In today’s Gospel we hear the story of Jesus healing a blind man. While Jesus performed many miracles or healings there are a couple of elements that make this healing story stand out. First,...
Healing of a Blind Man
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Friar Reflection
Something wicked this way comes
In the first reading for today we encounter the well-known account of Noah as he is commissioned by God to gather all living creatures that would survive the Flood. (Just for the record, please note...
The First Murder
The first reading today is from Genesis 4 and tells the well-known story of Cain and Abel. Did you notice that the whole idea of bringing an offering to God is Cain’s idea; Abel just follows along....
Resiliency in Faith
What today’s Gospel tells us about Jesus and the challenge for us: As we hear the Gospel proclaimed we see that Jesus is in Gentile territory. Did he do this on purpose? The previous incident...
The Breath of Life
The first reading today continues in the Book of Genesis where we read: “then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man...
Order and Purpose
The first readings from daily Mass for the first two days of this week are taken from Genesis, Chapter 1 into the opening verses of Genesis 2. It is a familiar story to all from children to...
The Beginning
For the next two weeks our first reading will be taken from Genesis (Chapters 1-11), the first book of our Bible. The first book of the Bible begins, appropriately enough, with the “beginnings:”...
Building Character
Today is the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. We know more about the devotion to Saint Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. We do know he suffered...
Presentation in the Temple
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. As we hear in today’s Gospel Mary and Joseph, as good and pious Jews, bring Jesus up to the Temple in Jerusalem to...
Perseverance
Today’s first reading is taken from Hebrews 12 beginning with verse 4. This long passage of exhortation that follows needs to be understood in the context of yesterday’s reading which included...
Restoration of Life and Faith
In today’s Gospel we hear of the curing of Jairus’ daughter and of the woman with the hemorrhage. The earliest examples of Christian art are found in the catacombs. There is a painting of the...
For Many, A Missed Encounter and For One, Healing and Mission
The man from the tombs was so sick and disorientated that he had no relationship or understanding with other people nor with himself. He could only live among the dead in the cemetery doing injury...