We should certainly hear an echo of the Lord’s Prayer in today’s gospel: ““Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you,...
The Bulwark
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Friar Reflection
Prophet
In today’s Gospel Jesus recognizes that is it hard for a prophet to be recognized in his hometown. “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” Even when the people of...
Rejection
In today’s Gospel Jesus both quotes a Scripture text from the Psalms and alludes to a passage in the prophet Isaiah. Jesus quotes Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the...
Lazarus and Conversion
This year Pope Leo in his annual message for Lent invites us to listen and fast through Lent. He connects those two practices. It is so easy for us to walk through life blind and deaf to everything...
Disturbed
I am a bit troubled by today’s readings. The gospel is this uncomfortable sequence in which Jesus, for the third time, has told his disciples “Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and...
When Worship and Life Drift Apart
Both readings today speak with a sharpness that may unsettle us but it is the sharpness of a physician’s scalpel, not a weapon. God is not condemning for the sake of condemning. He is calling His...
Be Merciful
In today’s Gospel Jesus calls us to act like or imitate God. “Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.” Jesus goes on to teach that we need to “stop judging…and stop condemning.” We...
About anger
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. “But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to...
Persistence in Prayer Leads To A New Lifestyle
We continue to listen to Jesus’ comments about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has a deep confidence in the action of God the Father in his life and invites us to live in that same...
The Sign of Jonah
Our readings today focus on the prophet Jonah and the Sign of Jonah. In today’s first reading Jonah is called to announce God’s message to the great city of Nineveh. So, we hear that “Jonah set...
Prayer
The ancient practices of penance or conversion are fasting, alms giving, and prayer. We move into the first week of Lent, renewing our dedication to each. Matthew remembers how Jesus taught his...
The Last Judgement
In today’s Gospel we hear the story of the Last Judgment. This judgment is described as a separation, like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew describes this judgement with...