Today 8th September the Church marks the feast of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Only a few people enjoy the privilege of birthday celebration in the Church’s liturgical calendar: The Birth of Jesus (December 25), the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and…
“[Jesus] then said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.” Both the first reading and the Gospel from today speak of healing. When a physician is presented with a patient suffering from a grave wound, he must proceed to treat it in stages.…
All of us here know people, perhaps even members of our family, who lead lives that are contrary to what Christ wants, and so all of us can learn a great deal from what we’ve just heard. Today’s readings all focus on the need to admonish the sinner, the third…
I have always been a fierce competitor in practically everything I do. I think I get my competitive nature from being the second-born and always feeling the need to overachieve. When I competed, I competed to win. In my mind, only those at the top were true winners and remembered.…
The world is busy. We hear it all the time. We are distracted, worn out, and distressed. People are critical of others and even of the Church. Sometimes it isn’t progressive enough; sometimes it is too progressive. We get caught up in what is happening around us, what has been…
Today we can ask ourselves this radical and fundamental question: In whose wisdom do we build our lives? In the First Reading, Saint Paul speaks against our reliance only on human cleverness, declaring that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. True divine wisdom requires…
Is Christ meant to be privatized or shared? What comes first: the act of sharing, which helps one share everything, including Christ, or knowing Christ and then learning to share Him? Today’s gospel shows how a group of people tried to keep Jesus to themselves. They saw the treasure that…
The following reflection, “Knowing the Mind of God” is taken from Volume 6 of my recent four-volume series, An Encounter. One of the most difficult movements in the spiritual life is learning to know the mind of God. Across Church traditions, many paths have been given to help us grow in…
I remember once when I was much younger, my cousin and I were with aunt who was a kindergarten teacher. She was preparing arts and crafts for her class while my cousin and I were talking. My cousin then asked whether school is becoming more difficult. Before I could answer,…
God Calls Us to Our Mission: As Jesus prepares to begin His final journey to Jerusalem, He instructs His disciples what this will entail. Not the triumphant crowning of a new King that some of them are expecting. Instead, Jesus will encounter great suffering and death at the hands of…