Reading today’s Gospel might appear at first sight as exciting as reading the phone book. Today’s Gospel is the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.” What follows is primarily a list of names. ...
Genealogy
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Friar Reflection
A Burning and Shining Lamp
Tomorrow begins what is often called “Late Advent” or “Deep Advent”; the Scripture readings and orations begin to take on different tones and topics. The first part of Advent proclaims that Christ...
A week of questions
There is always continuity in the readings for daily Mass, especially the gospels. Often there is continuity in the story itself. The readings for the previous two days came from the gospel of St....
It’s About Performance, Not Just Promise
The key to this parable is that it is not really praising anyone. It is describing a picture of two sets of imperfect people. Neither son in the story was the kind of son to bring full joy to the...
Authority
In today’s Gospel Jesus is challenged by some Jewish Temple authorities about His actions in the Temple, specifically His “cleansing” of the Temple. Jesus as a Jew recognized the holiness of the...
A seat at our tables
This Saturday morning, our readings highlight the Prophets Elijah and John the Baptist, two of the greatest prophets from the times before Jesus. In the first reading from Sirach, we hear “In those...
How do I want to be saved? May way?
“John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax...
Rich in Mercy
“The Lord is gracious and merciful.” Is God a God of wrath or a God or mercy? We hear in today’s Responsorial Psalm that God’s mercy surpasses his wrath: “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow...
A Willing Role in Salvation
This solemnity, although formally declared dogma in 1854, has a long history of belief and celebration in Christianity since the 4th century and perhaps earlier - the records only go back so far....
On the edge of left behind
There is a lot going on today, December 7th 2021. The nation remembers Pearl Harbor, the church remembers St. Ambrose, and the Season of Advent continues. Since the beginning of Advent this year we...
Who Can Forgive?
In today’s Gospel some of the scribes and Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy. They accuse him of claiming an authority that only God has: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus tries to...
Do you believe?
In today’s Gospel Jesus heals two blind men. They cry out to Jesus for mercy: “Son of David have mercy on us!” Jesus’ question to them is simple and direct: “Do you believe?” “Do you believe that...