Last week all of our first readings were from the Prophet Hosea. Any one of the reflections could have begun: “In today’s first reading the Northern Kingdom of Israel is being warned about the choices they have made and are making – and the consequences of those...
When I was a year or two short of being a full-fledged teenager, I was invited to attend my first funeral. It was not a Catholic funeral – and as I came to know – nothing like a Catholic funeral. It was a fundamentalist, born-again, raucous affair for a...
Isaiah’s words in today’s first reading are very shocking: “When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen.” Isaiah is warning the people that God is refusing to listen to their prayers. Why? Because of their...
In today’s first reading, we bring a week of Hosea to a close. The choice of readings paints an image of life with and without God. Monday: God spoke words of faithful, loyal love. “I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love...
Today we continue to read from the prophet Hosea. This book is a love story, although sometimes it may seem like a soap opera. It is the story of a spouse who is unfaithful but is forgiven and welcomed back. Sometimes this unfaithful spouse is Hosea’s wife,...