corinthians, for instance, readers are struck by the affection and warmth that Paul exhibits in this letter. “It is right that I should think this way about all of you because I hold you in my heart,” he gushes, “you are…

  It might surprise us that the Pharisees warn Christ of Herod’s plot to kill Him. I say that because, as I stated in an earlier reflection this week, we tend to think of Pharisees as the Lord’s archenemies. However, the reason Jesus engages with them is that they are actually closest to His own…

  I have always thought it was a great dignity to be named one of the Apostles. Maybe I was spared the embarrassment of that fateful day related in the gospel in which Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and from them, He chose just twelve. Think about it: What must it have felt like…

  Recently I had the senior seminarians read a text on obedience and discuss it in small groups. The author was a Benedictine and wrote about the Benedictine nuance of so-called mutual obedience. Most of the men struggled with this concept. They thought of obedience as top-down but not horizontal. How could one obey a…

  As a former pastor of two rural parishes, I was hesitant to talk too much about working on Sundays. Sometimes it just meant the livelihood of farmers if it was the only dry day to cut hay or it was calving season in spring. However, there were plenty who made it known that the…

  Many find the Hebrew Scriptures problematic because of the violence – specifically eradicating peoples in order for the Israelites to take possession of the Promised Land. For all of the violence, there is certainly as much call for the protection of the alien, the stranger, and many others of God’s little ones whom the…

  Today is Saturday! This is one of my favorite days of the week — not just because it is MIZZOU football season, but because all year round we celebrate Our Blessed Mother on Saturdays if there isn’t a memorial of any particular saint. To end this week I have a quote from St. Maximilian…

  My great grandfather was a judge in Kansas City, Missouri. I remember reading in his obituary a couple of years ago that on the bench, Judge Joe McQueen would tell those who were being under trial “why don’t you plead guilty so your sentence would be less troublesome and light.” But if people didn’t…

  Yesterday I talked about the responsorial psalm, which said “You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation,” and about how we receive from this spring, the Lord’s strength, courage, and most importantly his love and joy. Today the Lord says to us in the Gospel, “I have come to set the earth…

  I must admit that this Gospel passage frightens me a little when Jesus says, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely, and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of…

  “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” When I read this passage of St. Paul to the Ephesians, I am…

  In our Gospel passage today, we read about the rich man who had a bountiful harvest and tore down his barns to build larger ones, to store his harvest and other goods. We should feel very blessed to know that the barns of heaven are very large! What does this mean you might ask?…

  I remember on several occasions in school, both when I was younger and more recently in seminary, that I wasn’t smart enough and that I couldn’t accomplish a task that was ahead of me. As I have mentioned in a previous reflection, having ADHD has been my cross to carry since I was little.…

  The Letter to the Ephesians introduces today a body-image, in order to help us understand the central place which the Church occupies in the History of Salvation. St. Paul wishes to highlight, in a graphic way, the bond that brings together, into one relationship, Christ the Redeemer and all his deemed people. We know…

  We have, as the first reading today, a few lines from Chapter I of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, wherein he says: “In [Christ] we also were chosen, we were destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). At…

A person who penetrated deep into the Mystery of Christ was St. Teresa of Jesus, also known as Teresa of Avila. Born in 1515, she lived to the age of 67 – which, in the sixteenth century, was a pretty full life. She entered a house of the Carmelite Order when she was twenty, and,…

  “Woe to you Pharisees! … and the very same to you, Scribes of the law!” Reproaches such as these – and with the same ominous tone as we heard in the Gospel yesterday – are continued in Luke’s firsthand account today. Judging solely by external standards, the lives of the Pharisees could be judged…

  The subject of tour Gospel today is ritual cleansing. One day, Jesus exclaimed loud enough to be heard: “You Pharisees! You are so diligent about cleansing the outside, but on the inside, you are full of rapaciousness! Did he who made the outside not make the inside as well?” Jesus was addressing that Pharisee…

  Every generation seeks a sign that God is present, and every generation receives the same recurring sign: who is Jesus Christ, our Savior, who was crucified and rose again from the dead. By his own testimony, Jesus is a sign greater than the prophet Jonah. We can understand this sign as not only his…

  As you reflect on the Gospel reading for this Sunday in the 28th week, you may find yourself a bit puzzled. And if puzzled, it means that you are thinking! Why does the king dismiss a guest for not being dressed properly when, just a few verses earlier, he had ordered the servants to…

  This one is for my mother. She asked me if I would write one that was more…personal—one that drew upon my life’s experience. Out of love for her, I suppose I’ll try. This past week I’ve tried enough to make an exposé of St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians or explain the meaning of…

  In today’s passage from Galatians, Paul is presenting an intricate thread of evidence from scripture (the Old Testament) to prove that justification (being accepted by God) comes through faith and not by observing the Law of Moses. The Galatians were seeking to be justified (to be accepted by God) by observing certain precepts of…

  Let’s pick up the Church’s lectio continua (continuous reading) of Galatians. Today’s passage, scholars say, is the nutshell of Paul’s argument against the addition of the Mosaic Law to the Gospel of the Crucified Christ. It consists of five rhetorical questions—the first two cover the basic point—with an attention grabber at the beginning: “O…

  I admit that I do not pray the Rosary regularly. I would like to, especially considering all the praise and devotion it receives. As a monk, though, I feel I already have a devotion to something like the Holy Rosary, namely, the recitation of the Divine Office. In fact, it is said that the…

  In the monastic world, today is the Memorial of St. Bruno, who died on this day, October 6th, in the year of our Lord 1101. He is the founder of the Carthusian Order, a monastic order, popularly known for its austere way of life. Yet, the austerity is only a means to an end,…

  This week the Church begins a lectio continua, that is, a continuous reading through St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. A few verses and passages are left out, but this practice of carrying on a liturgical reading of the Scriptures from day to day is actually something that was done in the early church…

  Today Jesus tells another parable. But what is a parable? Ever wondered? If you consider it, there are many in the Gospels. Some have counted over seventy. They are Jesus’ main mode of preaching. In fact, Scripture says he spoke to the crowds “only in parables.” (Mt 13:34) I have gotten a sense of…

  The epic saga of Job comes to an end today. Job goes onto repent of his questioning of God. He says that he knows God can do all things. Thus, Job is restored by the Lord and receives double the number of all the livestock and resources he lost before. The Book of Job…

  This day we celebrate our “little friends”, our Guardian Angels. We often don’t think about them, but we are surrounded by angels who protect us. God, in His eternal wisdom and great love, grants that every person has an angel assigned to protect them and guard them. Some may find this idea to be…

  Here’s to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Oh, what an amazing Saint! This Saint came to the Carmelite convent in Lisieux at the age of 15. She, without meaning to set a fire, actually ended up setting a fire to the World. She grew to maturity in the community life in the cloister…

  “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (LK 9:62). I’ve thought over these words many times in my life. I heard this Gospel for the first time when I was in Catholic elementary school. It stuck out to…

  This day is celebrated as a Solemnity at Conception Abbey because the three Archangels are our main patrons after the Virgin Mary. There is an old title for the Feast of the Archangels called Michaelmas, or St. Michael’s Mass. In the Fifth Century, a Basilica was dedicated to St. Michael in Rome on September…

  What a contrast we see between today’s two readings. Job’s character and faith are questioned by the Devil. God permits Job to lose most of his family and his possessions. Yet Job refuses to curse the Lord. “We accept good things from the Lord. Should we not accept evil?” The disciples, on the other…

  Certain Sundays throughout the liturgical year offer different approaches to a recurring theme. Today’s readings present the theme of mercy for a repentant sinner. Those who are just and turn to wickedness will find a just recompense for their betrayal of justice. It’s not the Lord’s way that is unfair. It is the way…

  Vanity of Vanities – the theme recurs. Qoheleth sets out the joys of youth, contrasted with the inevitable weakness that comes with age. The many references in this passage pose somewhat poetic images to represent the advancing of years. I’ll leave it to your own reflection to draw out those references. Because man goes…

  Every time I encounter these lines from Ecclesiastes, I cannot help but hear the melody of a pop song of the 1960s. Younger readers may not know it: “Turn, Turn, Turn,” by the Byrds. There is an appointed time for everything under the sun. That’s very different than saying there is time for everything.…

  Vanity of vanity, all is vanity and a chasing after wind :: the refrain uttered numerous times in the book of Ecclesiastes :: from the mouth of the teacher, Quoheleth. Whenever we hear the opening lines of the book of Ecclesiastes, with its solemn tone – vanity of vanities – we cannot help but…