When Jesus encountered the scribe who asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus answered to which the scribe’s response was: “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is...
Sacrifice and Love
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Friar Reflection
Light
If you have ever been in a blackout, you know how important light is. We stumble and grope about if we don’t have light. As we get older, we notice it gets harder and harder to see if there is not...
Sharing Forgiveness and Love
Today’s Gospel tells us of an encounter that Jesus had with two people at a dinner invitation. First was the uninvited woman who manages somehow to get into the house and secondly the host. The...
You and Your Generation
Jesus looks out on the folks of his generation and see resistance to God’s plan. Even though his presence was announced by the John the Baptist and despite his own presence there, the people...
Moving Parts
Historically, humans have always formed tribes, clans, and eventually cities, nations, and empires, driven by the need for cooperation, structure, and survival. It’s a natural part of human...
Worthy
Whether it is a business meeting, a social gathering, a volunteer organization planning meeting or any number of similar situations - and you discover you are not invited. Our reactions vary...
Driven
What drives you? What is your passion? What are the parts of your life that are intrinsic to who you are? This is more than a question of identity. I am a Catholic priest, a Franciscan friar, a...
Judgement: Love Your Enemies
Today we continue to listen to the Sermon on the Plain from Luke’s Gospel. Now Jesus announces how deep our conversion must go. Look at how we try to justify our hatred of others, and our actions...
Sermon on the Plain-The X-Ray Vision
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus begins his public life ministry by going up a mountain to pray and choose his apostles. Then he comes down onto a plain and wades right into the crowd of folks there to begin...
Prayer, Call, and Action
Today in the Gospel of Luke we find Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. In today’s group organizational theories, he would be organizing his team, setting-up his mission statement,...
Outside the Camp
Although the expression “outside the camp” appears nowhere in today’s reading, it is a core biblical idea at play in both today’s first reading from the 1st Letter to the Corinthians and gospel...
The Best Seats in the Assembly
In our Christian assemblies we tend to forget the children. That is except of course the little babies who scream and cry. And to do away with the screamers, we put them in a special room in the...