Daily Reflections
Reading this section of First John is a challenge for me because I haven’t always lived by this maxim, “Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” In elementary school and in junior high, I fought often. I didn’t respect others as I should have. I acted like a bully and was bullied back…
Continue ReadingAmongst Catholics, very few topics hit the raw nerve of people like liturgy. Yes, liturgy. I want to discuss this because it’s so important to our faith. Jesus did say that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God inspired religion in order to bring us closer to him. If…
Continue ReadingI will often look over the readings for the coming week when writing a reflection like this and think, “what is the best way to approach this?” I’ve found that I can’t really write a good reflection unless it’s something that touched my heart first. I can only write or give a witness to…
Continue ReadingAs we move from the Epiphany to the Lord’s Baptism, we hear today about the arrest of John the Baptist in the Gospel reading. Jesus “withdrew to Galilee.” John’s arrest seems to have affected Jesus deeply. They were both cousins, and John played an important role in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There are…
Continue ReadingIntroductory Note: Many of my reflections are taken from an essay I wrote for the American Benedictine Review’s annual writing contest. The theme I chose to write on was the glory of God at work in our life. I humbly pray my writing will contribute to your own prayer and meditation. This is…
Continue ReadingSaints Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, whose feast we commemorate today, were lifelong friends. They studied rhetoric together in the best schools, they lived a monastic life together, and later as bishops, they spurned each other on to greatness working out theology on the nature of the Trinity. We intuitively know that friendship is important,…
Continue ReadingIn the year 428, there was a raging controversy in the Church over whether Mary could be called Mother of God—Theotokos in Greek. The dispute pitted Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, against Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt. Nestorius claimed that Mary is the mother only of the human Jesus, not of the…
Continue ReadingJohn begins today’s gospel with “in the beginning was the Word,” and says in the first reading, “it is the last hour.” At least for John and the scriptures in general, the beginning and end of time are marked, not by Big Bangs, but by the absolute sovereignty and rule of Christ. However, the…
Continue ReadingJesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” In the spiritual life, our souls also grow in strength, wisdom, and grace. But unlike our physical body, which reaches a certain maturity and then begins to decline, our soul keeps growing through every age, every experience, every…
Continue ReadingThere is an ancient tradition that a child is not given to parents by God but only loaned to them for a short time. The Jewish rites surrounding birth contained this belief, especially of the first-born son. The Presentation of Jesus in the temple had a significance his parents did not fully grasp. He,…
Continue ReadingOne can hardly imagine an evil more heinous than killing innocent children, nor a scene more heart-wrenching than their mothers witnessing and enduring such a violent act. This feast of the Holy Innocents presents us so quickly after the Christmas celebration of light and love, a reminder of the human heart’s darkest potential and…
Continue ReadingOn this Holy Family Sunday, the Gospel reading is obviously about the Holy Family. In particular, this year, we hear the passage about the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. There are five figures in this scene: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna. In my reflection today, I will focus on Joseph. Joseph…
Continue ReadingIt is commonly accepted among scripture scholars that the stories of Jesus’ birth and infancy were the last parts of the gospels to be written. As the early Christians tried to grasp the meaning of Christ, they first reflected on his death and resurrection. In stages, they looked back to understand his teaching and…
Continue ReadingHow beautiful and joyful is our celebration of Christ’s birth! A savior is born who brings salvation to the whole world. Yet, we hear in the scriptures that the shepherds were afraid when they first listened to this message. Mary and Joseph were also frightened when the angel first appeared to them. In…
Continue ReadingSeveral years ago the Ministerial Alliance’s clothing and food pantry in Stanberry, Missouri was getting vandalized in the back alley. One of the ministers suggested putting up cameras. Considering our modest budget, I recommended installing motion-activated lights instead. Sure enough, once the new lights were installed, the shenanigans stopped. Today is the last of…
Continue ReadingPeople have trouble with my religious name. Shocking, I know… Frequently when I meet someone new, he will ask what my name means. I understand it is exotic; still, I did not take my name for its definition but for the patron saint. At the time I proposed it to the abbot, I had…
Continue ReadingThe Greeks had a goddess named Nemesis. She was the god of retribution – specifically pouring out wrath for human hubris against the gods. Nemesis has many attributes to describe how she works: scales to weigh deeds against punishment, a scourge to chastise, and a bridle to rein in the self-exalted. She is the…
Continue ReadingWhen I was recently at my home parish, the priest asked me if I could recommend a book explaining some basic Catholic art because he feared people did not understand what was in the church. Unfortunately today we have access to much information yet are illiterate when it comes to Christian symbols. A consequence…
Continue ReadingI know these days during the pandemic, many of us are tired of being in our houses. Yet this reality of sheltering in a safe place speaks to the power of the personal domicile. A house, a home, is a powerful thing. Even if you are a world traveler and revel in seeing new…
Continue ReadingNot many people in our society really give a second thought about a married couple, even one advanced in years, who are without children. But, during Elizabeth’s time, her experience of barrenness was a disgrace before others. She shouldered a great personal burden characteristic of all women who desire to have a child, but…
Continue ReadingJoseph receives God’s message from the angel in a dream. The Lord’s promise to Ahaz will be fulfilled through the Virgin Mary: “The Virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” About seven hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecy, God’s salvation is brought forth in the person of Jesus Christ.…
Continue ReadingSome priests are scared about having to proclaim the varied and difficult names that appear in the genealogy Gospel. Though there has been a resurgence in family lineage in recent years, most people today do not find Matthew’s introduction all that captivating. While the text isn’t in the style of a narrative that we…
Continue ReadingThe Prophet Isaiah emphasizes the greatness of the Lord God and the foolishness of placing our trust in any other gods— “I am the LORD, there is no other.” Throughout salvation history, God performed powerful signs and wonders and saved His people, yet they turned from Him again and again. God’s presence is readily…
Continue ReadingWhen I was in high school, my Mom would leave us a short to-do list, with some simple chores to do while she was away running errands. It was nothing complicated, but just some basic tasks with which my brothers and I agreed to help out. I remember how we would put it off,…
Continue ReadingGod surely couldn’t work through me, could He? Many of us have uttered, or at least thought of, some version of the statement above. It’s an admission of how we feel inadequate, insignificant, and altogether fallible. Two things can be true at the same time: We can readily acknowledge our human weakness, and God…
Continue ReadingRecently someone who was mourning the loss of a loved one came to me and asked: “Father, several months have gone by and I am still grieving and hurting—is this revealing that my faith is weak and that I’m not entrusting my loved one to God?” Our liturgy for the Third Sunday of…
Continue ReadingBook of revelation A great sign appeared – a woman clothed with the sun. and the moon was under her feet…. on her head a crown of twelve stars. The prophet Zechariah states that many nations shall join themselves to the Lord. They shall be his people. And God will dwell among you. Mary…
Continue ReadingLet’s make a quick return to that opening collect from Sunday, where we ask God to “remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” I have always thought of this as a wonderful expression of our Advent longings, that we ask God to remove those things that keep us from receiving…
Continue Reading“I will” – “I do” – “I am” – “I am, with the help of God” Three responses we hear from the lips of those exchanging marriage vows and making the promises that come in the rites of ordination or religious profession. Today it is God making the promise – I WILL Fear not I…
Continue ReadingAlmost from the beginning of Advent, we begin to hear again and again of the promises to Israel for deliverance. The prophecies of Isaiah speak eloquently to the promise of redemption: give comfort to my people; speak tenderly to Jerusalem, proclaim that her service is at an end; fear not, your God comes to…
Continue ReadingIn 1854 Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of our faith, long-held sacred and celebrated over the centuries. Mary, the Immaculate Conception is Patroness of the Church in the United States, of our own diocese and the name of the Cathedral in Kansas City. The naming of two local…
Continue Reading“A highway will be there, called the holy way… and on it, the redeemed will walk.” After Jesus cured the paralytic, the man picked up his mat and went home, praising God. During Advent, we focus on our journey to and with the Lord. We await Jesus’ journeying to us, the Lord’s coming. We…
Continue ReadingIn the collect for today’s Mass, we pray: “Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son.” An earlier version put it this way asking God to “remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” Both versions get at something basic…
Continue ReadingToday’s Gospel accumulates what I have been saying all week. It says, “Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, ‘Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out…
Continue ReadingToday our theme of being missionaries and having faith continues. Today we see the miracle of Jesus curing the blind men. Jesus asks them, “Do you believe that I can do this? ‘Yes, Lord,’ they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘Let it be done for you according to your…
Continue ReadingToday is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of missionaries. On Monday I said that we are called this Advent Season to be missionaries, and as St. Francis Xavier says “When trying to evangelize, no tool is more effective than that of personal witness…People can argue with points of doctrine but no…
Continue ReadingToday in the Gospel, we hear about the story of the loaves and the fish. Jesus took seven loaves and a few fish and multiplied them to a crowd of about 4,000, and the disciples picked up seven baskets full left over. If you noticed in the Gospel, they were in a deserted place.…
Continue ReadingI remember my mom telling me her “annunciation” story. Mom was pregnant with my sister Lauren. My crazy, fun-loving sister is high-functioning autistic. The doctor asked my mom if she wanted to do a special sonogram that could detect any abnormalities that the baby could have, and my mom said to the doctor, straightforward,…
Continue ReadingProbably two of my favorite passages are referenced on this feast of St. Andrew. The first from our first reading, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” and Jesus telling Andrew and Peter (Simon), “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I see an equation…
Continue ReadingThank you for joining us for the Advent edition of the Online Spiritual Journey. Over the next few weeks, we will prepare our hearts for the birth of our Savior. We invite you to join us, as we offer daily reflections and Sunday videos. In the secular world, Advent may seem to mean we…
Continue Reading