We have been hearing of Jesus’ activities in the towns along the Sea of Galilee - preaching, teaching, and mighty deeds. In the Gospel Jesus’s marvelous deeds accompany his preaching and clearly...
Unrepentance and Conversion
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Friar Reflection
Mission
In today’s Gospel Jesus finishes the second of five discourses in Matthew’s Gospel. The first discourse was the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28). In this second discourse Jesus commissions...
Evangelization
Evangelization is a word we often hear today in the church. We are called to evangelize. The word “evangelization” comes from the Greek word for Gospel (Greek: euangelion, Latin: evangelium). In...
Joseph’s Revenge
In the sequence of first readings for weekday Masses, we have just made a huge leap from Jacob (Gen 28) to the end of the story of Joseph and his brothers (Gen 41). A quick synopsis of the story...
Renouncing Everything and Evangelization
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Benedict who really put into practice Jesus’ call in today’s Gospel to abandon everything and center our lives on him. Benedict is the founder of monasticism in...
Repurposing
In the first reading, Jacob, having fled from his brother Esau’s wrath, finds himself at a shrine, where he rests for the night, using a stone for a pillow. It is here that a divine revelation comes...
Mercy, Not Sacrifice
What is your favorite book of the Bible? What is your favorite Bible verse? If we asked Jesus this question, he might well answer that Hosea is his favorite book of the Bible and Hosea 6:6 is his...
Healing Encounter and Rejection
You probably have noticed a dramatic shift in the Matthew’s Gospel over the last week. We have passed a turning point in Matthew’s Gospel. We have moved from the proclamation of the Sermon on the...
Justice and Freedom
Throughout the Bible, we see a consistent call for justice and the promotion of freedom, both in relation to our relationship with God and our interactions with one another. The pairing of Justice...
Doubting Thomas
Today is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. Thomas is popularly known as “Doubting Thomas.” Why? Because he questioned and doubted as we hear in today’s Gospel: “Unless I see the mark of the...
The Power of Testimony
In today’s gospel we have a simple story of an encounter between Jesus and a leper. The leper did him homage and said: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus indeed desired to cure the...
Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul were both apostles and saints, but they were by no means perfect! As we hear in today’s Gospel Jesus gives Simon the name Cephas or Rock (Peter) after he confesses, “You are the...