“After John (the Baptist) had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God. This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15). A Prophecy Fulfilled John had been thrown into prison by Herod in Judea.…
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Today, on the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, the evangelist Matthew tells us about Jesus at the River Jordan, where he does nothing else: he doesn’t preach, he doesn’t perform miracles, he doesn’t call disciples. He is simply in line with the others, with the sinners, immersed in the…
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As a radiologist, I spend hours in a dark room every day reviewing images. On one monitor, I click on a patient’s name, and then I wait for the images to come up on the adjoining monitors. Sometimes a message comes up in capital letters declaring, “NO IMAGE.” Staring at…
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Today the Church presents us with a profound meditation on the boundaries between the divine and the mundane. The eternal rivalry between the two finds man at its center. He must battle and overcome the attractions of the world through faith in Jesus Christ. The readings of today (1 John…
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The Gospel of the feeding of the multitude (Mark 6:34–44) speaks to our shared human condition: scarcity, lack, weariness, fear and limits. Beyond this human condition, we are also confronted with God’s compassion, abundance, trust, willingness to share, blessing, faith and love. In Jesus, who looks upon the crowd with…
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“He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:51-52) The Douy-Rheims translation renders the last part of those verses as “their heart was blinded”, and…
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Today’s very brief first reading from John’s first letter hammers home the message that we have been contemplating throughout the Christmas season. In four short verses, John uses some form of the word “love” ten times and says clearly what we have been living out in this Christmas season: “In…
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During this time of Christmas, a recurring theme has been the theme of Christ as the one who came to bring light to dispel the darkness of the world. I do not think I ever valued more the beauty of light then when I experienced blackouts in my country. I…
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“Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.” Today is a day of rejoicing in unity with one another throughout the world. Since Christmas we have been with the Christ Child with our families in our homes and local communities. Today we get to experience an even deeper joy as…
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