To lead them astray: Jesus saves his harshest words for false shepherds. “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God… You love the seat of honor in synagogues and…
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When Saint Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, many of whom he has never met, he introduces himself with three powerful truths: he is a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the Gospel of God (Rom 1:1). These words reveal not only…
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Grace and Peace to You from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today’s readings place two paths right before us. One is our true calling in God, our real identity. The other is the path that we often take; the temptation of…
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In today’s Gospel pericope, we read of the proclamation of blessedness in relation to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and by extension to all Christians. Of the two beatitudes expressed to Mary in today’s Gospel, one is spoken by a woman, perhaps a mother, who raises her voice in the…
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If we could strip away the veil of our material world, we would discover that reality is thick with spiritual warfare. The Enemy and the evil spirits are real, constantly seeking to pervert the goodness of our world and our souls. Though today we may not encounter demonic possession as…
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“I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish” (Jonah 4:2). These words, spoken by the prophet Jonah in the first reading of today (Jonah 4:1-11), reveal a profound truth about God’s nature, a truth that both comforts and challenges us.…
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Today’s readings remind us of the importance of listening to God’s voice and heeding its commands. The first reading begins with the line, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.” We all know what happened the first time the word of the Lord came to Jonah.…
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Today’s Gospel presents us with the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. And although we’ve certainly heard it before, we can consider, first, the context of the parable and, second, how to apply it to our lives. The Bloody Way The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was about twenty miles,…
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My father was extremely sensitive to the way we asked him a question. He did not like it when we asked him a question that we knew the answer to. He also disliked when we asked a question in an ambiguous way, almost as if trying to test where he…
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As I read the readings for today, I think about the voice of Jesus. I read the alleluia acclamation, and it says, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Imagine that. Jesus wants to speak to me. He wants to speak to my heart. During the Gospel,…
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