As we say “good-bye” to gospel writer Matthew, who has been our guide this last liturgical year, we end with a reading that summarizes Jesus’ entire life among us. If we were to read and try to apply just this gospel reading alone, I’m convinced it would be more than enough to convert us and change the world forever. When I take this gospel passage seriously in my own life, I realize I have more blow opportunities, more sins of ...
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Fear or Love – What is our Starting Point?
As I sit to write this reflection I am just back in the office after one week’s holidays. While it is always nice to have some time to relax and re-energize, the one thing a week’s holiday makes crystal clear to me is that I am nowhere near ready for retirement. While my birth certificate is telling me that I am coming to a time in my life where that will be ...
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Once again Jesus gives us a parable that does not tie things up in a neat package with a bow around it. Parables are meant to stretch us, to take us out of our small worlds, our small kingdoms and invite us to consider what the Kingdom of God is like. We will only let go of our little kingdom if we are convinced we are getting a bigger kingdom in exchange. But letting go has never been our strong ...
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My reflections for this week’s readings and gospel are focused on the First Reading from the book of Proverbs. The first reading talks about a woman who is valuable in many ways. She’s trustworthy, hardworking, and caring. This isn’t just about being a good wife, but also about being a strong individual. Her skills are practical; she can work “with wool and flax” and she helps the less fortunate. This paints a picture of a person who is balanced both ...
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Wisdom and Choice
There are three prayers that I have known for as long as I can remember. “Now I lay me down to sleep …” “Our Father …” and … the Serenity prayer. My grandmother had a plaque hanging by her kitchen sink, that I liked to ask people to read: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Today’s readings made ...
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As is the case with so many of our Sunday Scripture readings, there is a common theme, an overlap, between the first reading and the Gospel passage. Both deal with “wisdom.” In the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom itself, the author presents wisdom as a strikingly attractive woman. Wisdom in the gospel, however, is preparedness and not alertness. All 10 bridesmaids fall asleep. None of them remain alert, but five were considered wise because they were prepared.
Is anyone ...
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On Consulting the Faithful
In his “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” John Henry (Cardinal) Newman explained that he converted to Catholicism because he recognized that the Catholic Church was the closest to that of St. Athanasius. I was inspired by Newman’s sentiment and chose “The Logos in the Theology of Athanasius” to be the topic of my PhD dissertation. Life got in the way and I never completed it.
However, I also learned that after his conversion Newman narrowly missed being excommunicated for ...
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There are a couple of warning shots fire over our heads in the readings today. They warn us against hypocrisy. The first shot is taken by the prophet Malachi. Even though Malachi lived about 500 years before Jesus, notice how his words are similar to Jesus’ words. Malachi says, “O priests, this command is for you. Your hearts don’t give me glory. You’ve corrupted the covenant of Levi, and you cause many to stumble by your instructions.” Jesus, 500 years ...
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Love is the Greatest Commandment
¯Love, love, love … all you need is love. ¯
The multitudes of songs and poems which talk about love is endless. As a reader, I can attest that it is also a common theme in many books, a universal concept, understood and lived out in a variety of ways. Love really does appear to make the world go round, as someone once said. We are a society which is consumed by various interpretations of love, the ...
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The very first thing I ever remember watching on our black and white television, back in the late 1960s, was fighting in the Middle East. I was shocked at what I was seeing and wondered, as a three or four-year-old, “Why are they fighting and not loving one another? Why doesn’t someone, from the adult world, just step in and stop this?” Of course, I didn’t know anything about the complexities of human behavior; I still don’t know much. I ...
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