Daily Reflections
The Life of the Pharisees My dear friends, the pharisees are very popular in the gospels. They always encounter Jesus because their lifestyles are opposed to the authentic teachings of Christ in the gospel. The pharisees are the influential, respected, and great teachers of the law among the Jews. But,…
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Whose Kingdom are you really serving? This was the point Jesus was trying to make to the religious leaders in today’s readings. They set out all of these rules and guidelines in the name of “leading people to the Kingdom”. However, Jesus points out that they were only really doing…
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This short reflection was inspired by John Paul II’s Wednesday audience on Psalm 44, “Listen, O daughter!”1 The liturgical celebration of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven took place a few days ago on August 15. Precisely, just in the middle of the month, her Solemnity stands, or…
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As in the Old Covenant, so in the New. Throughout salvation history, God has always led his people through human leadership structures that he has ordained. From the patriarchs, to the kings, to the scribes and the Pharisees in the Old, to the apostles, to their successors the bishops, and…
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Ezekiel presents the awe-inspiring spectacle of a vast army, “rising on stepping-stones of their dead selves to higher things” to quote my favorite humorist, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. And our Lord is asked to choose the greatest commandment and gives us a loving response. Thank you, dear reader, for joining me…
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The prophet Ezekiel, in the first reading of today, announces an extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit, whereby the Lord pours out in the hearts of the people a feeling of sincere repentance for their sins (Ez 36:25). And a passionate search for the divine will. The vertex of the passage…
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Images of Jesus leading a flock of sheep, or holding just one special lamb, remind us how our relationship with Him ought to be. Picture yourself as the lamb being held by Christ. You are able to snuggle up and comfort Him, just as He comforts you, kisses your head,…
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Most of us have heard that the Eye of the Needle refers to a short and narrow passageway to enter a city gate in Jerusalem. While a man could fit through the passage, if he were coming with his camel, that was another matter. Camels were often loaded with cargo.…
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Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). The Dogma of Assumption The Church teaches that “when the course of her earthly life was finished, Immaculate Virgin Mary was taken up body and soul into heavenly…
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