Posts by Cheryl J
Dare We Ask for a Sign?
Ahaz’s Predicament: As we wait in eager anticipation for the blessed day of Christ’s birth, we are drawn once again into the far past – the 8th century B.C – into a familiar prophetic text from Isaiah, Chapter 7. The Lord speaks to Isaiah, and through him, to the young ruler of Judah, Ahaz, (the…
Read MoreChristian Suffering – The Path to Heavenly Glory
The Lord was pleased to crush Him in infirmity. Why did it please God for His beloved Son to suffer? Does it please Him to crush us as well? Why Suffering? Suffering is a great mystery for all of humanity. And the seasoned Christian will often notice that his own journey seems fraught with more…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Net Worth?
All of today’s readings are focused on the spiritual principles of what one might call wealthmanagement for disciples.In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel chastises the Prince of Tyre for his self-aggrandizingstance: “…. you may think yourself like a god…. By your great wisdom applied to yourtrading you have heaped up your riches; your heart…
Read MoreThe Spirit of Adoption Makes Us Sons and Daughters
We have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father! One of the most inspiring books I read as a teenager that helped my relationship with Abba Father, was titled, “I Dared to Call Him Father” by Bilquis Sheikh. It was the conversion story of a young Muslim woman and…
Read MoreThis Saying is Hard, Who Can Accept It?
Some gifts are hard to receive. Our Gospel today from John 6:60-69 draws our attention to the consternation of the Lord’s disciples when He instructs them to eat His body and drink His blood to have eternal life. If a Catholic has not grappled with the question of whether the Eucharist is “really the flesh…
Read MoreIf you forgive…
Gladys Staines, the widow of Australian missionary Graham Staines, found it in her heart to forgive Dara Singh and the mob that set fire to the jeep where her husband and sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6), were asleep in a remote village in Odisha, India. Graham had spent 30 years serving impoverished tribals and…
Read MoreJesus, Son of David, Have Pity on Me
Today’s gospel from Luke 18 spotlights a blind man and his heartfelt cry: Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me. Mark 10 identifies the man as the beggar, Bartimaeus, stationed by the roadside near Jericho. Jesus was passing by, accompanied by disciples and a great multitude. When Bartimaeus calls to Jesus, the crowd immediately…
Read MoreBehave!
“You should know how to behave in the household of God” 1 Timothy 3:14 Not long ago, I was in a grocery store where a 9-year-old boy loudly questioned his mother, “But why can’t I have an iPhone?” His exasperated Mum, hauling along his younger sister with one hand, and pushing her over-laden cart with…
Read MoreThe Yoke of Freedom
Today’s Mass readings are rich with the promises of freedom for the fearful, the overwhelmed, and those held in bondage and oppression. In the first reading, God says to Moses, “I Am who am….tell the children of Israel, I Am sent me to you.” God IS. As I take this one thought and meditate upon…
Read MoreJust Ask!
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you…ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” John 16:23 Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are both comforting and bewildering. Who among us can boast of having had all…
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