Daily Reflections
Let Me Go First and Bury My Father The recent birth in our family of the first great-grandchild (and grandniece for me) brought to my mind the ties that hold us together. Recent deaths and illnesses of friends and loved ones have made me recall the fragility of those relationships…
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Sometimes when we feel wronged by someone, the feelings of revenge sets in. Revenge comes from feeling diminished by the person who has offended us and it goes along with the feeling of shame over the whole situation. We ask ourselves why we allowed it to happen. Most of the…
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Today’s first reading and Gospel both remind me of the frailties of the human person, and how completely dependent we are upon the grace of God. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have the faith of Job? Here he was, richly blessed with his family and his livestock and many possessions.…
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Wealth and poverty are two realities that confront us every day and everywhere. The biblical approach to both realities is a bit complex. The story of the rich man and Lazarus in today’s Gospel from Luke 16:19-31 presents a classic picture of wealth and poverty. In some passages of the…
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Fear Paralyzes Talking about my health can paralyze a conversation. The reality that I have an incurable disease brings the reality of death to the forefront. Death is literally looking you in the face. I’ve experienced moments of awkward silence as well as deep conversations about life, death, heaven, hell,…
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My dear friends, in today’s gospel, Jesus puts forward a very important question to each one of us about himself and our relationship with him. He started the question by making enquiries about his status before the people. Jesus could not miss that opportunity to know what people think about…
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“What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun?” In today’s readings, this verse really stood out to me. What do people really gain from all the hard work they do here on earth? It doesn’t matter if you’re a fool or if you’re…
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When I think of the feast of St. Matthew, I am immediately drawn back to Caravaggio’s painting located at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, which I visited recently, again, with some friends from the United States. I will not repeat myself here, but I would like…
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Jesus’s words to us in today’s short Gospel are rather startling, as they must have been to the throng gathered around the Master that day. Jesus had been travelling from town to town, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. Earlier in chapter eight, Luke tells us that…
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While reflecting on today’s readings, I was drawn to the theme of light. The Collect before the Gospel reads: Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (MT 5:16) Our goal in life then is clear: see, sow, and do…
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