Jesus asks us in today’s Gospel if we “understand all these things.” Do we understand Jesus’ interpretation of the Parable of the Weeds growing among Wheat and the Parable of the Net that collects...
The New and the Old
read more
Friar Reflection
Having a bad day
In today’s first reading, Jeremiah is having a bad day - maybe a bad year. He is at the end of his rope in dealing with the people of Judah and Jerusalem in his role of prophet. Jeremiah was not a...
Weeds and Wheat
In today’s Gospel Jesus explains the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat. In this parable Jesus gives us his vision of what the church is or what it should be. While eventually the weeds are...
Jars of Clay
Today’s first reading is one of my favorite passages from St. Paul: “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7). It points out one of the great paradoxes of this life of discipleship: it...
Not Just Prayer but Prayerfulness
There are at least two important teachings in today’s Gospel, that are connected. The first is about prayer. “Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear”. Benedictine...
The Eternal
Before a baby is born, they are such a wonderful mystery. Though we can get a “peek” at them through ultrasound images, hear their heartbeat with a doppler, and speculate about what they might look...
Who Is My Mother
What does it mean to be related to Jesus? In today’s Gospel Jesus puts this question to the crowd: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Jesus replies that whoever does God’s will is related...
The Verdict
This summer we have taken time to consider the first reading from daily Mass. The reading from the Prophet Micah is well matched to the Gospel in which the scribes and the Pharisees are asking for a...
The Feast of St. Bonaventure
In many ways St. Bonaventure is a Saint for the times in which we live - when divisions are ripe and the unity of a nation is being sorely tested. In the years while St. Francis was alive, the...
Come to Me
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened.…” Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel have often been a source of comfort and strength to those facing suffering and even death. Jesus invites each of us...
You Have Revealed It to The Childlike
When I went to Peru, I had a nine-month plan set-up for my deacon internship – nine months to learn Spanish and then return to the USA to work with one of our Latino parishes. When we were in the...
The Gift of Hospitality
Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire is Michael Downey’s portrait of the community of Trappist monks living The Rule of Saint Benedict at Our Lady of Mepkin Abbey outside Charleston, South...