Some of the Pharisees in today’s Gospel accuse Jesus’ disciples of doing something that is “unlawful,” that is doing the “work” of “picking the heads of grain.” The Torah, the Law, teaches that no...
Is It Loving? Is It Lawful?
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Friar Reflection
What kind of people worship here?
Today, we as a nation will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I thought it would be good that we, again, listen to the words of Dr. King from his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” This...
Roofer Friends
In her novel, Beloved, Toni Morrison defines friendship in this way: “She is a friend of mine, she gathers me, the pieces I am, she gathers them and give them back to me all in the right order.” It...
Listening and Leadership
Today's readings include a first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. I am writing this on a Sunday afternoon, and it is hard not to think about the events of January 6th at the Capitol when the...
Inside the Camp
Today's gospel is one that always needs 1st century context as we read, "Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He [Jesus] approached, grasped her hand,...
What Is This?
“What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him” (Mark 1:27). As we begin “Ordinary Time” this week we also begin to read the Gospel of Mark. ...
From Among Us
Today we hear the story of Jesus calling His first disciples to follow Him. What does this story tell us about this moment? First, that Jesus called them common men. They were simple folk; they did...
Feed them yourself…
When asked how they could possibly feed so many people, Jesus said to disciples “in reply, ‘Give them some food yourselves.’” I often think of this as the scriptural equivalent of "how do you eat an...
A Light in the Darkness
“…the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” Today the Church in the United States celebrates St. Elizabeth Ann...
“The child grew….”
One of the great gifts to the Church are the heretics. I use that one-liner in order to grab people’s attention. It mostly generates the question: “what possible good could come from a heretic,”...
Feast of the Holy Innocents
A classic Christmas song is the Coventry Carol. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play...
What, then, will this child be?
“What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.” Today the Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. The birth of a child is an occasion for great joy. Being...