Today’s readings have God’s mercy woven throughout, from the night of Passover from slavery into freedom to the Servant Song of Isaiah where God’s beloved is revealed as a servant leader who will cast such a glance into the slavery and bondage of our human lot that all obstacles are…
Years ago, the director of religious education at my former parish asked if I could help out as a sponsor for the RCIA program. I had no idea how much I would learn and relearn! It was great. One evening the director posed this question, “Is it wrong for a…
Today’s reading is one of my absolute favorite passages from the Old Testament. Particularly in my days as a borderline-atheist philosophy student, God’s response to Moses really knocked me over like a brick. Kind of like the soldiers who fell to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane at Jesus’,…
As we continue our spiritual journey of faith, we often struggle with the complexity of God. When we were young, we were taught that we can compare the Holy Trinity to a 3-leaf clover or shamrock…three persons in one God. Simple and easy to understand, but as we grow older,…
MOSES’ BIRTH AND DELIVERANCE: In the first reading, we hear the story of the birth of Moses and how his mother made a conscious effort to hide and preserve him for three months to avoid being killed by Pharaoh. But when she could hide him no longer, she prepared a…
We often gloss over the implications of living fully as a Christian. It’s more acceptable to many if we embrace the Christmas card image of the Incarnation; that is a stable as clean as a cottage with happy barnyard animals surrounding a beatific Mary who cradles a chubby infant Jesus.…
Every choice we make carries consequences, and deep down every human heart there are longs for something more than that this life alone can offer. We long for a life that does not end, a life that is whole and free, a life with God. This longing is as old…
The Gospel: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” Mt 10:16. The discipleship command given to the Apostles and to us as His disciples, as we heard in yesterday’s Gospel, seems difficult to understand. We can…
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Benedict, the Patron Saint of Europe and the father of Western Christian monasticism. He remains a shining example for every Christian, regardless of their state in life. Benedict as a name originates from the Latin name Benedictus (the feminine version would be Benedicta).…
Revelation scenes are the jewels of great literature. Consider Odysseus’ encounter with his wife at the end of the Odyssey, or the moment in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment when the murderer Raskolnikov finally confesses his crime. Revelation of identity brings about tremendous catharsis. I would propose, though, that Joseph’s revelation…