Daily Reflections
Tax collectors were reviled among the Jewish people in Jesus’ time, not only because they aided the financial efforts of the occupying Roman force, but also because they associated with ritually unclean Gentiles in doing so, and because some collected more than the law required. Despite that reputation, Levi—also known…
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Last Sunday after the 10:30am Mass, someone walked up to me seeking clarifications to some questions, which I guess, have been troubling his mind after the announcement of the commencement of Lent. The question began, like many do, with the reminder for the mortification: “Excuse me, padre, for what I…
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We each have infinite spiritual resources within us, just waiting to be applied to the needs of others. And, for this Lent, maybe it is not a grand financial contribution, or intense immersion experience (i.e. do not blow a trumpet before you, Matt. 6:2), but the simple ways in which we can offer our personal spiritual resources to meet the personal spiritual needs of those with whom we interact. Christ asks us for humility regarding these internal, less explicit, offerings.
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What is the leaven within us? We must be watchful against the pride and hypocrisy that attempts to creep into our hearts. Instead, let us feed the leaven of humility, generosity, authenticity, and above all – love.
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Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). I recall my childhood memories with nostalgia. I remember several times I went out with my younger brother to visit a friend, go hunting, fishing, or take a…
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Shortly afterwards, Mark says that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town but had to stay outside in country places. This compassionate love for suffering humanity resulted in more and more people coming to him, and even today the outstretched arms of God’s Son on the cross are a never-ending invitation to sinners to seek refuge in his compassionate love
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Today, God continues to accompany us even as we struggle against the pandemic. At this moment of human history, let us remember that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.
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At Lourdes, at the place of the apparitions, there is a mysterious source of inexhaustible water. Thousands of people go there on pilgrimage in search of this water which continually cures many diseases. Today, I would like to answer the question ‘‘Who is the Virgin Mary?’’
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Mk 7:14-23: “It is from within, from the human heart.” Today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark gives us a haunting glimpse into the depths of the human heart. Jesus reveals that we are defiled not by what we touch or eat, but by what comes out of us. There…
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