Today’s first reading is one of my favorite chapters of the Old Testament: Isaiah 55. It always reminds me of the parable of the Sower and the Seed from the gospels with the Word of God being sent...
Power and Life
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Friar Reflection
The Judgment
Today’s readings teach us God’s will and the criterion on which we will be judged at the end of time. In the first reading from Leviticus God calls us to be his holy people: “Be holy, for I, the...
Fasting
Today’s readings deal with the question of when to fast and how to fast. Jesus is challenged because his disciples do not undertake special fasting: “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your...
Life and Prosperity or Death and Doom
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....
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...