There is one verse in today’s first reading that almost takes us by surprise. The prophet Jeremiah says: “They will in those days no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the...
Sacred Things, Sacred Hearts
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Friar Reflection
Seeing the Action of God
Thomas Merton once said that each moment of every day was filled with the seeds of God’s love, seeds of God’s action, God’s presence in our lives. Unfortunately, most people wander through life as...
Already Seeking Us
Most of us think of the spiritual life as our search for God. We pray because we are looking for him. We come to Mass because we want to draw closer to him. We read Scripture because we hope to hear...
First Family and Family First
All of us would probably say that family is our first and most important value. As human beings we need a family to survive physically through the first years of our life and we need a family to...
Walking in the World
There are times when I think groups within the Church offer us a false choice: opposition between liturgy and justice, or between ritual and discipleship. The Church has always taught that both are...
Mercy, Not Sacrifice
In today’s Gospel Jesus applies the prophetic message of Isaiah and Hosea to a practical question of what can be done on the Sabbath. Last week Hosea proclaimed that “God desires mercy, not...
Support and Hope for All
Life can seem really hard and difficult at times. Often, we feel overwhelmed and crushed for long periods of time. Some people even live their whole lives feeling that way. This of course leads us...
Saint Bonaventure
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan bishop and doctor of the church. Bonaventure was filled with the spirit and love of St. Francis of Assisi. The rule and spirituality...
Openness to Conversion
Jesus began his ministry north of his hometown of Nazareth along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. There were many small towns and commercial centers on the northern end of the lake. Capernaum was a...
Worship and Justice
This week we will be reading from the prophet Isaiah. Today’s first reading is from the 1st chapter of Isaiah. This chapter provides an overview to the whole book of Isaiah, sounding some of its...