Daily Reflections
A Voice Was Heard in Ramah The story of King Herod’s rampage against the young boys of Bethlehem calls to mind comparisons with the abortion holocaust (62.5 million and counting in the U.S. alone). Christ’s vulnerability is striking, and it is also striking that His Father does not resort to…
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Instrumental Art I visited a family on the occasion of the 75th birthday of a church member. On entering the house, I noticed a big piano and asked the woman during the discussion whether she played instruments. She started telling me how she and all her five brothers learned and…
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What a great feast we celebrate today, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! The timing of this feast is so perfect – it’s what Christmas is all about! I hope everyone had their family members around them to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Just 24…
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Christmas is universally accepted as a season of joy. Even when there is no visible reason to rejoice, people still look for ways to express joy. But few days ago, I wished a friend the joy of Christmas, but the response I got was, “Joy with what? No food, no…
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Welcome On this Friday of the fourth week of Advent, we have finally arrived at Christmas Eve. Hopefully, the churches are full of regular Mass attendees, as well as the “occasional Catholics” who seem to only attend on Christmas and Easter. All are welcome. Perhaps this is the year that…
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The readings today are very reflective of the season in which we are in. They present us with the loving interest of God over His people for their salvation. And to completely achieve this, He speaks through the prophet Malachi in the first reading that He is going to send…
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I remember waking up Christmas morning last year with an empty feeling; a feeling of something missing from my life. As we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, it hit me. I should have been preparing to welcome a baby just a few weeks later, but instead I looked down at…
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Showing Joy The theme of showing joy begins in the second line of the first reading today. Someone’s lover springs across the mountains and hills. The Sound of Music and the von Trapp family comes to mind, with the aerial view of the characters dancing about, with the beautiful fields…
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The Blessed Virgin Mary may not seem like a relevant role model to today’s young people, particularly in Western cultures that value “thinking for yourself” and “liberation,” especially of the sexual variety. In addition, Mary’s witness may seem out of reach to many, particularly young women. A Virgin? Who never,…
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In today’s gospel, we see the enactment of the second joyful mystery. Our Lady visits her cousin Elizabeth, whose response is beautifully captured in the Ave Maria: Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Angelic Messengers Consider the angelic messengers, those supernatural creatures…
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