Feast of Saint James the Apostle Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15Matthew 20:20-28 Reflection: A Gospel for Today Sometimes when directing a retreat or parish mission I’ll give a talk on the difficult passages in Sacred Scripture. In last Tuesday’s Gospel, for…
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10Matthew 13:1-9 Reflection: The Word Came to Us The beautiful phrase in today’s liturgy “the word of God came to me” Jer 1:4 appears many times in Old Testament. At its best a word comes from our…
Scripture: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20Matthew 12:46-50 Reflection: In our Gospel reading for today, when Jesus is speaking to the crowds, He is told that His mother and brothers are waiting to speak to him. Instead of stopping what He’s doing to…
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Scripture: Songs 3:1-4b or 2 Corinthians 5:14-17John 20: 1-2, 11-18 Reflection: I’ve come to think of St. John’s Gospel as “color commentary” on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. While the synoptic gospels give us…
Scripture: Jeremiah 23:1-6Ephesians 2:13-18Mark 6:30-34 Reflection: The Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want… This verse from Psalm 23 and the entire Psalm 23 will forever be with me. This is the Psalm prayer that my father…
Scripture: Micah 2:1-5Matthew 12:14-21 Reflection: ….the grace to reject all that is contrary to the name of Christ… Today’s Gospel boasts of justice – not an eye for an eye – but a justice of healing and reconciliation. Jesus chose…
Scripture: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19Matthew 11:28-30 Reflection: Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble…
Scripture: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16Matthew 11:25-27 Reflection: Today’s tidbit of a gospel contains a very important message, one we cannot afford to overlook or dismiss. Jesus breaks forth in exuberant praise of God because God chose to reveal the ways of…
Scripture: Isaiah 7:1-9Matthew 11:20-24 Reflection: The prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah renounce the evil deeds of Tyre and Sidon. We need not to go into the debaucheries of Sodom and Gomorrah. Still, Jesus says the final judgment will go better…
Scripture: Isaiah 1:10-17 Matthew 10:34-11:1 Reflection: Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and daughter…