Recently I was teaching grade school children at our parish school. The topic was regarding the 40 Hour Devotion that was coming up in the parish. The children would be participating and so I was...
Fixing Things
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Friar Reflection
Covenant
Today’s morning Mass marks the beginning of the parish’s 40 Hour Devotion - and as such today’s readings are taken from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. There are lots of odd...
Jesus doesn’t have a good memory
In 2000, Cardinal Thuan, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for thirteen years, nine of which were solitary confinement, preached the Lenten Retreat to the Curia in Rome. During this retreat he...
Being Ready
The Jews wanted Jesus to do something sensational to prove that He really was the anointed one of God. In the year 45 A.D. a man named Theudas arose claiming to be the Messiah. He persuaded people...
Our Choice
In today’s readings we hear from the Book of Jonah and Jesus’ reference to “the sign of Jonah.” I think we have been conditioned to think: “Jonah, three days in the belly of the whale. Jesus, three...
Prayer
In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches us, His disciples, how to pray and what words to use. We pray for the coming of God’s Kingdom in these words: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” God’s Kingdom is...
Judgement
How will we be judged? What if someone is not baptized or born again, can they be saved? What about someone who is an atheist, can they be saved? In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches that the...
Fasting
When and how should we fast? In today’s first reading Isaiah tells us that a true fast is not just refraining from food but refraining from “your own pursuits, and drive[ing] all your laborers.” A...
The Choice is Ours
God presents to us two choices. In the First Reading, Moses lays out two choices that the Israelites have: life or death. Life with God through obedience to God’s precepts; a life that comes from...
More precious than gold
Just last Friday, the first reading was from the Letter of James, in which he admonished the faithful to endure: “Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered” (James 5:11). In yesterday’s first...
Praise
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Today’s first reading from 1 Peter begins with praise of God: “Blessed be God…” To “bless” God means to praise God. Peter then gives us...
Following the Path Together
“Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing before the gates.” At first glance, I thought this did not happen much. However,...