Today is the final Mass for the parish elementary school. It is also a day when we have alumni present with us - graduates from the St. Francis Class of 2022 - who in just a few days will be the...
Look What God Can Do with a Mustard Seed
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Friar Reflection
The Two Great Commandments
In today’s Gospel a Jewish scribe asks Jesus a question that I am sure all of us have asked at one time or another: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” A Jewish scribe is one who has...
The God of the Living
In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches us that God is a living God: “He is not God of the dead but of the living.” Jews, Christians, and Moslems all believe in the same God, the God revealed to Moses: “I...
Like a Refiner’s Fire
“The heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire” (2 Peter 3:12). Yikes! That was a hard start to our first reading. To modern ears, the language sounds catastrophic, end of...
The Cornerstone
In today’s Gospel Jesus retells the parable of the vineyard from Isaiah 5 and then quotes Psalm 118 to interpret his rejection by some of the Jewish leaders. Jesus teaches that he is the rejected...
Finding your way
As you may or may not know, in days long past, I served aboard U.S. nuclear submarines. There are lots of sea stories that I can tell. There are lots of questions I am asked about life aboard a...
Belonging To God – The Royal Priesthood
St. Peter makes some dramatic and profound statements in today’ first reading. Israel had a special covenant relationship with God. They were God’s chosen people. Their mission as a nation was to be...
Born Again
In today’s first reading from 1 Peter the author reflects on the meaning of our baptism, the meaning of being born again or born anew. It is the Word of God that gives us this new life: “You have...
Holy Living
Our first reading today, 1 Peter 1:10–16, comes near the beginning of the letter and follows Peter’s reflection on the living hope Christians have through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It has...
Mary, Mother of the Church
Today we celebrate both Memorial Day and the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Following on the Feast of Pentecost yesterday we continue to reflect today on the mystery of...
One in Christ
As Christians we live in communion with God. Our baptism makes us part of God’s life. We are grafted into the life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as a gardener grafts a new branch...
Pharisees
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Paul defends himself before the Jewish Sanhedrin. He claims he is on trial for his belief in the resurrection: “My brothers, I am a Pharisee,...