Scripture: James 1:12-18Mark 8:14-21 Reflection: The text for today is immediately following Jesus feeding the crowds for a second time, the Pharisees demand for a “sign” and Jesus’ refusal to give them one. And so, the story is set in…
Scripture: James 1:1-11Mark 8:11-13 Reflection: Today’s readings present a captivating contrast between faith and agnosticism. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus has arrived in the region of Dalmanutha, on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. He has come there after…
Scripture: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-461 Corinthians 10:31-11:1Mark 1:40-45 Reflection: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Several times in the Hebrew Bible, God punished people for their disobedience by inflicting them with leprosy. The Israelites naturally assumed that leprosy was…
Scripture: 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34Mark 8:1-10 Reflection: I’d heard the story of loaves and fishes so many times that I no longer paid much attention. Then I decided to pray with the text and see where it led me. I…
Scripture: 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19Mark 7:31-37 Reflection: A Special Feast Day – The Solemn Commemoration of the Passion Today, the Friday before Ash Wednesday, the Passionist community celebrates a feast that is not on the Church’s universal calendar. While it…
Scripture: 1 Kings 11:4-13Mark 7:24-30 Reflection: Persistence Our Request What we ask in prayer, with faith, we will receive, but sometimes it takes patience and a deeper faith. Persistence is the key. Jesus wants to open in us a yet…
Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1-10Mark 7:14-23 Reflection: But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.From within the man, from his heart,come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,adultery, greed, malice, deceit,licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from…
Scripture: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30Mark 7:1-13 Reflection: Too many of us cling to handed down values and beliefs that, upon reflection through the lens of the Gospel, are contrary to the will of God. We accept that capitalism is the…
Scripture: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13Mark 6:53-56 Reflection: Excessive pageantry and ritual are before us NFL fans as we now officially begin Superbowl week. As the entire professional football season culminates toward the Super Bowl game, this week is filled with…
Scripture: Job 7:1-4,6-71 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23Mark 1:29-39 Reflection: No Rest for the Good… Today’s Gospel has a very unique “mother-n-law” story. Peter was worried about his mother-in-law, at home, bedridden with a serious fever. Jesus is told of her condition, and…