Today’s liturgical offerings present the Parable of the Sower and St. Paul’s epistle underscoring how we pin all our hopes on the Resurrection of the Dead. And of course, we do this in memory of Him: Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Unless It Dies “What you sow…
I love a good underdog story. Especially when they win! In America, the underdog is a person or team who is decidedly expected to lose. He or they may have a huge disadvantage. Perhaps a previous hardship or situation is the cause for the underdog title. Nevertheless, I often find…
Today’s Gospel presents us with the mercy of Jesus and the legalistic righteousness of Simon the Pharisee—a man unable to see the pain of a woman whom everyone, himself included, judged as a “loose woman.” The scene unfolds at the home of Simon the Pharisee; he had invited Jesus because…
Yesterday, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus, and today, she celebrates Our Lady of Sorrows. The two celebrations are spiritually connected and reveal in concrete terms divine empathy and compassion. The world is in great need of compassion, and today’s feast offers…
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; a former instrument of execution is transformed by Christ into our greatest symbol of victory, hope, and love. This celebration has deep roots in the history of our faith. It marks the dedication of the Church of…
One of the recurring themes in the Gospel is mercy. We hear about the mercy of God. We ask for it in prayer, and we are encouraged to show it to others. Yet mercy becomes much more demanding when it touches a real wound, especially when someone has deeply hurt…
The harmony of both readings: In the first reading St. Paul calls us to flee idolatry because participation in the Eucharistic cup and bread openly joins us to Our Lord and to one another: “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body.” The Gospel then…
Today’s Gospel presents us with one of the most powerful and concrete images Jesus ever used: a blind man trying to guide another blind man. Two people who cannot see, dragging each other down until both fall into a ditch. It is a simple, yet disconcerting, image. Jesus understands human…
“Love in action,” wrote Dostoevsky, “is a harsh and dreadful thing.” The statement cuts at the heart of what it means to love in a broken world. While most of us would prefer the idea of love as noble and wholesome, real life teaches us that self-giving love more often…
There is a strange paradox at the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus calls blessed those whom the world would ordinarily consider unfortunate: the poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated because of the Son of Man. Then He says, “Woe to you who are rich, for…