Most Recent Posts
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Asking for God’s Help
Thursday in the First Week of Lent: Esther C: 12, 14-16, 23-25, Matthew 7:7-12. Today, we hear Jesus tell us “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Christians have reflected on these words since the earliest days of the Church,…
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Something Greater Is Here
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent: Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 11:29-32. We are steeped in the importance of Christology with today’s readings. In his 1998 Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio, Pope Saint John Paul II writes, “The word of God reveals the final destiny of men and women and provides a unifying explanation of all that…
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The Fertile Word and Forgiveness
Tuesday in the First Week of Lent: Isaiah 55:10-11, Matthew 6:7-15. I’m really not a great gardener, but my time working at a community gardening nonprofit planted in me (pun noted) a deep appreciation of the entire agricultural cycle. The word “fertile” immediately conjures the smell of loamy earth in the spring; piles of vegetation,…
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Divine Mandate
Feast of the Chair of St. Peter: 1 Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 16:13-19. Today the Church celebrates the moment when Christ entrusted His Church to a particular, flawed man. It is called the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, and while there is an actual chair at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome said to be…
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The Power of Baptism
First Sunday of Lent: Genesis 9:8-15, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15. While on our personal Lenten journeys with Christ, we sometimes forget that it is also the season for the elect to formally pledge themselves to the Church, finish their preparation, and present themselves for Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion at Easter Vigil Mass.…
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Embracing God’s Offer
Saturday after Ash Wednesday: Isaiah 58:9b-14, Luke 5:27-32. God shows us in todays’ readings his great desire to redeem us. Consider how different our God is from the gods in classical Greek culture or the nature-oriented gods of other pagan cultures. These deities have either complex personal, selfish desires that conflict with humanity or they…
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The Spirit of Fasting
Friday after Ash Wednesday: Isaiah 58:1-9a, Matthew 9:14-15. Today’s readings cast some doubt on fasting, and it’s worth digging into them to understand the teaching God delivers to us. The verses from Isaiah are some of the longest in the Old Testament dealing with fasting. This chapter in Isaiah tackles false vs. true worship; God…
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Doughnuts and Kenosis: Our Come-to-Jesus Moment
Thursday after Ash Wednesday: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Luke 9:22-25. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells us plainly that to follow him has a personal cost, that a person must “deny himself and take up his cross daily.” This saying is familiar to most Christians, although most believers I know are more apt to quote, “love thy…