Posts by John and Kathy Schultz
Drop the Shackles
Confronting Evil One of my favorite words and what it implies is “metanoia.” The Oxford dictionary defines metanoia as, “change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion.” Today’s Gospel describes a dramatic metanoia initiated by Jesus in the story of the Gerasene demoniac; “What have you to do with me, Jesus,…
Read MoreFinding and Using Our Gifts
Jesus Calls “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” Christ’s mission to save our world began with an invitation to humble fishermen. He did not begin his ministry in the temple in Jerusalem, or the courts of Herod or even in the Roman praetorium. What did Christ see in Andrew and…
Read MoreThe Boundlessness of God’s Mercy
The first reading for today’s Mass, from the book of Wisdom, provides enough reflection for an entire notebook. The opening lines are a beautiful poetic description of God’s majesty and omnipotence. They are about as close as human language can come to describing the indescribable. After setting the stage by comparing the insignificance of the…
Read MoreGod’s Earthly Creations
Today’s readings remind me of the immensity of God; He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. But the readings also remind me of how limited our human minds are in understanding God being omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient! “Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?” (Jb…
Read MoreFools of This World
Chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel starts with a dramatic account of the start of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. It is one of my favorite scenes. Luke builds up the dramatic tension as Jesus is handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He reads Isaiah’s well-known prophecy – written some seven hundred year earlier. The synagogue…
Read MoreThree Prophets
Who would envy the life of a prophet? We know from many bible stories that the lot of a prophet is often one of ridicule and rejection, if not outright danger of physical abuse and death. In addition to these overt tribulations, prophets also face the potential for a quieter but more devastating rejection –…
Read MoreCure from Paralysis
Of all the types of illness we may dread, the fear of paralysis likely ranks high on the list for us. The total inability to act for oneself creates profound needs. Unable to relieve the smallest and most basic of physical needs, the paralytic is dependent upon others. At a first quick read of today’s…
Read MoreWalking In His Footsteps
Christian Joys We returned this morning from an 8-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We are still processing all of our experiences from Nazareth to Jerusalem, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection but in reflecting on today’s readings a few thoughts came to mind. As I visited sites of Christ’s earthly life, I could relate…
Read MoreNot Just a Moral Teacher
God, the Father Today’s readings are an exhortation to believe in God. St. Paul lays out the evidence of why all must believe: because of Christ’s rising from the dead, by studying Scripture, and that the risen Christ was in the physical presence of many. John’s Gospel continues this message as Christ tells Philip and…
Read MoreBoat in a Stormy Sea
The sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel is a profound teaching on the meaning of the bread of life. The chapter starts off with Jesus’ feeding the 5,000 on a mountain near Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. The chapter ends with a lengthy discourse on the great mystery of the real presence of Jesus’…
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