Holding on to the faith and teachings of the Church is becoming increasingly more difficult in today’s world, due to contemporary societal pressure with its emphasis on individualism, moral relativism, and materialism, which is the brainchild of secularism. The secularized, neo-liberalized and pluralistic society promotes values that sometimes conflict with…
The exhortation that St. Paul gives to the Church of the Thessalonians in today’s reading remindsme of the presentations my husband and I were so blessed to witness last month at the NationalEucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Every one of the amazing speakers spoke of God’s love and His mercy being…
Jesus started his earthly mission by gathering disciples around him. He always asked them tofollow him. His aim was to groom them properly so that they would be able to follow hisways even when he was not there with them. Christianity is a followership of Jesus. It is areligion of…
What happened under the fig tree? We will never know this side of heaven. “The Chosen”series offers one interpretation of events, and our prayer and imagination can come up withmany others. The point is, Jesus saw him. What does it mean to be seen by Jesus? It could be a…
Rules are made for order and discipline. It is to avoid inequality of any kind. Where thereis rule of law, there is equity, justice, and respect for one another. The law keepseveryone in check and the goal is for peace and harmony in the community. Suchserenity or tranquility is what…
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. Mary was raised and formed in the temple. Her faithful upbringing and time spent therecultivated in her a preparedness for her vocation. Our Heavenly Father worked, in all hismajesty, from the beginning of…
I was always the last one in the queue. It did not matter- when I was a child, I had an older sister who would defend me if the boys teased me because I could not walk as well as they could and could not run without falling over. When…
All of today’s readings are focused on the spiritual principles of what one might call wealthmanagement for disciples.In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel chastises the Prince of Tyre for his self-aggrandizingstance: “…. you may think yourself like a god…. By your great wisdom applied to yourtrading you have heaped…
The Rich Young Man asks this of Jesus: What good must I do to gain eternal life? It’sthe question of questions and we all want to know the answer. Jesus offers theCommandments and having kept these one and all, the wealthy youth pressesfurther, seeking perfection. Jesus’ answer sees him walk…
In May, I fell and broke both of my wrists. Other GVM contributors have graciously stepped in to fill my Day 18 reflections for the past few months. To them, thank you! The long story short is that I quite literally was without use of my arms and hands for…