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Although we just heard the passion reading from the gospel writer John, all four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) basically tell the same story but with slightly different emphases. I’m going to draw a little bit from each of them. We are in the year of Mark, which means that almost all of the gospel stories we hear at Sunday Mass, this year, are taken from the Gospel of Mark. I love the opening line of Mark’s …

There is a big leap of faith asked of Peter and the other apostles in today’s gospel story. Jesus is asking them and, by extension, us to make room for a big change in the way we think. The dominant way for all of us to avoid change in our lives—even change that helps us grow—is to go into our heads. We all do it, and we will all be doing it right up to the day we die. …

One thing we can say about all gospel stories—but especially the gospel stories we hear during Holy Week—is that they are very visual. Even if you never had the privilege of being in Jerusalem, you can easily picture the scene of Jesus riding on a donkey and the crowd waving palm branches. So, picture yourself, once again, amidst all the excitement of the voices shouting “Hosana.”

Since all gospel stories are part of the one story …

I remember being a kid in the early 1970s and collecting hockey cards much like this Tim Horton card. I also remember playing with them until the corners were damaged and trading with them in the school yard. (Card aficionados now seal them in plastic, keep them in pristine condition, and pray they become rare and valuable). At recess you would look at another kid’s bundle of cards as he rifled through them hoping to find one you could …

The only thing that separates you from God is the thought that you are separated from God.  It is all in your head (and mine). You cannot be separate from God.  If you lived for one nanosecond separate from God, you would cease to exist.  When you live in that realization, that you are connected to God by a bond that can never be broken, it always feels like surrender. But it’s a good kind of surrender. You will …

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Do I fear being poor, in spirit or otherwise, and prefer to be rich in money, brains, or influence? Is my desire for poverty of spirit congruent with my lifestyle? Do I use the word of God to rationalize my lifestyle, or am I willing to have God’s word criticize it? Do I cling to my own ideas, opinions and judgments, sometimes …

One of the ways sin in defined in the four gospels, is that it starts off with an inability, or a failure, to see. There is something about our seeing, when we sin, that gets screwed up right from the get go. It reminds me of a story in John’s Gospel, that we often hear during Lent, of how Jesus gets in trouble for curing a blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, who value the keeping of the …

We are all familiar with this gospel story often called the “cleansing of the Temple.” For some people, Jesus showing anger, making a whip, upsetting tables, and driving people out the Temple seems too much of a stretch from the Jesus they grew up with. Afterall, did Jesus not ask us to be tolerant, loving (even of enemies), patient, and just nice to one another? The truth is Jesus never asked us to settle for nice. In fact, the …

At each Mass, just before we share in Communion, the priest says aloud: Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you…” It is one of those rare occasions where the Eucharistic Prayer addresses the Son and not the Father. These are Jesus’ words taken directly from John’s Gospel (14:27). They are part of what scripture scholars call the “Farewell Discourse” (chapters 14-17 inclusive). It is Jesus’ good-bye speech, and it …

As many of you know, over 50 years ago the Church established a 3-year cycle of Sunday Scripture readings. That is to say, we hear the same readings only once every three years. However, every year that pattern is broken when we are given one version or another of the gospel story of the Transfiguration. Maybe one of the reasons we are given this reading every year is that it is so rich in symbolism and meaning we just …