Trinity Sunday

Jn 16: 12-15 Dear Friends,Jesus said, “I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it.” (Jn 16: 12). Teresa of Avila, the great Carmelite Saint and Doctor of the Church, was one who learned how to bear the truth of God. Through a long process of purifying mystical experiences and a dedicated...

Read More

Christ the King

John 18: 33-37 Dear Friends, This feast has a clear and formidable message for us. It also has significant function in our liturgical year. In the Gospel of John, the story of Jesus and Pilate is one of the most important parts of the Passion narrative. It involves seven different scenes....

Read More

Thirty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 13:24-32 Dear Friends. As we come to the conclusion of each Church year we have a message about the end of the world. It is always dramatically different than the sensationalist message we hear every several months from one crazy group or another. The Gospel message is clear. We do not know...

Read More

Thirty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 12:41-44  Dear Friends, Like all of Jesus’ teachings, the story of the widow’s mite has many levels. At the time of Jesus, the role of the widow was particularly painful and harsh. First of all, she had no rights. The inheritance of the husband would go to his family. The widow was,...

Read More

The Thirty First Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 12: 28-34  Dear Friends, Today’s exchange between Jesus and the surprisingly friendly scribe holds a true treasure for us. It is all about love. A critical point as we encounter this dialogue is the importance of listening. God has spoken. Our absolutely essential response is to listen....

Read More

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 10: 46-52  Dear Friends, The Bartimaeus story seems like a simple miracle story but it is much more than that. It is the story of what is a true disciple. For two and half chapters, Mark has Jesus challenging the disciples to realize his faithful following of the Father’s will is the...

Read More

Twenty Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 10: 35-45  Dear Friends, Today’s Gospel selection is part of a major section of Mark’s Gospel. In this long passage (Mk 8:22 10:52), Mark challenges us to accept Jesus on his terms and to embrace the consequences of this choice in our lives as disciples. The evangelist shows Jesus as one...

Read More

The Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary

Mark 10:17-30  Dear Friends, Right after my ordination, my best friend brought me a big problem. He was sure I had the answer after all the years of study in the seminary. His sister had left the Church to join an Evangelical group. It broke his heart. He was convinced I could bring her back...

Read More

Twenty Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk. 10:2-16 Dear Friends, This is a very complex Gospel selection. The conclusion of both sections was a radical and upsetting lesson of Jesus. It was one that even the early Christians had trouble accepting. It was much deeper than the issue of divorce. It shattered a deeply cherished truth...

Read More

Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 9: 37-42 Dear Friends, Today’s Gospel has two main points: the good that occurs outside the community and the evil takes place inside the community. As always, we are confronted with an invitation into the Mystery. This offer calls us to expand our heart and our world-view to embrace God’s presence...

Read More

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 9:30-37 Dear Friends, Our Catholic Faith is often described as a service from the cradle to the grave. Actually, we are very emphatic that it starts before the cradle at the moment of conception. I think we all have difficulty with this universal demand of our faith. When I was eleven, my...

Read More

The Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary

Mk 8: 27-35 This passage today is the centerpiece of Mark’s Gospel. All that preceded it leads up to the critical question of Jesus, Who do you say I am? (Mk 8:28) For the disciples, and for us, there is no more important question we must address in our life. Up to this point in Mark’s text everything...

Read More

Twenty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 7: 31-37 Dear Friends, I like to point out that there were thousands of deaf mutes in the time of Jesus. Only a few were cured. This is because Jesus was not a miracle maker or wonder worker. All of his healings and signs were an invitation into a deeper reality. They were an opening to Jesus’...

Read More

The Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Dear Friends, Teresa of Avila has a great insight on today’s Gospel. In her classic on the spiritual life, The Interior Castle, she points out that progress brings problems. Eventually, our egoism goes underground to protect its turf. In surfaces disguised as virtue. This...

Read More

Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time

John 6: 60-69 Dear Friends, This is the fifth selection from the Bread of Life discourse. In these last five weeks we have spent almost as much time as we did in Lent. The heart of the lesson is that Jesus is the revelation of God, a saving God who calls us to eternal life through Jesus. “It is...

Read More

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

 John 6: 51-58 Dear Friends,This is the fourth of the five Sundays on John’s chapter six discourse on the Bread of Life. Up to this point, the message has been Jesus as the Bread of Life revealing the loving plan and the call of the Father. We have experienced Jesus as the wisdom of God. Now...

Read More

The Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jn 6:41-51 Dear Friends, Today’s Gospel continues the discourse on the Bread of Life in chapter six of John’s Gospel. Jesus’ message emphasizes his identity as the Bread of Life as the revelation of God. Next week full attention will be on the second element of this discourse, the Eucharist. John’s...

Read More

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

John 6:24-35 Dear Friends, The folks in today’s Gospel were happy with the free meal of fish and the bread but they had their eyes on much bigger stakes. They were hoping Jesus would be the answer to the centuries old longing for a return to glory for Israel. They had visions of a new day of prosperity...

Read More

Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 6: 30-34 Dear Friends, Jesus has a plan to take the disciples away for rest and prayer. He is sidetracked by the large gathering of people. Mark says, “His heart was moved with pity for them.” (Mk 6: 34) This Greek word that is here translated, pity, is used two other times in the Gospels....

Read More

Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mark 6: 7-13 Dear Friends, In the Gospel of Mark, the portrayal of the disciples is fascinating and challenging. In the beginning, they are individuals who respond quite generously. They leave all and follow Jesus. Today’s selection from chapter six is the highlight of their positive response and...

Read More