Scripture: Exodus 14:5-18Matthew 12:38-42 Reflection: “The Lord strengthened (Hebrew hazaq) the heart of Pharaoh.” EX 15:8 Exodus mentions 15 times that God made Pharaoh’s heart firm hazaq) against letting His people go in today’s first reading! The Old Testament refers…
Scripture: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43 Reflection: Wheat Out of Weeds In Our Gospel reading Jesus tells the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. In the parable, the enemy of a landowner sows weeds among the landowner’s wheat. When…
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Scripture: Song of Songs 3:1-4b or 2 Corinthians 5:14-17John 20: 1-2, 11-18 Reflection: While all the gospels tell of finding Christ’s tomb empty on the day after the Sabbath, it is John who fills in…
Scripture: Exodus 11:10-12:14Matthew 12:1-8 Reflection: When I was a child, learning the ten commandments, I was taught the third commandment as “Keep Holy the Sabbath Day. That meant going to mass on Sunday and refraining from unnecessary servile work. The…
Scripture: Exodus 3: 13-20Matthew 11: 28-30 Reflection: What would you say to your child or grandchild or inquiring friend if they approached you and asked you what you thought the name of God is? I suspect many of you have…
Scripture: Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12Matthew 11:25-27 Reflection: The Bible tells us indispensable truths about God and indispensable truths about ourselves, and this is especially the case with today’s reading from Exodus. It is the remarkable story of Moses encountering God in…
Scripture: Exodus 2:1-15aMatthew 11:20-24 Reflection: It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you… This gospel begins with some strong words and emotions from Jesus, where…
Scripture: Exodus 1:8-14, 22Matthew 10:34-11:1 Reflection It is easy to dismiss today’s gospel as “crazy talk” because what Jesus asks of us seems not only excessive and unfair, but downright at odds with the deepest inclinations of our nature. Jesus…
Scripture: Isaiah 55:10-11Romans 8:18-23Matthew 13:1-23 Reflection: My hope is that each person reading this is able to be more intensely conscious of God’s fertile Word always present with you and for you. What is God saying to us through Jesus’…
Scripture: Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26aMatthew 10:24-33 Reflection: A Happy Ending Just Out of Reach We conclude today our reading of the Book of Genesis. It’s ending is the ending of the story of Joseph, which we have read for four days;…