In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Peter addresses the Jewish people in the Temple area after the healing of a crippled man. His message is summarized well in the work The...
Man Proposes, God Disposes
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Friar Reflection
The Breaking of the Bread
Today’s Gospel is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and how they came to recognize Jesus in the “Breaking of the Bread.” The phrase “Breaking of the Bread” was an early Christian...
Mary Magdalene’s Tears
Pope Francis pointed out a while ago that Mary Magdalene’s reality was changed after she washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. Looking at her life and reality through the prism of tears of regret for...
It’s About Easter Joy
The story today in the Gospel tells us of the experience of the two Mary’s, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, as they encounter the risen Lord. As we hear this story three things stand out, They...
Outside the Light
The gospel readings in Holy week always speak about Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark, for example, gives no motivation for Judas’s sudden betrayal. Matthew, writing a decade or so...
A Model to Follow
Jesus, after he washed the feet of his disciples, declared: “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the...
Eternal Life
Jesus declares in today’s Gospel: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The way to eternal life is through not only hearing Jesus’ words but putting them into...
Truth and Freedom
Jesus declares in today’s Gospel: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” In John’s Gospel truth is not an abstract...
Where Do You Look?
Jesus had been preparing his disciples and followers for his impending separation from them while they were on the road to Jerusalem. Today we find Jesus in Jerusalem speaking hard words to the...
Silence
There was an interesting article that appeared in this past week’s news. It was 1980 and Jimmy Carter was in the White House, bedeviled by a hostage crisis in Iran that had paralyzed his presidency...
Confidence
After having some initial conflict with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus decides to return to Galilee. There were threats of arrest and threats against his life at that time. After being...
Prayer of Petition and Service
It seems that Israel, the community of ex-slaves gathered in the desert after the Exodus, was not all that different from us today: impatient, complainers, and idolaters. Today we don’t build golden...