Daily Reflections
“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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“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” This quote from today’s gospel is well-known to anyone familiar with Scripture. Old Testament Psalm 118 is the Old Testament source of Jesus’ quote. It is a psalm of thanksgiving, in which the psalmist praises God for delivering him from…
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Every time we go to Mass, we reply back to the Priest with the words, “and with your spirit”, and sometimes we lift up our hands in praise. This phrase changed a few years back, but most of us are getting used to this new wording. When I go to…
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