Areas of Refuge

At the Catholic school where I work, we recently had to do a severe weather drill with the students led by our Campus Director of Safety and Security. There were defined spaces within the building which were determined to be ARs – Areas of Refuge. Part of the protocol for this drill was to ensure…

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Self-Giving Living

Close shot of an old woman hands on her knees

Lent is indeed a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, yet how easy it is to get caught up in these practices externally without thought to the internal preparation. In today’s first reading, Isaiah calls out the people for this: Lo, on your fast day, you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your…

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Sabbath Living

Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Apostle to Africans Enlighten Me LORD

The beginning of a year has always been a great time to reflect on how we are living and making resolutions to help us attain goals – perhaps to be healthier, have a greater work-life balance, and to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ. Let us take time today to reflect on what Jesus…

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Advent Prophets

The Lord Restores His People By Fr. Sylvanus Amaobi

A prophet has a special role in Salvation History. His main role is to be a mouthpiece for God. In order to be effective, he must enter into the grittiness of everyday life with God’s people to wake them up and call them back. The word Advent means “coming” so it is a fitting word…

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The Kingdom of God

The Lost and Found Posted By Tristan Evans

In this Gospel passage, Jesus gives some practical advice to help his followers stay on the right path. He begins by offering a warning about staying grounded in the truth of what the words “Kingdom of God” truly means. Let us consider three points we can draw from this short passage: 1. To find the…

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Sign Seeking

Turbulent cloud

Sometimes discerning the will of God can feel like a treasure hunt. How can we know what God wants us to do in this or that situation? What is He asking of us today? These questions may range from a pivotal life decision to more common scenarios from our day-to-day lives. How often we may…

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The Fruit of a Firm Foundation

There is nothing like a piece of ripe fruit. It is beautiful, colorful, juicy, sweet, nutritious, and delicious. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that good fruit can only come from a good tree and bad fruit (think rotten, spoiled, foul odor, unsatisfying), can only come from a bad tree. The tree, the fruit’s foundation,…

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Face-to-Face

The first reading comes from the end of the book of Deuteronomy. We read a short testimony about Moses’ death, in the beautiful verse: Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. (Dt. 34: 10) What does it mean to be face-to-face? In Hebrew, face is…

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Abundant Life: The Wait, the Word, and the Will

This Sunday’s readings have a deeply affirming message to share about the security and peace that are founded on living the Will of God in our lives. It all begins with the WAIT. The Wait To wait for something is to live with a sense of grand expectancy. Both the first reading and the Gospel…

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