Father Matthew Wiering Podcast: Recent Episodes
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In today's Gospel we have a couple important images of Jesus: He goes to the mountain from which vantage point he can see the storm the disciples are caught in (as well as the storms of my life!). And he goes to walk in the midst of that storm and reveals himself to his disciples. May we take comfort that Jesus (1) sees and knows everything I am going through, and that He (2) comes to be with me in the midst of the storm.
In the Gospel today Jesus arrives at a deserted place in order to be free of the crowds and to grieve and pray after learning of the death of John the Baptist. In this compromised human state, he discovers the crowds have followed him, and he immediately begins ministering to them. The loaves and fishes are similar. On its face this offering is much too small and poor to make any difference. Yet God uses this pathetic little offering that the disciples make to feed a multitude. How can we discover and embrace this dynamic in our own life?
In this last installment of our summer series on Mary, we explore the Scriptures to discover how the relationship between Jesus and Mary reveals Mary's unique role in the Church!
What does it mean for us to call Mary the "Immaculate Conception", and what evidence is there that this is the case? We reflect on how Mary's sinlessness does not make her less human but more human -- the human being and woman -- the "New Eve" -- exactly as God intended the human person to be.
Today's parable of the weeds and the wheat is perplexing in that the master doesn't choose to uproot the (evil) weeds right away but rather insists that they be left until harvest. He explains that this is for the sake of the health of the wheat. In our own lives, too, God permits some evil to bring about a greater good.
In this summer school reflection, we go through Luke chapter 1 and 2 to reflect on the person of Mary as portrayed in the Bible.
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation's founding, we reflect on how Gospel values -- together with the freedom to live them out -- can make Christians the best citizens.
In today's challenging Gospel Jesus tells us that we have to love Him about our parents, children, and anybody and anything else in our life. Do we? On it's face this might seem like an unjust demand, but if we consider who God is -- a Communion of Love -- then we understand that by loving God first all of our other loves will fall into their proper place.
In today's second reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Apostle reminds us that death was not a part of God's plan for the human person from the beginning. Rather, it was a consequence of sin. Thus as original sin is passed down to each human being, so is the necessity of bodily death. But Paul reminds us that there is no tragedy here, since in Jesus, God has sent a New Adam to undo what was done in the Garden. And one day, in the bodily resurrection, we will experience the amazing gift that God's mercy gives us: A new and indestructible life completely free from death ... and the possibility of ever sinning again.
The Gospels make it clear that as soon as Jesus's miraculous powers became known he was constantly surrounded by people. Some of these people were opportunists who were simply hoping to witness a miracle themselves. But many of the people following Jesus were aware of a deep need they or a loved one had for healing. They were needy people! Today's Gospel shows us what was Jesus's response to those needy people -- not frustration or irritation but rather compassionate love. May we always approach Jesus confidently whenever we experience any need!
On this Trinity Sunday we marvel at the totally gratuitous self-revelation of God. In Jesus He reveals the secret of His inmost being: That in the One Godhead there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To put this in other way, we could quote the First Letter of John and St. Augustine: "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:8) -- the Father who loves, the Son who is beloved, and the Holy Spirit, who is the love that binds together the Father and the Son. Since God is the very foundation and source of the universe and all created things, we can say Love is the origin of all creation, and Love -- Communion with God -- is our destiny!
Today is the feast of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity whom St. Augustine described as the Love that binds together the Father and the Son. Since the Holy Spirit is given to us in an objective way through the Sacraments, are we attentive to the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives? When He is speaking to us, do we respond?
On this Ascension Sunday, we hear two Scripture readings that seem to be contradictory. In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles witness Jesus's leaving earth to dwell in the heavenly realms. And in our Gospel from Matthew, Jesus says, "Behold I am with you always until the end of the age." So, presuming both realities are true at the same time, how can Jesus be with the Father in heaven AND be with us always?
In today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we learn that Peter and John go down to Samaria because of Philip's evangelical success. But when they arrive, they learn that, even though the new Christians there have been baptized, they have not received the Holy Spirit. So what do they do? They pray and lay hands on the new Christians, and the Holy Spirit falls upon them. Here we see the Scriptural foundation of the Sacrament of Confirmation by which we receive the fulness of the gift of the Holy Spirit!
Today's Gospel passage from the 14th chapter of John's Gospel is one of the most popular funeral readings. From one perspective, it seems that he is talking about heaven. Yet upon closer examination, Jesus is using images having to do with the Temple and with Jewish marriage traditions. He is speaking of bringing his disciples into union with him not just at some point in the future after we die but today, at every Mass, as his Bride the Church receives Jesus the Divine Bridegroom in the Eucharist.
On this "Good Shepherd Sunday" we hear Jesus explain to us the difference between good shepherds and bad shepherds, which Jesus calls "thieves and robbers". We have this difference too in the priesthood! The good shepherd/priest goes through the gate, which is Christ, and is completely oriented towards him. His priesthood is based on Christ. But the bad shepherd is in it for himself, not for Christ, and his ministry is not for the sake of service but for his own self-aggrandizement. Let us pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, and may our present and future priests be oriented towards Christ so that through their ministry we can hear the voice of Christ, our Good Shepherd.
In this amazingly rich passage, Jesus walks with two disciples from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The disciples are discouraged and forlorn about what has happened to Jesus, and the accounts that he has been raised have only further confused them. Jesus (whom they do not at first recognize) engages them in dialogue, and then he interprets the Old Testament Scriptures to them in such a way that their hearts are burning within them. But even after this dialogue (prayer) and meditation upon the Scriptures with Jesus, they still do not recognize him. It is only when Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives them bread (exactly the same thing he did at the Last Supper) that He is revealed to the disciples, and this encounter with the Risen Lord immediately changes them. Prayer and Scriptures are essential in leading us to the fullness of the encounter with Jesus, which culminates in the Eucharist, the Mass -- where He reveals Himself to us truly and transforms us interiorly.
On this Octave Day of Easter we reflect on where we have been since Holy Week. The Church walked with Christ as he suffered so dreadfully from the Garden of Gethsemane to the mount of Calvary to the tomb. Every form of human wickedness and dysfunction and disorder descended upon Jesus, crushing and ultimately killing him. What is his first word to those friends who abandoned and betrayed him in his time of need? It is "Peace." On this Divine Mercy Sunday, may we experience the peace of Jesus towards us repentant sinners, and may we give peace to those who have sinned against us!
Every year when we hear the Gospel accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb, I marvel at how different the details are from Gospel writer to Gospel writer, yet they all agree on one thing: It was women who were the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the first to encounter the Risen Christ. This shouldn't surprise us, since it was women who accompanied Jesus throughout the Passion and Crucifixion. Where were the men? They had all ran away out of fear.
As we commemorate the Lord's Supper, we celebrate the two Sacraments that Christ instituted and pass on to the disciples at that meal, by which He remains present in the world: The Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood.
In today's Gospel, Jesus says to us, "If you had faith the size of a mustard tree, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and cast into the sea' and it would happen." While this is impossible for man, nothing is impossible for God. What is the impossible thing -- the miracle -- that you desire of God? May our faith be strengthened so that we will believe that God can do even this!
Today's fascinating Gospel is full of symbolism and vivid details that stick with us as we grapple with the meaning of Jesus' story and reflect on its implications for our lives... A rich man lives in lavish luxury, and he does nothing to help the impoverished man who is, literally, lying in his doorway. The rich man did not share with the poor man, and he was judged accordingly. Who is the needy person whom God has put in front of me?!?
Today's Gospel contains one of the strangest and challenging of Jesus's parables. A steward is about to get fired for stealing his Master's money, so he gives his Master's away, and his Master approves of the action! We reflect on this confusing passage and how God is directing us to think of eternity and invest wisely today.
Today's first reading from the Old Testament is very strange. The people Israel sin against the Lord, and, as a result, serpents invade the land and bite the people, killing many. As a remedy, the Lord directs Moses to make a serpent out of bronze and mount it on a pole; whoever gazes at the bronze snake will be healed. It wasn't until the Passion and Death of Jesus that this mysterious episode was better understood: Just as the people gazed upon the consequence of their sin mounted on a pole, so now, we gaze upon the One who bore the weight of our sin -- "becoming sin" on the Cross as Paul said -- and in gazing at Jesus, we are healed. On this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, may we appreciate anew this tremendous gift of the forgiveness of our sin and our salvation!
Today we celebrate this morning's canonization in Rome of new Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. These saints lived today's Gospel: That to love God first means to have our hearts expand so that we love others as we ought.
Our readings today revolve around the theme of humility, and this gives us the opportunity to reflect on the place of pride in our lives. The question we will focus on today is, "Am I willing to ask for the help that I need?" Am I willing to be vulnerable before others? Our experience (and the Scriptures) tells us that, when we are willing to share our struggles openly and honestly, we are loved more, not less. By God and by the people who care about us.
In this third and final "Summer School" presentation, we explore how St. Ignatius's "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits" help us to navigate those times when we are in spiritual desolation.
For the text of the Rules, please visit the following link.
Today Jesus's Gospel message challenges us! He tells us that he did not come to bring peace but rather "division", particularly between family members. To understand this difficult teaching, we explore what Jesus means at the beginning of the passage when he says, "I have come to set fire to the earth!" The Scriptures and the Tradition often speak of God as fire, and as we get close to Him, we will experience the effects of fire: illumination, warmth, and purification. The fire is God's love that does not want to leave us in our impurities and attachments but must burn those things away, so that we can belong completely to Him and become the person that He made us to be.
In this second talk of three in our series of prayer, we examine the first four rules of St. Ignatius's Rules for the Discernment of Spirits!
The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary tells us not only about the life of Mary but also about herself, who will follow in her footsteps. We, too, will be in heaven body and soul, healed of every impurity and blemish, finally the person that we've always wanted to be and the beautiful creature God created us to be!
The expression "gird your loins" comes up a number of times, most notably in the account of the Passover. Israel must be ready to be on the move, to get to work, at the moment the Lord commands. It makes sense, then, when Jesus tells his disciples to gird their loins. They too must be vigilant and ready to get to work, waiting for his arrival and command. But for Jesus to gird his loins? This means that the master has become the servant.
We know we should pray, but how should we go about doing it? Is there a deeper prayer than intercessory prayer or the repetition of vocal prayers? Are devotions like the Rosary real prayer or do I need something more? What should I do if I am distracted in prayer? This is the first of three talks on prayer in this Summer School 2025 series.
Today's readings give us a very strong message: What is important to God is different from what is important to us. We are often caught up in the things of the world and often so attached to worldly things that we risk forgetting God or our neighbor. A specific example the Gospel gives of this is regarding inheritance. How many families do we know where siblings no longer speak to each other because of a dispute over who gets what?! St. Paul reminds us that, since we have been raised with Christ, we must seek what is above, not what is of earth. May we be focused on the things that are lasting and not on the things that are passing away!
Today's Scripture readings are all about prayer. Jesus tells us a parable that encourages us to pray with persistence and then stresses the good fatherhood of God, who loves it when we ask for things. In the first reading, Abraham boldly and persistently addresses his concerns and questions to God. But the highlight of the readings is certainly Luke's version of the "Our Father", which reminds us that God does indeed gift us with "memorized prayers", mercifully giving us the words to pray when we don't know what to say.
One of the themes that is often forgotten when we discuss the Gospel scene of Martha and Mary at their home with Jesus is the virtue of hospitality. This is brought home by the fact that the Church pairs this Gospel with the first reading from Genesis, where Abraham and Sarah show hospitality to God Himself, appearing as three men. In another place in the Gospel, Jesus says, "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me!" May we all value and grow in this virtue of hospitality, by which we can welcome others (and, by implication, God) into our homes and, more importantly, hearts.
In today's Gospel Jesus helps us to see who our "neighbor" is (anyone whom God places in our path), and he calls us to be inconvenienced and involved in the lives of those who need help. Reflecting on how Jesus has done this for us, may we say "yes" to his call: "Go and do likewise!"
Today's challenging Gospel gives us the opportunity to reflect on God's call to mission for each one of us Christians. What is my mission? In each particular way that God calls us, we are going to experience at times our poverty and weakness that forces us to rely on God's strength and not our own. The harvest is abundant, so may the Lord of the Harvest give us the grace to go out on mission, where we will experience God's power working through our weakness.
Whenever June 29 falls on a Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul instead of the normal Sunday in Ordinary Time. When this happens, we have the opportunity to reflect on the nature of the Church and its masculine, hierarchical dimension. This aspect of the Church gives us the grace of the Sacraments and the guarantee of the truth of her teachings. Yet, the constant conviction of the Church is that her nature is fundamentally feminine, as the "Bride of Christ." Learning to be receptive, like Mary, is the key to our self-understanding. May Peter and Mary teach us to be Church!
350 years ago, when He appeared to St. Margaret Mary, exposing for her His Sacred Heart, He called His Heart the "Sacrament of Love". He was referring the the Holy Eucharist. When Jesus gives us His Body and Blood, He is giving us His Heart. What does this mean for Jesus? And what does this mean for us who receive Holy Communion?
Today we celebrate the central mystery of the Christian faith: That the one God is a Communion of Love: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While God never needed to reveal this to us, He did in Jesus Christ. As if this wasn't amazing enough, He chooses to allow us to share with Him the Divine Life by giving us of His Spirit -- the Love which flows between Father and Son.
Some of those who were witnesses of the transformation of the disciples at Pentecost and their joyful praising of God accused them of being drunk with "new wine." The Fathers of the Church says that they were! They were inebriated with the new wine of the Holy Spirit, which results in the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, generosity, etc. May we experience the closeness (and gladness) to God that the Holy Spirit brings!
The account of Jesus's ascension into heaven in the Acts of the Apostles gives us the detail that Jesus is taken up in a cloud. From a Scriptural perspective, this is a sign that Jesus is not going "up, up, and away" but rather into God. This actually the meaning of what we profess in the Nicene Creed: "He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father." Jesus goes into the realm of God, which is also heaven. As Pope Benedict taught, heaven is not a place but a person. To enter into Jesus is to enter into heaven.
In today's Gospel Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you." Clearly Jesus is distinguishing his own peace from the peace that the world has to offer, but what is the difference? How can we seek Christ's peace and not simply what the world considers to be peace?
We recognize our graduating seniors this Sunday at Holy Family, and we have a beautiful Gospel with which to do so. Jesus commands his disciples (and us): "As I have loved you, so you must also love one another." What does Jesus mean by "love" and is his meaning different from the way we usually understand it? Is he commanding us to have warm feelings for each other? To like each other? We explore the various meanings of "to love" in Greek and look at how Jesus uses the word "agape" to define what he means by love.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, the Church and world rejoice that a new Shepherd for the Church has been named, Pope Leo XIV. The Gospels make it clear both that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and that he Shepherds through Peter (and by extension through the bishops and their priests). May we rejoice today that Jesus is our Shepherd and that He shepherds us through the Church!
In today's Gospel, Jesus is standing by a charcoal fire, and he invites his disciples to come towards him for breakfast. There is a deeper significance going on here, because the last time we saw a charcoal fire in the Gospel, it was in the courtyard of the high priest, while Jesus was awaiting trial. Peter stood by the fire, warming himself, and it was there that three times he denied knowing Jesus. Now at this charcoal fire, Jesus invites Peter to confess his love for him three times, forgiving his previous three betrayals. What a marvelous gift that Jesus gives Peter today: The gift of "re-con-cilia-tion" -- coming eyelash to eyelash (i.e. intimately close) with Jesus again.
Happy Easter! I've finally been watching "The Chosen" series, and I love it. Although it goes far beyond the Scriptural narrative, it makes me think about the personal stories of those who surround Jesus. How did they come to follow Jesus? What is their story? As we hear about the bravery of Mary Magdalene this morning, who not only accompanied Jesus on the Way of the Cross but also courageously visited his tomb on Easter morning, we can wonder, "What is her Jesus story?" What is mine? What is yours?
In today's Passion account from John's Gospel, the author goes out of his way to tells us that the narrative begins and end in a garden. Obviously, the author is hearkening back to the beginning of Genesis and the Garden of Eden. It was there, as a result of man's disobedience, that man lost favor with God and was exiled from the garden. But now in this new garden, the New Adam has responded to God with obedience, thus cancelling out my death sentence for my own disobedience. Let us venerate the cross today with great gratitude, as Jesus has suffered for my sins in order to bring me healing, wholeness, and reconciliation with God.
Tonight the Church gives us the Gospel of John, which gives us a unique account of the Last Supper. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, and then tells them that they must do the same. Tonight we celebrate the Institution of the Priesthood and two of the Sacraments that only the priest can celebrate: Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
Today as we reflect on the Passion narrative from Luke's Gospel, we can't help but see how the totality of evil and human dysfunction flood over Jesus. But we also can't help but see what comes from Jesus during the Passion: healing and forgiveness and mercy. May we always see the Passion as our safe harbor and refuge as Jesus suffers the consequences for our sins and reconciles us to the Father!
In today's 2nd reading from Philippians, Paul tells us that he considers all of this as "loss". If we open our Bibles, we realize what is the "this" he is talking about: Paul has a pure, Jewish heritage, and he has been a faithful follower of the Law. For much of his life he took pride in this privilege and accomplishment. Yet, when he met Christ, he was radically changed. From thence forward, he knew that his righteousness would come from Christ and not from his own achievement. May we too leave not only a life of sin behind but also a life of identifying with our own achievements. May we discover our true identity only in Christ, the beloved son or daughter of the Father!
This Sunday's amazing readings bring us back to the heart of our faith: Christ has accomplished his Passover for us, and we have been saved by the baptismal waters. Yet we remain in a period of trial and testing until we ourselves reach the Promised Land. What rejoicing there is in heaven when we repent and return to the Father, who makes us into a new creation: His Son.
Jesus responds in a most surprising (and off-putting) way to those who bring him the news of yet another atrocity committed against believers by the Roman legate Pontius Pilate: Instead of saying, "Oh, how terrible that he did that to those people," he says, "Unless you repent you will all die as they did." Jesus's unmistakable message today is, "Repent!" May we respond during this Lenten season to this urgent command of our Savior!
In the Transfiguration of Jesus, Christ's divine nature shines forth in a strange and wonderful way. Interestingly, this revelation of his divinity does not diminish or destroy Jesus's humanity in any way but it is precisely through and out of Jesus's humanity that the divine light shines forth! In our life, too, grace does not lessen our humanity but rather it elevates, enlightens, and glorifies it.
As Adam was driven into the wilderness because of sin, so Christ goes out into the desert wilderness to rescue us from our exile.
Today Jesus gives us the very humorous image of a man in need of assistance with a sliver with his eye, and the person who wants to help him has a beam in his own eye! For those of us who are inclined to help others with their issues, Jesus commands, "Remove the beam from your own eye first." What is the beam in my eye? That would make a great focal point for us for our efforts this Lent! In order for us to lead others in faith, which Jesus is asking of us, we first must be healed of our own blindness and be rid of that beam!
In our very challenging Gospel today, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. We could include within this category anyone whom we really struggle to love. St. Thomas Aquinas gives us a definition of love that is very important for us to understand Jesus's command, saying, love is "willing the good of the other as other." We may have strongly negative feelings towards someone, but, since love is not a feeling but rather a choice for the good of the other, we can still love despite negative feelings. We can will the good of the other. To do so is to love like our Heavenly Father, who loves all -- whether we respond to his love in the way he hopes ... or not.
In Luke's Beatitudes, basically everything that I try to avoid -- like poverty, sadness, hunger, and being disliked -- Jesus says is good for me. How easy is it for us to be attached more to earthly things than to God! It is my poverty, experienced in different ways, that helps me to live and embrace my identity as beloved son of the Father, on whom I am completely dependent. What a blessing it is to be poor and needing everything from God!
Today's Scriptures are about two women -- both poor widows -- widows being one of the most vulnerable groups in Israel -- who have nothing to give. Both women end up giving even the nothing they have, and both women are praised for their trust in God, who will give us everything when we're willing to give even the nothing that we have.
Why do we have priests? As we continue our reading through the Letter to the Hebrews in our Sunday readings, it is clear that the theme of the Priesthood of Christ is so important to the author. Christ's Priesthood, which was perfect, fulfilled and brought to completion the Old Testament priesthood. The Last Supper, then, was the institution of the New Testament priesthood, which is a sharing in the priesthood of Christ.
The veneration of the saints has been a constant tradition in the Christian Church. In this homily we explore the reasons given to us by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Our second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews has this important comment regarding the priesthood: "No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God." A man does not choose the priesthood. God chooses the man to be ordained a priest. May our reflection help us to treasure more and more the gift that he gives to the world in the priesthood!
In today's Gospel, the rich young man approaches Jesus and engages him in a dialogue regarding how he might inherit eternal life. At the end of the exchange, Jesus invites him to give up his possessions and to follow him. The young man, choosing his possessions over Jesus, went away sad. The world tempts us with power, money, possessions, or beauty, but when we choose these goods over Jesus we end up not happy but sad.
In today's Gospel, we have the clearest teaching of Jesus regarding marriage in the whole New Testament. This gives us the opportunity to reflect on the gift of marriage as well as on how the Church strives to live Jesus's teaching through its own laws regarding marriage.
Today's first reading and gospel tell similar stories. God is blessing those who are seen as "outsiders", and the result is suspicion and jealousy on the part of the disciples of both Moses and Jesus. How often we compare and judge and end up sowing division in our parishes, communities, and country! Division is exactly what the Enemy wants. May we strive for humility, understanding, and forgiveness so that we may have the unity that Christ desires for us.
In our Gospel today, the disciples are caught debating amongst themselves who in their group is the greatest. The irony of this worldly argument they were making is that they were doing this precisely as Jesus was again predicting that he would suffer and die at the hands of men. The Master would not achieve success in the eyes of the world but rather the opposite: He would be humiliated, but God would raise him up. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we too are all too easily caught up in this game of trying to achieve power, wealth, pleasure, and privilege. How can we be freed from our addiction to these worldly goals? Jesus gives us a remedy in today's Gospel.
In today's Gospel, Jesus addresses the disciples personally: "Who do you say that I am?" How would I answer this question? Do I make Jesus in my own image? Or do I allow Jesus to reveal himself to me as He is?
In today's Gospel we have one of a number of confrontations Jesus has with the Pharisees in the Gospel. Who were they? The Pharisees were a group within Judaism that were devoutly religious, traditional, and that took the Law with great seriousness. What was Jesus's problem with them? Their issue was not that they were pious or tried to follow the Law perfectly; rather, the problem was that they were so hyper focused on the minute details of the Law that they forget the most important things, like justice, mercy, and love. This is why Jesus called them "white-washed tombs" -- looking good on the outside but corrupted and rotten on the inside. May we too, in our religious pursuits, never lose sight of what is the most important!
Our readings providentially align this Sunday as we conclude John 6 and have Paul's teaching on marriage in Ephesians 5 as our 2nd reading. The last five weeks we have meditated on the Eucharist as Jesus speaks about it in the clearest way in the Gospels. The reading from St. Paul makes the point that the true marriage is that which obtains between Christ the Divine Bridegroom and the Church, his Bride. Where is this marriage consummated? In the same place where we consume Christ's Body and Blood. He gives his Body to his Bride, and as she receives this gift of her Husband, becomes One with Him.
For this first Sunday back in our church following our restoration work, very providentially, our Gospel presents us with the most clear teaching in the whole New Testament on the Eucharist. In John 6, Jesus clearly teaches that the bread that comes down from heaven is his flesh and blood, true food and drink. The constant teaching of the Church is that, when the priest prays the words of consecration over the bread and wine, those elements receive a new substance, ceasing to be bread and wine (although their physical appearance does not change) and becoming the body and blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God.
In today's first reading we see the great, heroic, and courageous prophet Elijah collapsing from exhaustion and discouragement. He shares his desperation with God in a prayer. God answers by sending him food and drink, which gives him strength to walk another 40 days and nights. In today's Gospel Jesus says, 'I am the living bread come down from heaven.' When we have lost our strength and cannot go on, God provides Himself as the food and drink that we need to give us the strength that we ourselves do not have.
As we continue our journey through John 6, Jesus says something that strikes to the heart: "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life." How much time and energy we spend laboring for that which does not ultimately fulfill us. May we truly take to heart Jesus's words for us in the Gospel and living accordingly: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me will have eternal life."
In John's Gospel there are always two levels at play: The literal level of the text and the theological level, the something "deeper" at work. In today's narrative, Jesus looks out at the crowd of people and sees that they are hungry (whether they themselves realize it or not). That is what is happening on the literal level. But on a spiritual level, we see how Jesus sees their hunger for God and how he will come to feed them, as the rest of John's sixth chapter plays out, with his very self.
In this Gospel where we see Jesus's identity as the Good Shepherd, who has compassion on his people, we see how Jesus also has compassion on his disciples, the ones who will be shepherd's after his own heart. Jesus wants his disciples to come to him to process what has happened in the course of the mission so that he can encourage them. May we see Jesus's desire to minister to us after we have ministered to others!
Today we reflect on the powerful text by St. Paul, who speaks of the "thorn in the flesh" that god has allowed him. Over and over again Paul begged God to take that affliction--whatever it was--away from him, but God responded to him: "My Grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in your weakness." Amidst our own thorns in the flesh -- and each of us has one -- may we have the perspective of Paul who was able to see that God was accomplished good through the persistent struggle that he allowed him.
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, and I celebrate my 14th anniversary of the priesthood! May we always experience the priesthood through the lens of love: Jesus reveals his love to chosen men so that they will bring that love into the world.
In today's Gospel we have two incredible healing stories, both involving women with conditions that would leave someone who comes into contact with them unclean. Yet the holiness of Jesus is such that he can only render clean. Jesus cannot be soiled by our own messiness but can only cleanse and order that which comes into contact with him. So this is encouragement for us today to bring our messiness (and the messiness of others) to him so we can receive in faith the healing we so desire!
Jesus's calming of the storm at sea is one of the few events in his life that is recorded in all four of the Gospels. This tells us that the memory of this episode lived on in the minds and hearts of the disciples. Amidst so many miracles, why was this one so important? Perhaps it is because it is so relatable. In the midst of the storms of our life, Jesus desires us to keep our eyes on him so that, in trustful surrender, he can be peace in the midst of the storm.
Jesus uses several images to describe the Kingdom of God that involve planting seed. The seed itself is so small and humble. Its looks so insignificant yet contains within itself a generative power. A farmer must be faithful to the humble work of planning, and then he must let God do the rest. How much is this an analogy for our life! Serving God in small and hidden ways, in faithfulness and love, planting the seeds that, with God, can bear great fruit. Such is the Church and such is our lives!
Today's return to the Sundays in Ordinary Time gives us one of the foundational biblical texts: The story of the aftermath of the Fall. While God created the man and the woman in a state of perfect harmony with Himself and with one another, we see how quickly these relationships fall apart when the man and woman commit the original sin. May we be convicted that sin always brings disorder and seek to encounter continually the only One who can heal us from the disorders of our heart, the New Adam, Jesus Christ!
We go back to the basics today on this Corpus Christi Sunday with our Gospel reading from the Last Supper. The Apostles would not have understood Jesus when he took bread and said, "This is my body," and when he took wine and called it "the blood of the new covenant." Yet less than 24 hours later the Apostles would have seen Jesus shed blood and offer his body on the altar of the cross. At every Catholic Mass, which is done in response to Jesus's command, "Do this in memory of me," the Cross and Resurrection is made present again, and grace upon grace is poured upon all who are there for the mystery.
In today's Gospel, in the context of their loving relationship of deep friendship, Jesus invites Peter to make a gift of his life. In this homily from the last Mass with our graduating seniors, we explore what truly satisfies us in life.
On this Pentecost Sunday, the Church gives us as a second reading Paul's list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, self-control, etc. These are the signs that accompany the Holy Spirit. St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits," gives us something very similar: A basis for how we can tell whether it is the Holy Spirit we are listening to or the Evil Spirit.
The Ascension of Jesus is a great mystery, and we realize this as we reflect on the reaction that the disciples have to witnessing their friend and lord Jesus depart from this earth. Instead of being downcast, the Gospels tell us that the disciples were joyful and immediately got to work preaching and witnessing to the Resurrection of Jesus. They understood that Jesus's visible presence was now passing into the Sacraments and, via the Sacraments, into them. May this be our cause for joy and action, too, that Jesus is Risen and we are his witnesses!
There are religions that claim that God loves or does loving things, but it is only Christianity that makes the strange claim that "God is love". In this homily we talk about what this means and apply it to our lives.
Today we celebrate the 1st Communion of a number of our young people, and we have the perfect Gospel to prepare us for this gift. Jesus gives us the very familiar biblical images of grapes and vines, which tell us so much about how we must live in imitation of Jesus (by being willing to be crushed like grapes) and how we have the strength to do this (by remaining on the vine that is Jesus).
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we take a closer look at St. Peter, who gives a fiery speech to the religious authorities in the 1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles. There is no better example of the transformation that can come from grace than St. Peter, who went from denying even knowing Jesus out of fear to fearlessly witnessing to him in front of those who could imprison or even kill him. At the Last Supper, Jesus says to Peter, "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brethren." Jesus's prayer remains efficacious today, as we look to the Successor of St. Peter, as the guardian and guarantee of the faith of Jesus.
In this account of the Resurrection from Luke, we begin in a similar way to last week's Gospel from John: The disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Out of fear they have locked themselves in to keep any enemies out. We can only imagine the fear that they feel, that what happened to Jesus will also happen to them. But we can also only imagine the guilt they must have felt: Each had abandoned Jesus in his time of need. Yet it was precisely into that bad spiritual space that Jesus entered and speaks not words of condemnation but rather, "Peace be with you". And he shows them his hands and his side. This encounter with the living Lord changes their fear and their guilt into joy. May our encounter with the Risen Lord at every Mass do the same!
The Gospel tells us that on the evening of Easter, Jesus appears in the locked Upper Room to his disciples, who were obviously in a state of misery -- grieving and confused, fearful that what happened to Jesus would happen to them, and guilt-ridden because of how they abandoned Jesus. Yet Jesus's first words to them were not, "You have really disappointed me," or, "Did you learn nothing from me over the past three years," but rather, "Peace be with you." And the effect that these words and the sight of his wounds had on them was immediate: "The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord." May the whole Church, and each of us, individually, know the gift of His Forgiveness this Divine Mercy Sunday -- his Easter gift to the Church!
Through the Passion and Death of Jesus, all of the dysfunction and disorder of the world is hurled on Jesus. Hatred, anger, oppression, greed, abuse, betrayal, abandonment ... the worst that the world has to offer is heaped upon Jesus. And Jesus accepts the violence and hate. He does not defend himself but allows himself to succumb to these worst forces of evil, dying, being buried, and descending into hell. But this is not the end of the story! The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the sign that God is victorious over sin and death. There's no filth that the world can throw at Jesus that itself is not forgiven and redeemed in the ocean of God's mercy. And ourselves, too: May we allow Jesus to touch the dysfunction and disorder in our hearts, so that this contact with the most pure one can render us clean with the new life of the Resurrection!
It's interesting to think about the silence of Jesus during the Passion. On Good Friday we hear the Passion according to St. John, which begins in Chapter 18. Chapters 14-17 of John's Gospel are Jesus talking nearly continuously at the Last Supper. (It's his longest discourse in all of the Gospels.) And then the Passion begins, and he hardly says anything. We especially notice this when Jesus is asked direct questions by Pilate and others interrogating him, and he stays silent. Tonight while he presided at the Stations of the Cross, Pope Francis gives us an explanation: Jesus is silent because he is praying. He is uniting himself to the Father. He is accepting the suffering of the present moment. And he is forgiving those who were attempting to harm him. May we learn to imitate him!
St. Mark introduces his Passion Narrative in an interesting way, by recounting a dinner that takes place in Bethany just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. He dines at the home of Simon, and a woman breaks an extremely expensive jar of perfumed oil and pours out its contents on Jesus's head. The Greek word here translated as "breaks" has the sense of being "shattered." Obviously, if the jar is shattered, all of its precious liquid will be poured out. The image helps us to interpret what is happening to Jesus as he suffers and finally dies on the cross. His body is shattered, and all of its contents -- everything that he has and is -- body, soul, humanity, divinity -- is poured out for love of you and me. As we meet Jesus this week making a total gift of self, may we respond with a total gift of self to him in return.
In John Chapter 12 we encounter Jesus at the height of his career. He has just raised Lazarus who had been dead four days in the tomb. When he enters Jerusalem for the last time, crowds gather to sing and wave palm branches in celebration. In today's Gospel we see that even the Greek-speaking Jews who have traveled a great distance to Jerusalem have heard about him and are trying to see him. Everybody is talking about him, and many desire to crown him King of Israel. It is at this moment, when Jesus has so many eating from the palm of his hand, that he announces how he, the Son of Man, will be glorified: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it will yield a rich harvest. Whoever loves his life loses it, but whoever hates his life will save it for eternal life." To say that this is not what the crowd is expecting Jesus to say would be an understatement. Yet Jesus is showing us the secret to new life in Christ: We must die to ourselves every day, so that Christ will live anew within me.
In today's Gospel we hear the magnificent verses from John 3:16-17: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." The 2nd reading from St. Paul is so similar: "God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions..." What do we believe God's attitude towards us is? How do we believe God feels about us? Do we believe he is disappointed, or frustrated, or angry, or indifferent? May the Word of God transform our mind so that we may believe that -- even when we are dead in our sins -- God has only one disposition towards us, which is love.
In today's Gospel Jesus turns over the tables of the money changers and drives out those who were selling livestock outside the Temple. He did this not because there was anything objectively evil going on but because he could sense that worldliness had invaded the sacred space of the Temple. When he sees disorder within God's house he has no time or tolerance for it but must drive it out. If this is true for the Temple in Jerusalem, which is merely a sign and foreshadowing of its fulfillment in the person of Jesus, how much more is this true when Jesus finds disorder within me, who St. Paul calls, "a Temple of the Holy Spirit." May we cooperate with this purifying work of Jesus and he sees and drives out evil within us!
In today's Gospel of the Transfiguration, the appearance of Jesus changes in front of the disciples. He appears dazzling with light, and the disciples are bedazzled! What's important for us to understand is that Jesus himself doesn't change at the Transfiguration, but the vision of the disciples does. They see him anew, as God. He is "God from God, light from light." Being able to see with the eyes of faith will change everything for them, especially as they go back down the mountain to "normal" reality, and especially as they witness Jesus suffer and die. May we too be granted true vision as we experience our own cross!
It might surprise us where the Holy Spirit sends Jesus immediately after anointing him at his baptism: He drives him into the desert to be tempted. He did this so that Christ could enter fully into our fallen humanity, including into those aspects which are most painful and humiliating for us. Here it is important to distinguish between being tempted and falling prey to temptation, which is to sin. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, Christ was tempted in every way that we are, but he remained without sin. What consolation it is that Jesus knows the difficulty and struggle of our most intense temptations! May we learn to run to him (and not away from him) with confidence every time we find ourselves tempted.
One of the easy-to-forget details in the account of Jesus's healing of the man with leprosy is the fact that both the man and Jesus act in ways that were completely taboo, that would have been unthinkable in the time and culture of Jesus. The man comes right up to Jesus (which he was not supposed to do, lest he come in physical contact with another person and render them unclean (and perhaps communicate the deadly disease of leprosy in the process)). And Jesus, rather than running as fast as he could in the opposite direction, reaches out and touches the man. According to Mosaic Law, this would have rendered Jesus unclean and would have excluded him from public worship and from close contact with others for a period of time. But what happens instead? We see that Jesus is so clean that he can never be soiled but can only render clean those who approach him with confidence. So we should never hesitate to bring our uncleanness directly to him -- so that he will make us clean.
The story of Job is the story of one who speaks very directly to God in the face of the sufferings he is experiencing. Pope Francis calls the Book of Job a "prayer of protest"! It is brutally honest prayer. Throughout the Scriptures we encounter those who openly share their suffering with God, which includes, anger with God, confusion over his ways, and even a sense of being abandoned by God. May we imitate these voices as they teach us to pray more and more honestly from the heart, which will only open the way for a deeper and more real relationship with the One who knows and understands us from the inside.
Today we focus on our 2nd Reading from Chapter 7 of St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. There he says some very counter-cultural things. He talks about marriage as not merely a natural good but a real charism (grace) and call from God. And, perhaps more counter-culturally, he talks about the celibate single life as a real charism (grace) and call from God. Most surprisingly of all, he says that he prefers the single life to the married life and says earlier in this chapter that he wishes "all would be as I am" (i.e. single). In this homily we talk about the unique gift of the single, celibate state and how we must adjust our mindset in order to be conformed to the Gospel.
In today's Gospel Jesus call his first four Apostles, all fishermen. These will be the first bishops and priests of his Church. Why does Jesus choose a seemingly disproportionate number of men with this particular vocation? Precisely because these men understand the basics of evangelization. They know how to put good bait on their hook to draw in the fish. To be fishers of men, they will have to be like Jesus, attracting men to their self. To be good "bait" will be for them to be more and more conformed to Jesus. This is the call of every baptized person and, especially, of every priest.
The identity of these Magi "from the East" is very mysterious, but what we know for sure is that they were seekers, looking for God. Once they recognize Him in the sign of the Star, they take action, making the long and difficult journey to Israel. Losing sight of the Star, instead of succumbing to discouragement they seek out the direction that they need. Soon the Star reappears, and they "rejoice with great joy". Upon finding the Christ, they worship him and offer gifts in sacrifice. Finally, they start back for their home country, but they do so as changed men. Now themselves are lights who will lead others to the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. How much do these Magi have to teach us about our own journey of faith!
Today's first and second readings for the Feast of the Holy Family have to do with the person of Abraham, called the "Father of our Faith". God called Abraham to leave his ancestral home and go to the place God had prepared for him. Abraham obediently left but without knowing where he was to go! But he believed that the One asking him to go was trustworthy, and so he went. When God told Abraham that his wife Sarah would conceive and bear a son in her old age, Abraham did not understand how this was possible, yet he believed God. He trusted, even when God told him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham is the Father of Faith because he believed God, even though he didn't understand. Do we not see the same faith in Mary and Joseph? Is not God calling us to believe and trust Him, even when we do not understand?
Whether our heart is tender and sensitive or cold and hardened, we all of love babies. Even the frostiest heart can't help but melt when a sleeping baby is placed in their arms. It is one of the most simple and basic human experiences, but to hold a baby is to experience happiness. At Christmas, this prompts us to ask: Since God chose to make Himself visible (for the first time) as a helpless baby, what does this tell us about God? Does it not tell us that God is revealing Himself to be Happiness itself? And that loving God and being struck with wonder by Him is simply to love humbly my humble Jesus?
On this last Sunday of Advent we meditate on the first words that the Archangel Gabriel says to Mary at the Annunciation: "Hail!" "Full of Grace!" "The Lord is with you!"
In today's Gospel, Jesus gives us practical instruction on how to handle conflict. We must go directly to that person (instead of going to Facebook or gossiping to other people). A closer look at the text allows us to see that Jesus is not just talking about personal conflict but what we must do when our brother or sister in Christ is struggling with sin. We have a responsibility not just for the material needs of the members of the Church but also the spiritual needs. Jesus gives us a blueprint for the responsibility we must take when a fellow Christian is living a sinful life. To "admonish the sinner" is one of the spiritual works of mercy. If we really care for one another in the Church, then we will intervene not only when the bodily needs of our members are concerned but also the spiritual needs.
Since the Church has given us two episodes having to do with the Apostle Peter the last two weeks, today we’ll reflect on this important character from the Gospel. His humanity – including his protective love for Jesus, his zeal, his impulsiveness, and his fear – makes him one of the most relatable figures in the early Church. While we see him at times trying to avoid suffering for himself or his master, at the end of his life, and now filled with the Pentecost gift of the Holy Spirit, we see Peter going all the way to crucifixion in order to live a life of loving imitation of Jesus. St. Peter, faithful disciple of our Lord, pray for us!
I’ve always marveled at what Jesus says after he gives Peter the keys to his kingdom. He says “the gates of hell will not prevail against it”. He is talking, of course, about the new Church, founded on the rock of Peter. Often we think of the Church and her mission being on the defensive. But Jesus‘s image that he gives is quite the opposite: The Church is on the march. The light of Christ will seek out and dispel the darkness of the world. There is great comfort in his words, and we must join him on this mission!
The Solemnity of the Assumption each year on August 15 gives us the opportunity to reflect on the Church’s rich teaching on our Blessed Mother Mary.
In today's Gospel, the disciples are rightfully terrified when their boat is being tossed about by a violent storm at sea. Adding to their angst, they were sent across the sea by Jesus himself, who was not with them in the storm. So where was he? He was praying on the mountain, from a vantage point where he would have been watching the storm, aware of everything that they were going through. At his own time, he walks on the water towards them and, after allowing Peter to walk on the water, calms the storm. Will we recognize that Jesus sees the storms in our own lives and comes to our rescue in his own time?
In today's Feast of the Transfiguration we marvel once again at the weird and wonderful account of Jesus shining like the sun on Mount Tabor with the disciples as witnesses. "I am the Light of the World," Jesus says in John's Gospel. Interestingly, in Matthew's Gospel, we hear Jesus say, "You are the light of the world." So who is it? The light is always the light of Jesus, but as the light of faith increases and grows within us, we begin to be radiant with Christ's light. It's his light shining in us.
Today in the Second Reading St. Paul teaches us something very important. He says, "In all things God works for God those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." It's not too difficult to accept that God's will is done when good things are happening to us. But God wants us to believe with the Apostle that in "all things" -- even the bad things that happen to us -- God is accomplishing good for us. May we see all things -- the good and the bad -- as God's loving blessing for us.
In today's parable, when the servants discover the weeds among the wheat the wisely bring their problem to the Master. Does he want them to pull up the weeds? And then he shows them that this isn't their responsibility -- that he is in control. What do we do when we encounter the weeds among the wheat in our family or workplace or parish? Do I automatically assume that I need to do something about it to fix it? Or can I enter into a prayerful dialogue with God and trust that he will fix it in his time. It is his, not my, responsibility.
In the famous "Parable of the Sower", Jesus uses farming images to help us to see what prevents us from allowing God's Word to take root in our heart and bear fruit. Like farmers have to pick rock, spray for weeds, and plow, so the same thing is necessary for us if we are to grow in our spiritual life!
Today’s magnificent readings show a real contrast between the kings of the world and the Messiah-King, Jesus. The first reading gives us the prophesy that the future king will enter his kingdom on a donkey – hardly dignified transport for royalty! Jesus tells us in our Gospel that he is “meek and humble of heart”. How different he is from the “important people” in our society! We also hear him at prayer thanking his Father for revealing heavenly things to the “little ones” and not the “wise and the learned”. Again, this is so unlike the important people of the world, who prize being known and respected by important people and forget about the lowly and little ones, the ones who are truly important to God.
Today's Gospel shows how radical Jesus's demands on his disciples are: He says, "He who loves mother or father or son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Is Jesus really saying that we need to love him more than our closest family members? Is this even possible? Would doing so actually be a good thing for us? We tackle these difficult questions in today's homily.
Jesus's mantra for the disciples today is, "Be not afraid." What do we fear and why? Specifically, Jesus today is telling us not to fear those who would persecute us for our faith. This persecution can be strong and dramatic, even to the point of martyrdom. Or it can be quite subtle, and we notice it when we feel like we can't be our authentic, faith-filled selves when we are around certain people. We feel like we can't talk about God or practice our faith openly. Jesus never told his disciples that they wouldn't have to suffer for their faith but he did say that they didn't have to fear such sufferings. The Father sees every sparrow, Jesus says, and you are worth more than the sparrows.
In today's Gospel Jesus encounters the crowd and has compassion on them. It's important for us to see what happens next. Jesus doesn't get discouraged because of the number of needy people, yet that would be an understandable reaction. How can one man minister to so many? Instead he gathers the twelve and sends them out to heal the physical and spiritual maladies of the people. Our Catholic tradition has always held that these twelve men were the first bishops and priests ordained and sent by Jesus. This helps us to appreciate that the priesthood itself is a sign and expression of Jesus's great love for his people. He desires his people to experience the healing that they need through the heart of the priest, which has been marked by Christ's own heart through his ordination. As St. John Vianney said, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus!"
What a humbling privilege for me to speak to a group of women on the dignity of women! Using the teaching of the Church and especially the teachings of Pope John Paul II and Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar we attempt to answer the increasingly enigmatic question, “What is a woman?”
The readings from the Old and New Testaments today portray a God who is deeply in love with his people and so deeply in love that he will send his own Son to the world and answer infidelity with fidelity to save them. As we reflect on our God who reveals Himself to be a Unity of Three Persons, may we be more and more convicted of the love that God has for us so that we will live out of that love.
On this Pentecost Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Spirit, we go over basic discernment of spirits. When the Holy Spirit is acting on us, what does that feel like? And, on the contrary, how will it feel if I am under the influence of the evil one? We will let the fruits of the Holy Spirit be our guides!
One of the interesting descriptions of Jesus's ascension into heaven is in Luke's account in the Acts of the Apostles where he tells us that "a cloud took him from their sight". Whenever this language of a cloud is used in the Scriptures it is code for an intense manifestation of the Divine Presence. Essentially what the author is telling us it that Jesus went into God. This tells us, literally, what heaven, the "place" to which Jesus ascends, is: Heaven is to be in God. This is good news for us! Where the Head goes, the Body will follow.
Today's 1st reading from the Acts of the Apostles is fascinating on a number of levels. First, we see that the Messianic mission of Jesus to unite the dispersed tribes of Israel is fulfilled with the preaching of the Gospel in Samaria. Second, we see how Jesus fulfills this Messianic mission: He does not do it himself directly but rather through the ministry of the Apostles. Third, how are the Apostles able to do the work of Jesus? He gives them the Holy Spirit through baptism and the laying on of hands (i.e. the Sacrament of Confirmation). This is why, at the beginning of the book of Acts, the Apostles ask Jesus when he's going to restore the Kingdom of Israel, and he says, "You will receive power from on high, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
It's very interesting to see the hierarchy at work in the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles with bishops (a.k.a. the Apostles), priests, and deacons. Interestingly, the decision to order another order of men (the deacons) comes from the unique role of the Apostles, who were also the first bishops and priests. Instead of diving more into the administrative and pastoral work of the Church when problems arise, the appoint (i.e. ordain) other men to do this work so that they can remained focused on prayer and the ministry of the Word. May Bishops and Priests always make prayer and hearing God's word their first priority, so that they can share God's love and Word with the people whom they serve.
Today's Gospel on this "Good Shepherd Sunday" is taken from the beginning of the 10th chapter of John's Gospel. There Jesus calls himself the "Good Shepherd" as well as the "gate" for the sheep. The Good Shepherd leads the sheep through Himself in baptism out to the pasture where the sheep are nourished with food and refreshed with drink. Here we see that Jesus is not only the Shepherd leading us to pasture but also the pasture itself: He leads us to Himself and gives us Himself to eat and drink that we may be nourished and refreshed.
In today's Gospel two disciples lose hope in Jesus and leave Jerusalem and walk in the opposite direction. They go astray. Can we relate to these disciples? Disillusioned, disappointed, we too can feel like Jesus has let us down, that he is not the one we thought he was. Losing our hope in him, we too can walk the wrong path and go astray. In today's Gospel we see how Jesus comes to walk with those who are walking away from him, and how he leads them, through the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread to an encounter with Him. The encounter with Jesus moves the disciples to turn around and walk in the right direction again.
In all four Gospels, it is women who are the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the Resurrected Christ. But they did not go to the tomb believing that they would discover Christ alive, but rather they went to the one they thought was dead. They were sorrowful, disappointed, and hopeless. But they went to the tomb anyway. There is much that we can learn from these women. When we are sorrowful, disappointed, and hopeless, let us go to the One we think is dead, so that He who Lives can encounter us and bring our death back to life.
There's a shocking contrast between the two Gospels proclaimed at today's Palm Sunday liturgy. In the first, heard right at the beginning of Mass, we hear of the crowd accompanying Jesus as he entered Jerusalem the last time. In reverence towards their Messiah-King, they laid down their cloaks and branches. In amazement of him, they sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" But in an extremely short time, the crowd in Jerusalem will receive the same Lord with great hostility, crying out, "Let him be crucified!" We ourselves shout this as we participate in the reading of the Passion account. This Holy Week how will we respond to Jesus, crucified for our sins and out of love for you and me?
Three times in the Gospels Jesus performs the spectacular miracle of raising from the dead. He raises the little daughter of Jairus, the widow's son at Nain, and, as we hear in today's gospel, Jesus's friend Lazarus. The Fathers of the Church saw these resurrections as Jesus's saving response to the spiritual death that is sin. In the little girl, they saw one who had just began to be touched by sin. In the young man, one who had begun to cling to sin more persistently. And in Lazarus, the powerlessness of one completely overwhelmed in their sins. And for each one, Jesus is the remedy. Let us let him be the remedy for our own sin this Lent!
Whenever we are reading from John's Gospel, we have to keep in mind that he is recounting stories from the ministry of Jesus using symbolism to communicate a deeper meaning. In today's Gospel Jesus heals a man born blind. This blindness contracted from birth is a symbol of the spiritual affliction that we also have from the beginning of our human existence: original sin. What is the remedy for this? It is the person of Jesus Himself, who communicates to us the divine life from the Sacraments, beginning with Baptism. This is the remedy for the spiritual blindness caused by sin that allows us to enter into a living relationship with God, who helps us to grow in holiness as we walk with him. Let's thank God (and our parents) for this gift of spiritual rebirth in the Sacrament of Baptism and pray for those who are preparing to receive this magnificent Sacrament.
Today's Gospel takes place at a well where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman. She has to keep coming back to the well over and over because or her thirst, like she keeps going from man to man searching for something that no one has yet been able to give her. The first thing Jesus does is ask her for a drink. He, too, is thirsty. Ultimately, she thirsts for him who has for her living water for her soul. But he too thirsts for her faith. And mine. And yours. Will we quench the thirst of Jesus today?
The Gospel for the 2nd Sunday of Lent is always one of the strange and wonderful accounts of the Transfiguration. While the astonishing event seems so unique in Jesus's life, there are Old Testament resonances that help us to interpret what God is communicating here. In particular, the connection with the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, where Isaac is referred to several times as the only beloved Son, coupled with the placement of this text in Matthew's Gospel, helps us to remember that the Glory that shines out from Jesus is intimately linked to his self-sacrifice on the Cross. The Cross is the means -- the way -- to Glory. For us, too, our Cross, is the means -- the way -- to our Glory.
Today's readings take us back to the beginning and the story of Creation and the Fall. When we discover the symbolism of these ancient texts, we come to realize that we're not talking about a man and woman tricked by a snake into eating an apple and then getting punished by God. Instead, we see how immensely blessed by God the man and woman were but instead listened to the lies of the Enemy of their human nature. They chose to reject God's authority and took the prerogative of deciding what is true and false, good and evil, right and wrong upon themselves. This was the actual original sin, and we can see it all over the place, including, if we're honest, in our own hearts. The Lent the Church invites us to repent of this tendency to want to make ourselves the arbiters of right and wrong so that we might submit to God the Father's authority over us and be truly his children.
Today's Gospel from the Sermon on the Mount can be very confusing. Jesus says, "Give no resistance to one who is evil." Is Jesus saying that we do not have the right to defend our self? Does someone in a situation of abuse need to tolerate it? We see from the examples that follow that clearly the answer to these questions is, "No." But Jesus is saying that we must let go of those (relatively) small, personal slights committed against us -- those things that often leave us holding grudges and resentments. To let these things go is to "be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect." Because Jesus lived this way, he expected that we do too.
In our Gospel today Jesus says something that would have shocked his listeners. He says, "You have heard that it was said..." (indicating something that God taught in the Sacred Scriptures) and then adds to it: "But I say to you..." In taking upon himself the prerogative to add to and intensify God's word, he is claiming for himself God's own authority. He is acting as only God can act. And in doing so, he makes the Law much more demanding: Not only are his disciples to follow the law on an external level ("You shall not kill") but also on the internal level of the heart: ("You shall not be angry with your brother"). Here we see the all-encompassing demand that Jesus makes upon our moral life. He demands everything and at the same time receives us with infinite mercy as we struggle in our task of becoming "perfect as our Father is perfect".
Today's gospel of salt and light is paired with our 1st reading from Isaiah, which tells God's people who they are to be salt and light: Doing works of mercy. We all have someone in our life who is in need -- either in need of material support or in need of loving friendship. Let's let the Scriptures today inspire us to stop sitting on the fence and to do something!
In today's Gospel we have one of the most famous and important passages in the New Testament, the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. As God gave his people through Moses the list of the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai, now God in the Person of Jesus gives his disciples the list of the Beatitudes. Yet this is not a list of "do's" or "don't's" but something more basic, more fundamental. Jesus gives us the attitudes that coincide with happiness. As Jesus inaugurated his public ministry with the call, "Repent (metanoiate -- go beyond the mind that you have) for heaven is near!" Now Jesus tells us what is the mind that we must have to be blessed. So, change your mind!
In today's Gospel the apostle Matthew quotes the great prophet Isaiah: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!" Jesus, the light of the world, arrives on the scene in the "darkness" of Galilee. He does so in order to bring light to the dark places of our hearts. But immediately after arriving he calls his first disciples and says that they will be "fishers of men." Having received his light ... we must pass it on to others!
What do the Church documents say about the Mass and the music to be used in it? Does the Church give direction in this area, or is it simply up to the discretion/preferences of the pastor, or is it "anything goes"? Many Catholics do not realize that the Church does give instructions on music in the Liturgy. In this presentation, Fr. Matt talks about what the Church does instruct regarding Sacred Music and the Mass and gives some of his own reflections based on his time spent serving as a priest and pastor.
One of the details the Gospel gives us is that the Magi were "from the east". This tells us that they were notfrom Israel, i.e. not Jews. Instead they were foreigners, pagans, "outsiders", we could say. Yet how much do these "converts" have to teach us cradle Christians!
This Sunday, January 1st, at the beginning of the New Year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on the gift of motherhood, and especially, Mary's motherhood over us. When we are baptized we become beloved sons and daughters of God the Father, and thus, brothers and sisters of Jesus. This means that we, like Jesus, are sons and daughters of Mary. May we know more and more the tenderness of her loving gaze upon each of us, her children.
St. Luke repeats two details for us: That the newborn Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (this latter detail Luke repeats thrice. The Church Fathers, attentive to this seemingly intentional repetition, saw in these two details at the beginning of Christ's life a prophesy of how his life would be culminate -- in his handing over his body through his dying and becoming food for his believers. This prophetic imagery is fulfilled today at our Christmas (literally, "Christ's Mass) Liturgy.
Today's first reading contains one of the most famous prophesies of all the Scriptures: A virgin will conceive and bear a son. What we don't always think about is the context in which this "sign" is announced: In the face of armies attacking Judah, King Ahaz is belligerent in his design to ally Judah with Egypt. He is insisting on doing his own will, instead of being obedient to God's will. He doesn't even want to hear what God has to say on the matter. We find a clear contrast with Ahaz in our Gospel. Joseph, who also finds himself in an extremely trying and confusing circumstance, opens himself to God and God's will in his life. Obedient to God instead of his own will, he says "yes" to taking on Mary as wife and Jesus as son--thus, you and I can be saved! What wonderful things God can do with our "yes" to His will!
Again in today's first reading from the prophet Isaiah we have a very striking image for Israel -- a desert -- which evokes aridity, barrenness, and death. Yet. The prophet tells us that the desert will be filled with an abundance of flowers. Of course, he does not mean that a desert will literally bloom, but that the "desert" of Israel, which at this point in its history seem lifeless and fruitless will not always be so but will again produce fruit, in Jesus. The same thing happens to the "desert" of our heart when Jesus comes -- flowers begin to bloom there. Let's pray and wait for this during Advent!
In this 2nd Week of Advent, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us again. He says, "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of David." In dead Israel, new life is going to come. How much do we need Jesus to come into those dead and lifeless places in our heart? Let our Advent prayer be, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
During the Sundays of Advent our first reading is taken from the prophet Isaiah, the foremost prophet on the coming of the Messiah. Since this is the very purpose of Advent -- preparing for the liturgical celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ-Messiah of Israel, how appropriate for us to be rooted in this ancient text. Today we explore how the mountain prophecy in Isaiah's 2nd chapter is not only fulfilled in the final age with the restoration of the heavenly Jerusalem, but in the present age of the Church -- with the celebration of every Mass.
In our Gospel of the healing of the ten lepers, Jesus tells the Samaritan man who returned to thank him, "Your faith has saved you." It does seem that there is a connection between thanksgiving and faith: If we have faith and trust in the goodness of God our Father, then we will be able to thank him for everything he is doing in our life, whether in "good times" or in "bad times".
The Solemnity of Christ the King presents us with an interesting juxtaposition between our own experience of worldly power and authority (as demonstrated by our political leaders) and Christ's power and authority. Our Gospel brings us to the Cross, the throne of Jesus. From that place of selflessness and humility, Christ shows us what makes him victorious: obedient love. This service is at the heart of what truly makes one great -- the feature of the True King of the Universe.
In today's Gospel, some people are standing near Jesus admiring the beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem, and Jesus says to them, "All that you see here ... a stone will not be left upon another stone..." On a literal level, Jesus was predicting the destruction of the Temple, which happened in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans. But on a symbolic level, he is also talking about what will happen to you and to me: Of us, too, Jesus can say, "All that you see here ... a stone will not be left upon another stone..." Accepting this truth, how does this change how will we live? Will we live this life in preparation for the next?
Today's 1st reading from 2nd Maccabees recounts the story of the heroic seven brothers and their mother who choose to sacrifice their lives rather than to eat pork. Perhaps astonishingly to us, the mother is the one who is encouraging her sons to offer their lives rather than offend God. How is it that the sons are able to give their lives in this way? How was the mother able to encourage all seven of her sons to be martyrs? Their attitude towards death showed their confidence in the resurrection: That this life is not the final destination but rather means for us to attain eternal life. Do we approach death in the same way?
To be a saint, literally means to be "holy". Perfect holiness will come someday in heaven, but even now the Church, through the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, tells us that everyone -- priests, religious sisters, and lay people alike -- are called to holiness. So what is "holiness" actually and is it even possible for us in this life?
St. Luke introduces the story of Zacchaeus by telling us that Jesus intended to pass through Jericho. But he doesn't pass through. He sees Zacchaeus and stops in his tracks. Jesus's heart goes out to this one "who was lost", and he changes his plans: Instead of passing through Jericho is dines and stays at the home of the repentant chief tax collector. Are we so flexible when God is asks us to change course? When God's will is different than my will, do I give immediate and cheerful assent? Am I willing to allow my plans to change in order to reach out to someone in love? Will I become more like Jesus?
Today St. Paul tells us that his life is poured out like a libation. He has reached the end of his life, and now the race is coming to an end. Another saint whose memorial we celebrated this weekend also ran the race all the way to the end, St. John Paul II. He allowed the world to accompany him as his physical health and appearance declined. May we run the race all the way to the end as these saints have!
The Gospel writer Luke introduces today's Gospel by telling us that in it Jesus is communicating the necessity of "praying always". This is illustrated in dramatic fashion in the first reading when Moses's servants prop his arms up so that he can be "always praying" and the Israelites will win the battle. What does it mean for you and me to "pray always"?
Today's first reading features the story of Naaman the Aramean from the 2nd Book of Kings. Rereading this story from the 5th chapter of 2 Kings is well worth the time, as the story is highly symbolic and contains many nuggets of truth. Do we recognize that we are sick (physically or psychologically or morally or spiritually) and cannot help ourselves? Do we have the humility to seek the help that we cannot achieve for ourselves? Do we have the humility to seek Christ's healing in the Sacraments of His Church?
Today Jesus tells his disciples that if they have faith "the size of a mustard seed" they could perform miracles, even of commanding a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea! In the lives of the saints we see many examples of miracles performed through confident prayer to God -- miracles in the natural world but also the much more important miracles of conversion in the hearts of men. Today we explore what happens when God answers our prayers ... and what happens when he does not ...
Today's Gospel of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a culmination point in a theme that Luke has been developing throughout the Gospel. We finally see the consequences of everything Jesus has been warning us about. Instead of using his money prudentially (by assisting the poor man in his need), the rich man squanders it (by keeping it to himself). Instead of being welcomed by Lazarus into eternal dwellings he find himself in torment. Lazarus, conversely, is welcomed into the bosom of Abraham. Such will be our destiny too if we do not use our "dishonest wealth" wisely by giving it to the poor.
If you are confused by today's Gospel, you are in good company! A steward is accused of squandering a rich man's money, and before the steward is fired, he writes off a bunch of the debt owed to his master, and he is commended by his master for doing so. This makes very little sense, until we realize that we are the subject of this parable -- our wealth, which is merely "on loan" to us until we die, we can either squander by using it just for ourselves or we can make friends with it by giving it away -- and these friendships, unlike the wealth, will last into eternal life.
In today's Gospel, Jesus responds to the Pharisee's accusation that he is too chummy with tax collectors and sinners by giving the moving parable of the Prodigal Son. In it two sons are juxtaposed -- one son's sins against his father are public and obvious (similar to the tax collectors and sinners) and one son's sins of the heart are more hidden but no less serious (like the Pharisees and scribes). What is the similarity and what is the difference between the two son? Both sons are sinners, and only one son repents. Which son will we be?
In today's Gospel Jesus has a shocking message for us: If you want to be his disciple, he must "hate" his parents and spouse and children and everyone else and also himself. While Jesus is clearly using the Semitic rhetorical technique that we would call "hyperbole", what does Jesus mean by this?
In today's Gospel on humility, Jesus indicates a remedy for pride, which is choosing to associate ourselves only with those who can offer some kind of "return" on our investment in them--people who have connections or influence or benefit us in some way, or people whose company we enjoy. But Jesus tells us today to have friends who do not provide us this "return", but rather cannot give us anything back because of their poverty and neediness. Do we have friends who are poor? This is what Jesus invites us to consider today.
This year the Feast of St. Pius X falls on a Sunday, so we have the opportunity to celebrate the patronal feast of our parish. Let's learn more about our patron saint so that we can follow his example and grow closer to him in friendship. St. Pius X, pray for us!
Today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the call of Abraham. In Genesis 12, God calls him to uproot his whole household and journey to the place that God has set apart for him. The catch is the God doesn’t tell him where he is going. Such is our life. And especially our life of faith. What enables Abraham to be obedient to God? His living relationship with God assured him that the One who calls him is trustworthy. May it be so for us as well!
Jesus makes it very clear in today’s Gospel that he wants us to ask for what we need and to do so with persistence. While we may experience God’s answering our prayer in the way we were hoping, what do we make of it when God doesn’t answer our prayer or seems to give us exactly the opposite of what we were wanting?
In today’s Gospel Jesus says to Martha: “You are anxious and worried about many things. There is one thing that is needed.” Amidst the many concerns of our life, how can we focus on the “one necessary thing”, or rather, the only One needed… Jesus Himself. When we focus on the One, the many legitimate concerns fall into their proper order.
This Sunday we hear the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. While the most obvious meaning of the parable is the moral lesson for us to come to the help of others, there is a deeper, symbolic meaning. Looking at the symbols Jesus uses we can see that he is the Good Samaritan and the sinner is the one left wounded and humiliated. We see not just THAT we should come to the rescue of others but how Jesus rescues US.
I’m today’s Gospel Jesus sends out his Church ill-equipped and unprepared for their mission except one thing: The disciples who are sent out all know Jesus. And God will give them the grace they need to be successful on the mission. Today we hear some practical advice about how to bring the Gospel message to our family, friends, and coworkers.
Friends, this weekend, instead of reflecting on the Sunday Mass readings as I typically do, I felt the Holy Spirit moving me to talk about what everyone else is talking about: the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. May our whole nation, whether liberal or conservative, come together to support the dignity of every human life.
Today’s Gospel finds Jesus with a huge crowd of people, and he miraculously provides for their physical hunger. At Mass we see how Jesus miraculously provides not for our physical hunger but rather for our spiritual need. As Jesus satisfied the empty bellies of the people, in the Eucharist he heals and fills the broken hearts of those who approach him with faith.
On Trinity Sunday we celebrate the radical secret that God kept hidden for thousands of years, which was only manifest in the fullness of time, when his own Son took on human flesh and announced the coming of a third Person who also shared equally in the divinity of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit. And this very Love that flows between Father and Son has been poured into our heart.
Our last Mass with our seniors was the Memorial of St Bernardine of Siena, who left his legacy and mark on Siena by inspiring many to place a symbol of the name of Jesus over the doorposts of their homes and businesses. 500 years later many remain. What will be YOUR legacy?
Today’s Second reading for this Ascension Sunday is taken from the letter to the Hebrews, and the book’s author has an interesting interpretation of the event of Christ’s Ascension into heaven. He sees Jesus, like the human high priest in the Temple, entering into the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the dwelling place of God. But Jesus does not enter like a human high priest with the blood of a bull or goat, but rather with his own blood, effectively atoning for the sins of the whole world and of all time. Now Jesus continues his priestly ministry of reconciliation through the men he has called to act in his person here on earth until we all attain to be with Jesus in heaven’s inner sanctum.
Today we use the Gospel for the 7th Sunday of Easter, taken from Christ’s great “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. Christ prays a number of times “that they might be one.” Do we live out Christ’s desire for unity in the Church?
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Jesus says these words when he sees Judas slipping out of the Upper Room to betray him to the Jewish authorities. It might seem like a strange moment to claim glory. Yet this is precisely what Jesus came to do: To give up his life for us on the Cross. To Jesus, this being-for-others is his glory. If we love as he loves, we will discover God’s glory in the same way.
In this homily from the 2nd Sunday of Easter we talk about what it means when Jesus says in Revelation, “Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever”. Jesus is not talking about simply his human soul but also his human body, a point emphasizes by all of the Resurrection accounts. Today we talk about how the resurrection of Jesus’s body tells us about the importance of our own body.
John’s Gospel gives us a very interesting detail in the last encounter we hear about in that Gospel between Jesus and his apostles. Peter is with the other disciples on the boat, and as soon as he recognizes that Jesus is in the water, he puts on clothes and jumps in the lake! In today’s homily for we explore the deeper meaning behind this enigmatic detail.
When the Apostles are gathered in the Upper Room and Jesus appears to them, the first word he says to the is “Peace”. If there were any question about whether he would accept them back as friends and companions after they abandoned him in his time of need, he clears it up here and restores their relationship with himself. He reconciles them to himself and to God the Father. Then he says, “As the Father has sent me so I send you.” In other words, as Jesus came to the world to reconcile people back to God, so now Jesus sends out his apostles—the first bishops and priests—to do exactly the same thing: Reconciling sinners back to God.
In John’s account of the passion we are given a few special details. Standing at the foot of the cross are a few women who gaze with sorrow and love at Jesus Crucified. His mother and beloved disciple John are there too, and Jesus invited John to make Mary his mother, and the Scripture tells us he “took her into his own”, into the deepest part of himself, into his heart we could say. Let’s imitate these holy ones as we gaze upon Jesus our Crucified Lord— standing with Mary, taking her into our hearts, letting them be broken with sorrow so that they will become a fountain of healing…
In the unique liturgy of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, our readings focus on the two Sacraments instituted at the Last Supper: the Eucharist and the Priesthood. The ritual washing of the feet reminds us that Jesus wants his priests—and all of his followers—to use whatever position they have to serve their brother and sister. And the procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the beautifully decorated altar of repose transports of to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus suffers psychological agony… and submits himself to men who will torture and kill him. Jesus’s hour has come, let us wait and keep watch with him.
Mysteries abound when it comes to today’s Gospel of Christ and the woman caught in adultery. The first is the mystery of origin: Where does this passage come from? Jesus’s writing on the ground is a mystery and hat has beguiled pastors and saints up until the present day. And the mystery of why the Church has us hear this Gospel right before we celebrate Palm Sunday at the end of Lent. There is more here in the story than meets the eye!
The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most moving ever told. How does God see the sinner, even one who has committed the most serious betrayal? With such love and desire that God waits for the first sign of the sinner’s return, running to meet us and restoring us to his friendship. This is the lesson of the Prodigal Son. May we always believe no matter what that God will always take us back.
In today’s first reading, we hear God reveal to Moses the mystery of his identity: I AM WHO AM. Catholic tradition helps us to interpret what this means. God is not one being among many beings (like us). He is, as Aquinas taught, ipsum esse—to be itself. While beings have a competitive stance between, God, who is the sheer act of being, is not in competition with creatures but actually brings them to perfection. The burning bush is a sign of this: The fire of God’s love does not destroy us but elevates us.
From our Morning of Recollection for Widows. Reflecting on the widow Anna who recognized Jesus as the Christ when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple.
Jesus’s baptism shows us how he has fully embraced our sinful human nature, and the temptations which immediately follow show us the consequences of this choice: Not only does Jesus take on our physical and psychological nature but our inner life too, including the painful and humiliating reality of our unwanted thoughts and temptations. Today we reflect on the the fact that the author to the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in a every way that we are but without sinning… Jesus’s participation in this painful part of the human experience alleviates our shame and fills us with hope that in him we too can be faithful in the midst of temptations.
In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us that in order to see clearly, first we must remove the wooden beam in our own eye. What is the obstacle in our life that keeps us from the conversion God desires for us? Let’s make that—our growth in holiness—our first priority and the logic behind our Lenten discipline this year.
Today Jesus tells us about the person who is totally free: The one who can love their enemies, let go of hurts, cancel debts. How free we would feel if we could live this way. We would be experiencing divine freedom, because we would be free to love as God is free. One of the great processes that leads to greater freedom is the process of forgiveness. Today we reflect on how forgiveness leads to interior freedom.
After boldly getting into the boat of Simon, Jesus boldly asks him to put out into the shallow waters so that Jesus can preach to the people on the shore. And then, even more boldly, Jesus commands Simon to go out into deep water. The symbolism here is that Jesus doesn't want to remain in the shallows with us but rather to bring us into the deep. Leaving our surface-level relationship and moving into a deeper relationship with Jesus our life can finally be fruitful. And it's there that we'll receive our mission from Jesus. For Simon, it was to become a fisher of men. What will it be for you?
In today's shocking Gospel we see Jesus's fellow townspeople at one moment looking at him with delight and admiration and one moment later infuriated and wanting to do him violence. Their hearts turned against Jesus. Each one of us, fallen as we are, have desires for the good and also the capacity to resist the good. When we feel this resistance and an awareness of our sinfulness it's important that we do what the faithful of Israel did -- bringing their sinful hearts to Jesus, who came to bring healing and liberation for his poor.
Jesus's dramatic announcement in the synagogue at Nazareth at the beginning of his public ministry reminds us that the sign of the coming of the Messiah is the liberation of the human person in the various ways that he is enslaved. This theme of the dignity of the human person runs throughout the Scriptures and comes to its perfection in Jesus, who became man. This weekend we reflect on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade in light of the Gospel affirmation of the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable. Ending the tragedy of abortion is the most important social justice issue of our times, because it represents an attack on human life at its most vulnerable and defenseless stage.
In the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus changes the water into wine. There are two levels of symbol working here. On the religious level, the water changed into wine signifies the Old Covenant with Israel being elevated and brought to perfection in Christ's New Covenant with the Church. But this is true on the natural level as well. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that grace presupposes nature and elevates it. If we invite Christ into every aspect of our lives -- our work, our leisure, our relationships -- He will elevate and perfect the naturally good so that the natural good now becomes a vehicle for the supernatural.
In the shocking account of the Epiphany, in which the Lordship of the Newborn Christ is manifested to the Gentiles, represented by these "wise men" from the East, we see the joy of these foreigners upon finding the child Jesus, and we see how the newborn King was received by his own people. King Herod, the King of Israel, and "all of Jerusalem with him", were troubled at the announcement of the new King's birth. We see a similar theme in the other Gospels: As John puts it in his prologue, "Jesus came to his own, but his own did not receive him." May we be like the Magi, who joyfully encounter Jesus who comes to bring us life in abundance.
Jesus says something very mysterious to his mother in today's Gospel. As a young man of 12 years old, he goes missing for three days and is found by his parents teaching the religious authorities in the Temple. His parents, understandably, are beside themselves with distress. "Why did you do this to us?", asks his mother. "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I would be in my Father's house?", he laconically replied. Here we have a glimpse of the immense cavern that lies between Mary and Joseph and their divine Son. Jesus, first and foremost, must be obedient to his heavenly Father, and the Father's divine will lead through the cross for Jesus and his parents before it leads to the Resurrection. May we always teach our children to seek God's will, even when God's will is different than our own!
When we look at the Nativity Scene, we look at the Father's will that His only Son -- God the Son -- be born into a dysfunctional and disordered world and in the messiness of a barn. How can we not see that God is not intimidated by our own disorder and dysfunction -- but He wants to come into the messiness of our lives and hearts in order to bring light to the darkness, healing to the brokenness, and hope to our despair. Merry Christmas!
The 3rd Sunday of Advent is known in the Church as "Gaudete" Sunday, which translates, "Rejoice!" Our readings today definitely have this theme of joy -- not as a suggestion or an invitation but rather as a command: "Rejoice!" Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice!" Since Paul writes these words from prison, we should understand that he is telling us to rejoice at all times, whether we are having a good or bad day, whether we are flourishing or struggling. How do we distinguish true joy from happy feelings? And can we live with authentic, Christian joy, even when experiencing the hardships of life?
In this reflection for men at the end of the Year of St. Joseph, we explore his two vocations of husband and father.
We might be surprised by the Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent, which has very little to do with the birth of Jesus (the 1st Coming) and everything to do with the Last Judgment (the 2nd Coming). This homily explores how Jesus's dramatic words apply to our lives here and now.
After Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king, Jesus asks Pilate who is the on really asking: Is it he himself or other? In other words, does the question arise from Pilate's heart? Jesus the King is not merely interested in slavish obedience or outward conformity but rather a heart that believes and loves the "King and Center of Hearts."
Today's 2nd reading from the Letter to the Hebrewssays this: "Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins." The author is not referring to priests of the New Covenant here but rather the Temple priests who would assist day after day in animal sacrifice being offered in atonement for sin. The point is that the offering of these thousands of animals over the course of many years did not accomplish its stated purpose. Rather, it was only when Jesus Christ, the true high priest, offered himself on the altar of the cross that the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God was finally achieved, once and for all. Now, priests of the New Covenant stand by their altar day after day offering the Mass, which is the re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The Mass transports us back through space and time to the Cross and makes Christ's sacrifice present to us here and now. Why would we ever stay home from Mass?
Often we think of the Mass in terms of our reception of what God has to give us in the Eucharist. What we faith to realize is that the Mass is also the place that we give of ourselves.
The blind man Bartimaeus, sitting and begging outside of the town of Jericho, symbolizes for us someone who suffers spiritual blindness and destitution because of sin. But he also shows us the only remedy: Crying out for the healing touch of Jesus. May we follow his example when we are in need of spiritual healing! And may we encourage others to come to him as well.
At the beginning of today's Gospel the Apostles James and John make a startling demand of Jesus. They say, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." This presumes, of course, that whatever they think is best for them is actually what is best for them. But how does God want us to pray? Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Father, take this cup away from me; but what I will, but what you will." Jesus is happy when we bring our desires to him, but always with a heart that accepts what he gives -- believing that God's will is best for us -- whether it is what we wanted or not.
In today's Gospel, a young man goes to Jesus and asks him how he can achieve eternal life. Jesus inquires if he is keeping the Commandments, and the young man assures him that he is. The young man is desiring more from his relationship with God. So Jesus looks at him, loves him, and shows him what is lacking in his heart and thus an obstacle to divine life: He is attached to his possessions. If we want an intimate relationship with Jesus, we must not only keep the Commandments and follow the precepts of the Church -- which constitute the foundation of our life with God -- but there must also be nothing in our heart competing with God for first place. When Jesus identifies an attachment in our heart that inhibits our relationship with him, he will attach that attachment with the relentlessness of a jealous lover.
In today's first reading we hear the second creation story (found in Genesis chapter 2), where God creates the man and places him in a beautiful garden surrounded by everything he could possibly need. Yet something was not right. The man was alone. Out of God's merciful love, God responded to the man's need and created for him a helpmate: woman. The story helps us to see the Truth that God did not create us for independence but rather to for dependence: on God and on another. This is why he gives us the great gift of marriage.
In today's readings we have a couple examples of jealousy and factions within the believing community. What is really helpful for us is how Jesus responds to this -- by pointing back to himself. If we keep our eyes on Christ and his love for us we will be able to avoid these pitfalls.