In today’s Gospel Jesus applies the prophetic message of Isaiah and Hosea to a practical question of what can be done on the Sabbath. Last week Hosea proclaimed that “God desires mercy, not...
Mercy, Not Sacrifice
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Friar Reflection
Support and Hope for All
Life can seem really hard and difficult at times. Often, we feel overwhelmed and crushed for long periods of time. Some people even live their whole lives feeling that way. This of course leads us...
Saint Bonaventure
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan bishop and doctor of the church. Bonaventure was filled with the spirit and love of St. Francis of Assisi. The rule and spirituality...
Openness to Conversion
Jesus began his ministry north of his hometown of Nazareth along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. There were many small towns and commercial centers on the northern end of the lake. Capernaum was a...
Worship and Justice
This week we will be reading from the prophet Isaiah. Today’s first reading is from the 1st chapter of Isaiah. This chapter provides an overview to the whole book of Isaiah, sounding some of its...
Difficulties and Confidence
Jesus words today are very hard. He is speaking of Christians so dedicated to their faith that their family and social relationships will be broken. Their neighbors and their synagogues will turn...
The Kingdom of Heaven
In today’s Gospel Jesus commissions the Apostles to preach his message: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:6). This is the same message that both Jesus (4:17) and John the Baptist...
Chosen and Sent
Jesus chooses his apostles from a diverse range of ages, trades, personalities and faith experiences. Peter was outspoken and insightful. But he was often off track. John was apparently very young....
What God Sees
Today’s readings for Mass again pair Hosea and Matthew. Both are rich with themes and topics, but one that came to mind was the way in which God views the world. When we view the world and all it...
Speaking to the Heart
Today’s readings for Mass pair Hosea and Matthew. At first glance, they seem unrelated. The Book of Hosea speaks of God courting Israel like a faithful bridegroom. The Gospel of Matthew recounts...
Blessed are those…
Today is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostles. The readings include the well known account from John 20:24-29 when Thomas, in response to the testimony of the other apostles, says: “Unless I see the...
Outsiders
In today’s readings we have two outsiders, Amos the prophet and Jesus the Son of Man. Amos was from the southern Kingdom of Judah but God sent him to the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos condemned...