Friar Daily 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 Jesus’ hometown recognized his wisdom and the “extraordinary” healings he...
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 cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our...
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 that is going on around us and concentrate on our own needs. Fasting...
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 the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to...
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 people back to integrity, back to a faith that is lived and not merely...
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 religious people can be self-righteous at times and even a bit...
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 judgment.” It is one thing to murder someone, to wantonly and mercilessly take...
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 confidence. Jesus’ prayer is active, persistent and constant. He uses active...
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 out for Nineveh, in accord with the word of the Lord.” This call seems...
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 disciple to pray as we heard in today’s Gospel which comes from the Sermon...