The ancient practices of penance or conversion are fasting, alms giving, and prayer. We move into the first week of Lent, renewing our dedication to each. Matthew remembers how Jesus taught his...
Prayer
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Friar Reflection
The Last Judgement
In today’s Gospel we hear the story of the Last Judgment. This judgment is described as a separation, like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew describes this judgement with...
Fasting
We begin the season of Lent by reflecting on the importance and the purpose of fasting. There are three important practices to help us with our conversion in this time of Lent and throughout the...
New Land – New Life
Deuteronomy is a very long book in the Old Testament. It is a bit difficult for meditation, and one could say even just reading it is a bit difficult. Moses is preparing the people to enter a new...
Repent
Today is Ash Wednesday the beginning of the Season of Lent. During this season we are called to repent. When we receive ashes on our forehead the minister proclaims: “Repent and believe in the...
The Lure of Temptation
St. James speaks today about temptation in a way that is both honest and disarming. He does not begin with dramatic sins or shocking failures. Instead, he speaks about desire; how temptation works...
Signs
Give me just one more sign, just one more proof of God’s presence. In today’s Gospel some of the Pharisees are “seeking from Jesus a sign from heaven to test him.” While Jesus performed many...
Ephphatha
In today’s Gospel we have this strange word “Ephphatha.” Mark helpfully translates this Aramaic word: “Be opened!” Aramaic was Jesus’ native language although he could also read the Scripture in...
The Dogs
In today’s Gospel Jesus is in the Gentile territory of Tyre. He encounters a non-Jewish woman, “a Greek, a Syrophoenician woman.” She begs Jesus to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. ...
Impression or Conversion
In the gospel Jesus tells the crowd that what truly defiles a person is not what comes from the outside, but what comes from within. What comes out is likely an indicator of the conversion happening...
Tension as old as Faith
The readings today place us inside a tension that is as old as faith itself: the tension between tradition and obedience, between familiar worship and a living relationship with God. In the first...
The Temple
Today’s first reading describes the dedication of the First Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple was destroyed by the King of Babylon who also exiled the Jewish king and many of the political and...