by Fr. John O'Connor OFM | May 18, 2022 | Friar Reflection |
Jesus says that some of His followers are fruit bearing branches of Himself; others are useless because they bear no fruit. So, who was Jesus thinking of when He spoke of fruitless branches? First, He was thinking of the Jews. They were branches of God’s vine but...
by Fr. John O'Connor OFM | May 11, 2022 | Friar Reflection |
The plane taxied to the edge of the runway – and stopped. Then the captain made the announcement every passenger dreads: A storm had shut down all major airports. Because other aircraft had already filled the gates back at the terminal, the plane had to stay on the...
by Fr. John O'Connor OFM | May 3, 2022 | Friar Reflection |
Today we celebrate two of the Twelve members of Jesus’ circle. Philip, a friend of Andrew’s from Bethsaida, is invited by Jesus himself to join his company. In the Fourth Gospel, Philip often says what the other eleven are thinking. In John’s accounting of the...
by Fr. John O'Connor OFM | Apr 22, 2022 | Friar Reflection
Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find something. This Easter week Jesus is asking us to do two things: Sharpen our vision. Scripture suggests one of the reasons Jesus was able to help the disciples catch so many fish, after them having no...
by Fr. John O'Connor OFM | Mar 31, 2022 | Friar Reflection
It is never a comfortable experience visiting someone who is very ill. We aren’t sure what to do or say. We worry that we might say the wrong thing. Rabbi Harold Kushner writes: “At some of the darkest moments of my life, some people I thought of as friends...
