July 27, 2024
I have a friend of mine with whom I went to high school. He is nasty to others, flips others off if they disagree with him, is mean to his wife, uses foul language, and more. None of this bothers me. I have come to expect this behavior from him. I have often spoken with […]
July 26, 2024
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ah, parenting! The joys, the challenges, the “bumps in the road,” the successes. The times of holding your breath, holding back tears, those precious instances of great pride, the “uh, oh” experiences – all of these sacred, holy “God moments.” And parenting never […]
July 25, 2024
Feast of Saint James, Apostle There is a lot of spiritual movement in today’s readings. An ambitious mother. (Can my sons reign with you in the kingdom and get the seats of honor?) a challenging Rabbi (can you drink the cup with me?), self-confident sons (yes, we can), jealous or indignant peers (How dare they?) […]
July 24, 2024
“You shall go!” “Will you go?” The three words in each sentence are similar, but the meaning is very different. The first is a command spoken to young Jeremiah by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The passage is from the very first chapter and verses of the Book of Jeremiah: it announces who […]
July 23, 2024
Memorial of Saint Bridget Here are my mother and relatives. The Church in Sweden celebrates Saint Bridget, a family woman who became a religious. She is a perfect example of how we can relate to Jesus to the point of being relatives. In her marriage, she started living a monastic life with her husband. After […]
July 22, 2024
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene On June 10, 2016, Pope Francis raised the liturgical celebration honoring Saint Mary Magdalene from a memorial to a feast, putting her on par with the Apostles and encouraging her to be referred to as the Apostle of the Apostles. In the memorial celebration, the Gospel reading from Saint Luke […]
July 21, 2024
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time In last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus gave the apostles authority over unclean spirits and commissioned them to preach. “So, they went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” In today’s gospel passage, the apostles had just returned […]
July 20, 2024
Today’s readings present two vastly different approaches to presenting God’s message to people. In the first, we find Micah, a man of the countryside, attempting to warn the landholders against unscrupulous practices that pave the way for destruction, such as those that have befallen the kingdom in the North. His approach is blunt and to […]
July 19, 2024
When the Pharisees saw [the disciples picking grain to eat], they said to Jesus, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” In today’s gospel passage, the Pharisees confronted Jesus, who accused him of breaking the Sabbath by plucking a few grains of wheat to eat. Jesus responded by stating […]
July 18, 2024
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Jesus offers a straightforward invitation to lighten our heavy load! How could we not immediately stop in our tracks and respond with gratitude? But too often, we don’t. We’re too preoccupied with mental, physical, emotional, and/or spiritual fatigue. We […]