Yesterday the Church sang of angels, shepherds, light, and joy. Quite jarringly, today we are shown stones, hatred, and death. On the very day after Christmas, the Church places before us St....
The Costs of Christmas
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Friar Reflection
The Days of Promise
I hope you have been following the readings here during the final week of Advent. These have been the gospel readings: Friday: the “annunciation” of the birth of Zechariah, the father of John the...
The Magnificat
Today’s Gospel is the “Canticle of Mary” also called the Magnificat (from the Latin “to magnify, to praise”). Mary gives praise and thanks to God for calling her to be the mother of Jesus, to be...
How?
In today’s Gospel Luke tells us the story of the Annunciation of the birth not of Jesus but the Annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist. The angel appears to the priest Zechariah as he was...
Fatherhood: Listening and Righteousness
Yesterday we began the celebration of the second stage of Advent. These final days of preparation help us to focus on the joy of the historical birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. The Gospels insert...
A call to remember
Today you might ask a new neighbor or a new parishioner, “Where are you from?” It is a normal question. Growing up in the South it was equally likely for someone to ask, “Who are your people?”...
One City and Two Sons: Listening and Conversion
In this time of advent, time of waiting, the Word of God comes to us speaking of one city and two sons. We are given these images as a call to true waiting – change, repentance, conversion. The...
Authority
In today’s Gospel Jesus’ authority is questioned and challenged. Jesus, a layman, has just performed a prophetic action in the Temple: “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged...
Evangelization With a Mother’s Caring Love
As we all learned in grade school in the USA, the Spaniards arrived in the new world in 1492. They attempted to establish settlements and colonies throughout the Caribbean Islands, Santo Domingo,...
The Lord is Merciful
In today’s Responsorial Psalm we proclaim: “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.” These words are taken from Psalm 145. These words and this psalm remind us that...
The Invitation
Jesus issues a personal invitation to each of us today. We hear this invitation in the words of today’s Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my...
Advent Landscaping
Isaiah certainly has away with words. In the first reading for today’s Mass, Isaiah describes mountains being leveled, valleys being filled, and rough places being made smooth. It is a complete...