Turn to God. Today’s Gospel invites us to practice confidence in the power of grace. In the first reading, we encounter the suffering of Job. We catch him at a moment when he seems to be at a loss. “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand…
Angels, divine messengers of God, captivate our hearts. Is that too broad a statement? Perhaps. But it is fair to say that most of us long for divine intervention, especially when life takes an unexpected turn. What we often call coincidences may actually be ‘God-incidents’—moments where God orchestrates or intervenes…
As I approach a very special birthday, I decided to revisit some of the books that helped me better understand God’s love. Besides the Bible, the first book on my list is The Story of a Soul by Saint Theresa of Lisieux. There are other books: The Dialogue of Saint…
Today we honor and remember St. Jerome. He is best known for translating the Bible into Latin in the late 300s. This version of the Bible was called the Vulgate and became the official Bible for many centuries. He also found strength by often living in seclusion, like a hermit.…
“It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire”. Eugène Delacroix, The Barque of Dante1 Today’s readings are scary. And they should be. They are unpopular, but they should not be so. It is hard to speak…
When reading today’s Gospel, it is important to have the context of what happens immediately preceding and following the verses. Immediately preceding the Gospel, our Lord casts out a demon that His apostles could not cast out. The apostles were “amazed at His every deed” (Lk 9:43). During the Gospel,…
The essence of examination is not only to test the students’ understanding of learned material, but to help them grow in their knowledge. And a teacher will always identify a good student from the way he/she approaches the question and from his/her answer. As a way of strengthening the students’…
As I celebrate a milestone birthday today, it is also a time to reflect on my past and what is to come in the future. Today’s reading from Ecclesiastes is a famous one, beginning: “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man…
Self-contentment is a special virtue that inclines one to be satisfied with whatever one has. The contrary is that of never being satisfied but always complaining and endlessly asking for more. Greed and avarice are born of insatiability. It leads to grasping and extortion and self-centeredness. The readings of today…
Recently I was able to attend a gathering in which many friends I have made over the years were attending. I have been to a few of these gatherings over the years and was not thinking much about how I would spend my time, except to generally be with friends.…