Friar Daily Reflection
Joachim and Anne
In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises. Not only is his mother’s family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed. Even the...
Service and Sacrifice
Today is the feast of the apostle James, often known as St. James the Greater perhaps because he was older or perhaps taller than the other apostle named James. In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches James and the other apostles that the way to true greatness is through...
Too Young
Today’s first reading describes the call of the prophet Jeremiah. The Lord God tells Jeremiah that he has been predestined to be his prophet: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed...
Spouses, Mothers, and Brothers
Just a few Sundays ago, the gospel reading from Mark recounted a moment from early in the public ministry of Jesus. He and the disciples had been to many towns and villages in Galilee and in the neighboring Decapolis region. There Jesus had cured many, cast out...
Apostle to the Apostles
Did you know that Mary Magdalene is mentioned 12 times in the gospels, more than most of the Apostles? She was present at the crucifixion and was the first witness to the Resurrection (John 20 and Mark 16:9). She was the "Apostle to the Apostles", an honorific that...
Mercy not Sacrifice
God “desires mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus teaches this message in today’s Gospel. In fact, he is quoting the prophet Hosea. Jesus quotes this same passage of Hosea elsewhere in this Gospel when he is having a meal with Matthew the tax collector: “While he was at...
Jesus’ Invitation
In today’s Gospel Jesus gives an invitation to each one of us: “Come to me…” This invitation is to all who “labor and are burdened.” What is the source of these burdens? It can be many things in our daily lives such as addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts. Our...
The Wrath of God
Last week all of our first readings were from the Prophet Hosea. Any one of the reflections could have begun: “In today’s first reading the Northern Kingdom of Israel is being warned about the choices they have made and are making - and the consequences of those...
Woe to you!
When I was a year or two short of being a full-fledged teenager, I was invited to attend my first funeral. It was not a Catholic funeral - and as I came to know - nothing like a Catholic funeral. It was a fundamentalist, born-again, raucous affair for a person who by...
Prayer and Justice
Isaiah’s words in today’s first reading are very shocking: “When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen.” Isaiah is warning the people that God is refusing to listen to their prayers. Why? Because of their...