Scripture: Sirach 27:30-28:7Romans 14:7-9Matthew 18:21-35 Reflection: Today could well be called “Forgiveness Sunday.” The first reading from Sirach proclaims the scandalous contradiction between expecting forgiveness from God while selfishly withholding it from others: “Could anyone nourish anger against another and…
Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:15-17Luke 6:43-49 Reflection: Jesus often speaks in parables in the Gospel. He uses an image to describe what the kingdom of God is. Funny how the Scribes and Pharisees ask him to speak plainly. He reveals the…
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14John 19:25-27 orLuke 2:33-35 Reflection: On one occasion I was invited to preach in the beautiful Rosary Chapel in Lourdes. A very large group of us were assembled together in…
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Scripture: Numbers 21:4b-9Philippians 2:6-11John 3:13-17 Reflection: Sometimes it’s hard to understand why the God of the Old Testament was so angry and punishing, while the Son of God in the New Testament…
Scripture: Colossians 3:1-11Luke 6:20-26 Reflection: In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we can be so focused on the demands immediately before us, that we easily lose sight of what is truly important. “Set your minds on the…
Scripture: Colossians 2:6-15Luke 6:12-19 Reflection: May the Holy Name of Mary be always in our hearts and on our lips. Once again in Luke’s gospel, Jesus departs in seclusion “to pray” upon a mountain. How he must have cherished being…
Scripture: Colossians 1:24-2:3Luke 6:6-11 Reflection: For many today, keeping the Sabbath seems like a quaint Jewish tradition. But for Jesus’ contemporaries, and even today, the Sabbath has been a powerful symbol of identity in an often hostile world. The Sabbath…
Scripture: Ezekiel 33:7-9Romans 13:8-10Matthew 18:15-20 Reflection: Repeatedly, Jesus emphasizes love as the basic necessity of discipleship. All else – every commandment, every activity, every community action – flows from love. Simple, right? Oh, how I wish it were! Love that…
Scripture: Colossians 1:21-23Luke 6:1-5 Reflection: Come Queen Sabbath, Come Lord Jesus When the mistress of the house sees three stars together in the sky, the sign that the Sabbath is over, she recites the ’t’chinoh’, a meditative prayer to our…
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Scripture: Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 Reflection: In Saint Matthew’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ birth is told mostly through the eyes of Joseph. He is the one to whom the Lord…