Was Jesus Courageous?

Group of people holding palm branches on palm sunday

For Jesus to have acted with courage means that he would have to have felt afraid. Did Jesus experience fear? The verse that comes to my mind is from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly…

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Consent

Image showing a helping hand to the poor.

The Old Covenant: Today’s first reading highlights the covenant God made and remade with his people: the moment when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, and through him, to the people. Moses tells the people in the desert, “Today you are making this agreement with the Lord…and today the Lord is making this agreement…

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A Play of Evangelization

The enjoyable part about today’s Gospel (Mk. 4:1-20) is that it is written like a two-scene play. You can just see the scenes playing out in your mind as it is read. Scene one is Jesus preaching parables from a boat to a crowd on the beach. Scene two is Jesus being approached by the…

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Martyrdom

Martyrdom is often referred to as a strictly Christian concept, but in the books of Maccabees we hear of countless martyrs: men and women who would rather let their lives be taken than betray their faith in God. The first few chapters of 1 Maccabees describe horrendous martyrdoms and desecrations of the temple in Jerusalem…

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The Fear Greater Than Death: To Be Separated from God

What is it that separates us from God? In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul asked, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35) He then answered himself, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height,…

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Life is Christ, Death is Gain

Lately I have been reflecting on life and death quite regularly. I’m sure that is why, when I first read today’s readings, the second reading seemed to stick out to me particularly. For the past few months good friends have lost a parent or found out they may soon lose one, cancer has resurfaced, babies…

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Under the Fig Tree

We all have low moments in life, times when we aren’t sure what to do or how things will work out. In these desperate moments, I have at times tended to think I’m alone and that there is no help for me. Yet, my experience has been that God proves His fidelity by being right…

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Looking for a Sign

Years ago, while traveling through Florida on one of many apostolic trips, my fellow consecrated sister and I got lost. Being poor missionaries in the early 2000’s, we didn’t have a Garmin or any other electronic mapping device, so we relied on a shoebox full of atlases and Triple A maps to get us to…

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Our Mission

Big plans in store. The Christian concept of personal mission is something very clearly presented in the life of John the Baptist. From the moment the angel told Zechariah about John, he had a mission. In Jeremiah we read, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated…

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The Inheritance Among All Who Are Consecrated

What is this inheritance? Am I part of it? It sounds great, but I want to know more. Paul’s words to the people of the church in Ephesus are actually packed with meaning: “And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you…

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