February 27, 2024
Come now, let’s talk this over. Dear friends, as we journey into this second week of Lent, the Lord calls us to dialogue. Dialogue (διας λογος) means two parties laying matters on the table and coming up with a consensus. These parties are called to be equal in this dialogue. This makes the ambiance of […]
February 26, 2024
The early weeks of Lent constitute in their readings a kind of short course in the Christian life, a review of how Jesus calls on us to love one another. Today’s liturgy of the Word is a good example: after listening to a beautiful passage in the Book of Daniel, where Daniel recognizes in some […]
February 25, 2024
2nd Sunday of Lent When our youngest daughter was seventeen, she decided to run away from home. Her dad and I came home to find her gone. Our hearts were broken, yet we both wanted to sacrifice her! Today, we hear the account of God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. A faithful […]
February 24, 2024
Jesus speaks directly to us when he says: “Do not the pagans do the same?” There are several definitions for the word pagan. Using it in context here, pagans are those who did not and do not worship the one triune God. Our Lord is telling his disciples, including us, that we are to be […]
February 23, 2024
Reading Father Peter Julian Eymard’s retreat notes, I am always amazed at how brutally honest he was in the reflections he wrote. Yet, reading his hundreds of letters, I’m touched by how gentle and compassionate he was with the people he spiritually counseled. And yet, he was so tough on himself. I’ve often wondered if […]
February 22, 2024
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter In my family, my father had his special chair. We could sit in it when he wasn’t home, but we would move to another chair as soon as he came home. We treated his chair with respect. At Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a simple wooden chair is […]
February 21, 2024
God gives Jonah a task to go to get the Ninevites to convert from their immorality, a task that horrifies him. He despised the Ninevites who had conquered his people. He would have preferred to be a cheerleader on the sidelines as God destroyed the Ninevites than be the cause of their conversion. The story […]
February 20, 2024
I am always amazed and wonder how God always listens and answers my prayers. The biggest mystery to me is what part I play in answering my prayer. This is important to me because it gives meaning to my life. I have realized over a lifetime that my joy and happiness now depend on my […]
February 19, 2024
Our lives are crowded with directions. One diet guru’s book was “Eat This, Not That”. Today’s readings are full of charges for those striving to attain eternal life. Just before Christmas, Rick Costanza, one of our reflection authors, wrote so wonderfully about the rules and commandments that show us the right paths to God. We […]
February 18, 2024
1st Sunday of Lent The Gospels invite us to enter the narratives they spin. We recall an event in the life of Jesus to enter into it. We become Jesus. Today’s passage, the account of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, doesn’t pull us away from our time or world; it intensifies and brings it into […]