Daily Reflections
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. To be righteous is to obey the commandments of God for the sake of the love of God. It is to be right and…
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Today’s Gospel from Matthew focuses on the Ten Commandments. As I teach in Sunday School, there are indeed ten of them. We don’t just get to pick the top five or top eight that we want to follow easily. It is not like a menu in a restaurant, where you…
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Our world needs prophets like Isaiah more than ever, who, through their words and actions, bring glad tidings, healing to the broken-hearted, and liberation to captives. Our world needs prophets who, like Isaiah, offer comfort to the grieving and announce freedom and liberation to captives and prisoners, drawing inspiration from…
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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This beatitude promises a present blessing, while others offer future blessings. Note the difference as you read. Others have a “will be” future tense consolation. Here, we must recognize our spiritual poverty and our need for God’s…
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Last month our 7th child, sweet Flannery, received her very first Holy Communion. The entire day was nothing short of captivating. Flannery was bursting with joy as she anticipated reception of our Lord and Savior for the first time. I confess, my eyes leaked watching this precious child kneel before…
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To give out of one’s plenty is simple enough. Yet giving out of one’s own lack is a different matter entirely. How does one give when there is nothing left over for oneself? Is it even possible? Logic tells us that the emptier our purse, the more we ought to…
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The sixth division of the Book of Tobit narrates the return of Tobiah (Tobit’s son) to Nineveh and Tobit’s healing. It begins with a section subtitled, “Anxiety of the parents”. Tobit and Anna are “keeping track of the time Tobiah would need to go and come” (Tb 10:1). Anna is…
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The love of God and neighbour is understood as a formal commandment in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In Christianity and Judaism, the commandment to love God entails both action and affection. Deuteronomy 6 contains the first paragraph of the Shema (Deut 6:4–9): a text that underlines the reality of one…
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In the 1950s, there was a movie called 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. It was a funny movie about how the brothers were able to match up with their soon to be wives. My mother-in-law likes old movies, so I probably watched it with her sometime in the last 10…
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One of the indispensable virtues required by those in the service of God is wisdom. Any Christian, who wants to serve God effectively, must respond promptly and faithfully to the injunction of the Lord: “You must be as wise as the serpent but as innocent as the dove” (Mt. 10:…
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