Here we are in the first days of Lent, the beginning of our road to Jerusalem. Today Moises appears in our Lenten way. Moses is very clear when proclaiming God’s Word to the Israelites and to us....
Life and Prosperity or Death and Doom
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Friar Reflection
Ash Wednesday
“Repent and believe in the Gospel.” There are the words the minister proclaims as we receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. These words are taken from the Gospel of Mark, the whole verse begins with a...
Temptation
The first reading today and all this week is from the Letter of James. Today’s “installment” is just one of many insights the letter carries about the human condition: “Blessed is he who perseveres...
Testing
Both of today’s readings reflect on the mystery of faith. In today’s Gospel the Pharisees seek “a sign from heaven to test him [Jesus].” He refuses to give them a sign since he has already given...
Deafness
Today readings have something to say about deafness. The story in the gospel reading is straightforward: a deaf/mute person is healed by Jesus’ touch as He proclaims: “Ephphatha.” The gospel verses...
Unclean Woman?
In today’s Gospel it seems like Jesus is having a bad day. Instead of welcoming this “outsider,” a Syrophoenician woman he callously replies, “…it is not right to take the food of the children and...
Unclean
What can defile a person or make them unclean? Jesus addresses this question in today’s Gospel. Jesus’ society, like our society, tended to classify people as insiders and outsiders. Whatever...
Conditions of the Heart
In a way this is a follow-on from yesterday’s reflection. The first reading again concerns itself with King Solomon. It is part of the dedication of the first Jerusalem Temple (a longer version of...
The Temple of the Lord
Did the first reading for today make you feel like you were dropped into the middle of a movie and you want to lean over to your friend and ask, “What’s going on?” The reading is from the 1st Book...
Presentation
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. As we hear in today’s Gospel Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus up to the Temple in Jerusalem “to present him to the Lord.” ...
Twelve Apostles
In today’s Gospel Jesus commissioned the Twelve to be “apostles.” The word “apostle” comes from the Greek word that means “to send.” So, as we hear in today’s Gospel, Jesus “summoned the Twelve...
Amazement
Today’s gospel is, in its own way, part of a thread in Mark’s gospel in which the nature of the family of God is slowly revealed. In Mark 3:7-12, Jesus is calling and appointing 12 as apostles, the...