Friar Daily Reflection
Our Father
Prayer, Babbling, In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches us how to pray. First of all, He tells us not to “babble like the pagans.” These pagans think that they need to use all sorts of words, titles, and magical formulas to get the gods to listen to them. Jesus’...
Rewards and Punishments
This is an interesting passage from Matthew. It would seem to suggest that one should banish all rewards or punishments from the idea of religion. If that were so it would be to suggest that injustice has the last word. To eliminate all rewards and punishments is to...
Learning to be better
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said. You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on...
An eye for an eye
In today’s gospel from Mark, Jesus continues His discourse called the Sermon on the Mount. It is from a section of the Sermon which is marked with “you have heard it said… but I say to you…” He is not overturning the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses, but rather...
Head or Heart
Some people lead with their heart while others are very rational and use their head in making decisions. Today’s Solemnity of the Sacred Heart might make us think that Jesus always leads with His heart. There is some truth in this view since Jesus teaches that mercy...
The Higher Law is Love
After Jesus said that He has come to fulfill the Law and not abolish it in yesterday’s Gospel, He goes on to point out concrete cases. The first refers to the command “you should not kill.” One evening a TV executive was eating dinner with his family. During the meal,...
The Lens of the Covenant
The gospel text for this Wednesday of the 10th Week is taken from the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew’s gospel: 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.18 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and...
Discipleship, Salt, Light
“Give Glory to God” In today’s Gospel Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28). This Sermon begins with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) whereby Jesus teaches us what it means to be his disciple: it means to be “poor in spirit”, that is, to be...
Peacemaker
A Buddhist monk was asked to teach meditation at a prison near the monastery. Many of the inmates had never met a monk. After the first session, they began to ask him about his life in the monastery. “We get up at four o’clock every morning,” the monk explained. ...
The Christ is the Son of David
In many parts of the Gospel the most significant groups of Judaism from the time of Jesus (Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees) ask and Jesus answers. Yesterday’s Gospel was one of them. Today we hear that it is Jesus' turn to ask. While Jesus was in the temple, He takes...