In today’s Gospel Jesus prays and gives praise to his heavenly Father with these words: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Jesus stands in wonder before his Father’s ways. ...
Praise God
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Friar Reflection
Salt and Light for Our Times
St. Bonaventure was a very intelligent, studious friar scholar and administrator. He lived for a short 53 years. The last 17 years of his life he was Minister General of the Franciscan order. He was...
The Household of Faith
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me...” (Mt 10:37) I think there is a tendency among believers that when we hear those words, we respond with, what I call, “the holy...
Apostles
In today’s Gospel Jesus commissions and sends out the Twelve to be his witnesses. The word “apostle” comes from the Greek verb “to send” (apostellõ). Jesus tells the Apostles: “Behold, I am...
Sent Out – Mission
Today we listen to Matthew’s version of the first sending-out of the disciples. It is the same story we heard last Sunday from Luke. Being sent out to proclaim the Good News is at the heart of what...
The Path to Blessing
Yesterday, the first reading was the story of Jacob wrestling with the divine. In yesterday’s reflection, in part, we considered that some modern scholars interpret the episode as an inner...
Championship Wrestling
Growing up in Florida in the early 1960s, one of the staples of Saturday television programming was “Championship Wrestling from Florida” with Gordon Solie as host and play-by-play announcer. The...
Stairway to Heaven
Today’s first reading from Genesis is the story of Jacob’s ladder or stairway. This ladder reaches from the ground to the heavens. God’s “messengers” or angels were “going up and down on” this...
Our Homeland – The Way
I was not supposed to be here today. But due to a small health problem and a quick switch of the schedule, here I am with you, giving thanks to our Lord for this civil holiday, remembering our...
The Faith and Trust of Thomas
St. Thomas gets sort of a bad rap in the general Catholic saint culture. He had been tagged in the world as “Doubting Thomas”. But if we look at all the instances when Thomas is mentioned in the...
Jesus the Exorcist
In today’s Gospel Jesus performs an exorcism and drives demons out of two people possessed by these demons. The story is rich with symbolism. The story takes place in the territory of the...
Trust, Confidence, and Faith
When Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, he starts down to the lake. Along the way several events happen that point to the importance of trust, confidence, and faith: -he performs several more...