A starting note about language. “Woe to you.” We are conditioned to understand the phrase “Woe to you” as one of condemnation, or at least as a warning of the coming condemnation. The phrase calls...
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Friar Reflection
Not Just a Love Story
The Old Testament is a source of lots of bible stories for children: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Whale, and the list goes on. So, yes, you can read books of the Old Testament in search...
The Open Invitation, Bad and Good
This parable is directed to the chief priests and the elders after Jesus’ formal entry into Jerusalem. He is in the temple teaching. We can imagine that after such a triumphal entry in Jerusalem,...
A Parable of Ambition
The first reading today is from the Book of Judges and contains the Parable of the Trees (Judges 9:8-15). It speaks to a period of Israel's history after the people had entered the Promised Land...
A Christian Heart
Being rich is an economic state but it is also an attitude of the heart and soul. Being rich means centering your life on your own economic power whether it be high or low. Being rich means trusting...
Walking Away
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” On its own, the question reveals a fundamental human concern: the pursuit of eternal life or spiritual salvation asked in earnest by someone who...
The Race
In the second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews, the author tells us “persevere in running the race that lies before us.” It is an apt sports metaphor for life. Perseverance in life - the...
Eyes fixed on our destination
Much of our religious consciousness is affected by art; we have inherited specific images that are more artistic than biblical. For example, we always imagine St. Paul being knocked from a horse on...
Christian Forgiveness
Once again, the disciples come to Jesus with a question of faith and once again Peter is the spokesperson for the group. You and I come from a background of many centuries of Christian culture and...
What we are called to do
You can reduce today’s gospel to simply be a guide for settling disputes, but it is more than that. It is a guide for living together as His disciples. The goal is to guard the unity of the Church...
The Greatest
The first disciples were human beings just like us full of questions, hopes, and doubts. Looking for a way to follow in life. Today they come to Jesus with a simple question so that they might have...
Love of God
In today’s first reading from Deuteronomy Moses tells us what God wants of us, namely, reverence and love: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God,...