“I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.” Isaiah 45: 4b Isaiah’s proclamation of Cyrus, King of Persia, conqueror of the ancient Near East, as the Anointed of God must have caused a few waves; likely more of a...
As Thanksgiving approaches, I can’t help but think how this has been a year of reflection for us all. We have received an opportunity to slow down, retreat and discern. Though this is something many of us long for, we rarely commit the time to...
Today’s Gospel reading contains words from Psalm 118: 22-23 which says, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is a marvel in our days.” I recall the great man called Nelson Mandela who was rejected by...
“A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went.” (Matthew 21:28-29) Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, “Being a Christian is not the...
These words were the motto for my ordination ceremony. These words inspire me and always give me energy in my religious and priestly ministry. It is a constant reminder that we are not alone in our missionary work; we are all called at our baptism to...
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name…and do not forget all his benefits.” Psalm 103: 1,2 God’s Word invites us to enter into the dynamics of the Kingdom of heaven. We might ask ourselves what the entry...
This week’s Gospel reading challenges us to have difficult conversations. Conversations that we often avoid because we don’t want to hurt feelings, lay blame, or judge. Jesus reminds us that “whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on...
‘‘Unless you take up your cross and follow me you cannot be my disciples.’’ What a paradox we find from last Sunday readings to today’s Gospel readings! Last week, Peter confessed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. In today’s Gospel reading, Peter takes Jesus aside...
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:15-16 When Oblates gather, there is one thing that we are certainly good at: Telling the stories! Interestingly, retold stories...
This affirmation by Jesus is a ‘behold’ moment in the Gospel passage for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. When the evangelists use the expression ‘behold’ it could quite literally mean ‘hang on to your hats, because you won’t believe what happens next’. At the beginning...
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them and cured the sick.” Mt 14.13-21 This week I want to call your attention to just one word—Compassion as we reflect on the passage of St. Mathew. The Latin root of compassion literally means “to suffer with.”...
“….then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Mt. 13:44 Isn’t this what we all hope for; to find the treasure that will satisfy all of our wants, all of our needs, everything we have ever dreamed for!?...
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.” Matthew 13:24-25 During the last few months the world has been brought...
During this week we will take our part in the story of the passion of Jesus. Palm Sunday and Good Friday, Christians throughout the world will read and hear those solemn lines of the greatest drama of all time. The scenes and dialogue of the...
On the third day of creation the ground emerged from the waters. Israel became a new creation by passing through water on dry ground in the Exodus. The Sabbath was the day on which Jews were to honor their recreation. Unfortunately, by following by focusing on...
Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came...
As Peter experiences Jesus transfigured in the presence of Moses and Elijah, he longs to preserve the glory. The first temple of the Israelites was a rectangular tent about forty-five feet by fifteen feet surrounded by much larger rectangular open air tent. In this enclosure incense...
The primary temptation of all humanity and of Jesus following his baptism is to doubt that we are God’s beloved children. At the baptism the Spirit descends and rests on Jesus like a dove. This experience of bliss is like the bliss of Adam and...
When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ...
“Jesus said to his disciples: Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11: 11) Is this a riddle? When Jesus says that no...
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew...
One of the criminals hanged with Jesus said “we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will...
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown...
Some Sadducees asked Jesus, “Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married and died childless; then the second...
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in...
A Pharisee was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector….’ But the tax collector would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be...
The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” Luke...
As Jesus entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean....
“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on...
Abraham tells the rich man in torment that the great chasm separating those in hades from those with God mirrors the chasm that separated him from Lazarus in life. Such earthly chasms often grow from a fear of scarcity. The feeling of scarcity is the...
The parable of the rich master and the dishonest steward helps us appreciate the relationship between the soul and ego in our own lives and how important discerning the roles of each are in vocation discernment. Everyone has an ego just like everyone has a stomach...
There is a beautiful line in an old English hymn: “Joy of heaven, to earth come down.” That’s what happens when we recover something that truly belongs to us. The heavenly joy that echoes on earth in these three parables of lost and found reflects...
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even their own life, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 How can hate be the foundation of discipleship? This is an example of Biblical hyperbole or overstatement to shock...
This Gospel is a tricky ruse to foil the Pharisees and we need to be careful that we don’t fall for it either. The whole scene is a set-up in which Jesus is invited to a dinner to be examined by religious leaders about his...
While Jesus takes steps towards Jerusalem someone asks how many will be saved. Jesus doesn’t answer the question but addresses how to approach salvation. “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” With athletic determination commit yourself totally to God and your vocation, God’s plan for your...
Jesus says he comes not to bring peace but a sword! Didn’t the angels sing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he favors?” (Lk 2:14) And what about his rebuke of swordplay in Gethsemane: “all who take the...
What kind of purse does God have? Its full of holes! Spilling treasure through creation every day, it’s never depleted. When Jesus said, “make purses for yourselves that do not wear out” he might have said make purses for yourselves that do not run out. ...
The disciples come back from mission pumped!! They have been sharing peace, curing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom. But the real trophy is that in Jesus’ name even the demons submit to them. They are winning at spiritual warfare and are exhilarated. Jesus tempers their...
The word “excuse” is from Latin meaning to free yourself from blame. Sunday’s gospel lists the three classic excuses to total discipleship of Jesus. Nowadays we call total discipleship consecrated religious life or priesthood. The first guy says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But...
The disciples are in manager mode. After a long day teaching an unexpected crowd they tell Jesus “send the crowd away so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place.” St....
I smile when I see the old can of “Three-In-Oil” in the garage. As kids we oiled up our bikes and joked that all we needed to understand God was summed up on that little can. The name reflected its three-fold abilities: to clean, lubricate...
As the risen Jesus shows the fearful disciples his hands and his side he is showing them how the Spirit is present in death and life. By following Jesus in his way of suffering and joy they too will share life of the Father to...
"Through his bodily ascension to the Father the physical connection between the risen Jesus and the infant church is dramatically changed. The cord is cut." Forty is the Bible’s way of saying “that’s how long it took for something to happen.” Forty points to fulfillment and...
In trying to persuade young people to consider a vocation to religious life or priesthood vocation directors often find themselves saying things like: “your vocation will lead to the fulfillment of the desires of your heart.” And though this is true the phraseology contains a...
In the MATRIX when Neo goes to meet the Oracle he encounters the “spoon boy.” Neo watches in amazement as the child causes a spoon to bend in all directions. The young sage says, “do not try and bend the spoon, that’s impossible, only try...
Behind locked doors Thomas says “unless I put my finger in the mark of the nails… I will not believe.” (Jn. 20:25) Thomas’s mind is locked. What will it take to open it to belief? The shadows of doubt lengthen in the mind the more we...
The heartbreaking images of Notre Dame Cathedral on fire have caused a great sentimental response from people around the world. People of many faiths or no faith feel sadness at the loss of a great architectural, ecclesial and cultural monument. Parisians are especially fond of...
Mary and Joseph could find no guest room when it was time for Jesus to be born. The only place providing hospitality was the manger trough. Now Jesus sends the disciples to the guest room where he has arranged the Passover to be eaten. The...
There is an astonishing parallel between this Sunday’s Gospel and the giving of the Ten Commandments. After Israel’s liberation from slavery Moses met God on Mount Sinai. Then he descended and proclaimed to Israel the terms of God’s covenant which they accepted. When God finished speaking...
Rembrandt’s very famous painting of the return of the prodigal is a profound visual expression of Jesus’ parable. “Filled with compassion he ran, put his arms around him and kissed him.” Lk 15:20 The word translated as compassion comes from the word for bowels or guts...
How does the unfruitful fig tree become the burning bush? When we let the divine gardener into our life he invites us to dig in some difficult places. He invites us to soften up parts of ourselves we hardened rather than feel our pain, frustration...
The readings for the second Sunday of Lent powerfully reveal the lengths God will go to bring people to freedom. The covenant that God makes with Abram in Genesis 15 is curse-covenant by which God promised to lay down his own life to fulfill his...
Its been said the Bible is a good book for good people and a bad book for bad people. Jesus says the same thing about our hearts. Dividing people into either good or bad is always a great attention getter that catches us all. Which...
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C In the seminary one of our professors always spoke of God as a “Father with womb-like love.” He was referring to some of the intimate expressions for mercy and compassion from the Old Testament that came from words...
Sixth Sunday Year C Poor, hungry, weeping and hated??? Strange blessings...
Fifth Sunday of ordinary time year C Luke 5:1-15 Jesus catches people with his words. So much so that he needs to borrow Simon’s boat to better share his words with the crowds who follow him. Simon and his crew are at work so Jesus is...
There is always tension between missionaries and pastors. Missionaries tend to be focused on the kingdom and Pastors on the church. The kingdom is not easily defined but represents the mysterious realm of God that has begun already but will only be fully realized in...
Finding your place in the scroll There comes a time when we find ourselves in God’s Word. It could be the experience of falling into a scene in the gospel. Or perhaps a specific verse stayed with you and then that verse came to be realized...
God loves weddings. The beginning of the Bible has God arranging the first marriage between Adam and Eve. The end of the Bible describes the heavenly Jerusalem as a Bride in splendor. At the center of the Bible is Jesus, who performs his first miracle...
Bourne Again… In every one of the Bourne movies critical events occur in water. The very first scene has Jason floating in water of the coast of Marseilles, France. Marie drowns in his arms in the opening scenes of the second movie. The last installment shows...
Journal to Bethlehem Scripture commentaries have little to say about the star of Bethlehem. Reference is made to the book of Numbers, chapter 24:17 and to the “star” and “staff” that will rise from Jacob to rule over all the nations. Astronomical references are also given:...
In the womb… When the dark inner space of the womb was our world we knew we were one with God. We didn’t know this cognitively or intellectually but directly through our body being. In this paradise time we were serenaded, massaged and nourished by the...
What should we do??? Last Sunday John the Baptist said that we must submit to a Baptism of repentance, better translated as “metanoia” to transcend our ego centered approach to God. Baptism means gradually drowning or suffocating the identity we trust in more than our true...
The closet of a complete life contains robes of sorrow and joy. Changing from one outfit to another means fully experiencing what each season of life requires. The prophet Baruch consoles the people of Jerusalem who have experienced a devastating reversal of fortune. The Holy...
Signs come first. In the world of occupational health and safety there is something called a “Near Miss Accident Theory” which accounts for how many near misses or warning signs occur before accidents happen. For every 600 near misses there are typically 30 property losses,...
Amazement is a common response to the profound teachings and actions of Jesus in the Gospels. But amazement is not a positive response to Jesus. After Jesus rebukes an unclean spirit and casts it out of a man the crowd is amazed. But they are...
Show me the money...
The Usual Daily Wage The Denarius was the daily wage of an unskilled laborer in Jesus’ time. It was enough to feed a peasant family for one day and had to be paid at sunset according to the Law of Moses. Daily bread also comes to...
Seven times seventy-seven times: Jackpot! Jesus’ math concerning forgiveness is the Gospel antithesis to the spread of violence in Genesis after the first murder by Cain and the exponential of vengeance of Lamech. “If Cain is avenged seven times, truly Lamech seventy-seven times.” Gn 4:24 Vengeance is a crude...
A Vocation Commentary on the Sunday Gospels The boat on the waves and terrified disciples represents the early church trying to cope with the physical absence of the risen Jesus. Peter’s bold move to what they believe at first is a ghost compels him to imitate Jesus...
A Lectionary #614 It’s a lame joke but anyways…. The new missionary was having nightmares. People said, "Father, you should go talk to the elder." After making the offering of tobacco he shared that "each night I wake up in sweat, shouting I’m a tipi! I’m a tipi! I’m...
A Lectionary #109 The king held in his hand a larger and more beautiful pearl than anyone had ever seen. Turning he asked the prime minister “how much is this pearl worth?” He replied “more than ten chests of gold.” The king said, “Smash it.” He...
This parable is a bit tricky. The good seed are the children of the kingdom sown by Jesus and the bad seed are the children of the evil one sown by the devil?!? We react by thinking, “aren’t we all children of God?” “Are bad...
My yoke is easy...
Understand with your heart and turn...
We live in a world where it might seem that saints are no longer fashionable. Many people question their relevance in our time. But saints are not simply to be admired; they are role models whose lives are meant to encourage and challenge us. St. Eugene...