Life is full of surprises – happy, sad, or terrifying. Some of the surprises are the result of how we have organized our own lives, like the sad socio-political situation in Israel in the prophet...
Trust – A Brand Plucked from the Fire
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Friar Reflection
Deaf to the Word of God
The refrain from the psalm response of today’s readings is well paired with the first reading from the Book of Amos: “Remember this, you who never think of God.” In the first reading the prophet...
Would You Go After the One Lost Sheep?
We all like a bargain in life, getting the most for our money or investment. If I give this much, how much will I get in return? What’s the safest bet? “What man among you having a hundred sheep...
Joy – The Fulfilment of God’s Promises and Plan
Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. It is a day of great joy throughout all the Church. In Peru, John the Baptist is the patron saint in the jungle areas and until recently this feast...
A Call to Action
In the first reading for today we encountered one of the passages that, the first time I read it, I had to blink, shake my head to remove possible cobwebs, and then re-read. Did they just find “the...
The Narrow Gate
In today’s Gospel Jesus exhorts us to “enter through the narrow gate.” As Jesus comes to the end of his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28) he gives us a summary of his teachings and an...
Stop Judging
Jesus’ command in today’s Gospel is simple and direct: “Stop judging.” Notice Jesus does not say, “Do not judge,” but “Stop judging.” He knows that “religious” people have a tendency to judge and...
Idols and Faith
In the Old Testament today we see how Israel returned to the Lord after a time of service to a foreign idol. Repeatedly through the Old Testament Israel is called back to the Lord after many detours...
Thy Will Be Done
How should we pray? There have been numerous books that have been written on prayer. Some of these books provide descriptions of the various types of prayer (e.g., praise, petition, contemplative...
The Challenge of Stargazing
In her best-selling book Learning to Walk in the Dark, Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on the many ways God reveals himself in the dark, that we can discover God in the moonlight as well as the...
The Whirlwind
Every now and again, someone in the Sacrament of Confession will mention a sin, and comment, “I know it's wrong, but no one is hurt except me.” In yesterday’s first reading we heard the first part...
St. Anthony of Padua
Most people know St. Anthony of Padua as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles, but have you ever wondered why he is that particular patron saint? The Patron Saint of Lost Things. The reason...