Posts by Sean Callahan
Who is the Least?
When I look at the readings, I break them down into three categories: knowledge, response, and command. Knowledge In the first reading, St. Paul shares who God is. He is unchangeable. His ways are “irrevocable.” “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgements and how unsearchable…
Read MoreThe Voice of Jesus
As I read the readings for today, I think about the voice of Jesus. I read the alleluia acclamation, and it says, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Imagine that. Jesus wants to speak to me. He wants to speak to my heart. During the Gospel, it seems that Jesus reprimands…
Read MoreCome and See
As I meditate on today’s Gospel, the following phrase stands out to me: “At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place” (Lk 4:42). When we zoom out and look at the rest of the Gospel, we will notice how often Jesus pulls away from His ministry in order to be alone. If we…
Read MoreLook at me that I may love You; Call me that I might see You!
Jesus, in today’s Gospel, a man approaches You and asks for justice. He asks that his brother “share the inheritance with me.” Rather than take action in the way that he would expect, You caution Your listener: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist…
Read MoreTotally Yours
“Let me do it.” Those were the words Jesus spoke to St. Margaret Mary. He said to her that his greatest trouble with his saints was that they would not let Him do it. When we pivot to the Gospel, the theme of “letting Him do it” remains. It is a reality that is hard…
Read MoreCome, Holy Spirit
Today’s first reading gives us a glimpse into the charism of St. Paul — a man led by the Spirit. His words remain straightforward and honest. They remain confident and unafraid. “But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there, I do not know, except that in…
Read MoreJesus, my God and my All: To You I Lift up my Soul
Finding the God the Father in Prayer: Whenever I hear Jesus talk about His Father, it always shuts me up. I always feel at a loss. I find it difficult to relate to His Father. Who is my Father? When will I see Him? Therefore, when I read today’s Gospel, Phillip’s words resonated well with…
Read MorePrizes and Rubbish
In today’s second reading, we encounter St. Paul sharing the effects of his new life in Christ. Moments before, he shares the fact that he is a “Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6).…
Read More“He who has seen me has seen the Father”: Confidantes for Jesus
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals the Father as the source of Christ’s own life. The mission of the Messiah is sweet and simple: reveal the face of the Father. Jesus says, “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own…
Read MoreSurrendering Our Pair of “Ripped Jeans”
A number of years ago, a young girl recounted her fascination with ripped jeans. She had her own pair she bought for full price at Target. It baffled her brother as to why someone would go to the store and pay good money for a pair of ripped jeans. “But they’re in, they’re very in!”…
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