Friar Daily Reflection
Mountain Climbing
In today’s first reading we hear Isaiah’s great vision of peace and joy: “In days to come, the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.” All people and nations are invited to climb up to the mountain of the...
Millennial Fever
In today’s first reading we hear how an angel seizes Satan and imprisons him in the abyss for a thousand years. This passage has been the source of much speculation and endless calculation as people catch “millennial fever” trying to figure out when this 1,000-year...
Thanksgiving
Today, Thanksgiving, is a special day to give thanks. We as Christians gives thanks in a special way in the Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek verb, “to give thanks.” Paul uses this verb in our second reading: “I give thanks to my God always on your...
Song of Redemption
What if I simply came to the ambo for the homily and said “Oh, say can you see” and then paused. I feel pretty sure that what would come to your mind is the Battle of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812 - the event that served as the source and...
Living Through the End Times
This is the last week of our liturgical year in the Church. This week the readings all speak of the end times. We are fascinated with the end times, the end of the world, the final judgement, the Parousia. We want to know the secrets of the time and events that signal...
Three vs. 144,000
“I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand.” (Rev 14:1) It is a famous verse from Scripture that quickly focuses on the “144,000” standing with “the Lamb on Mount Zion.” There are some denominations...
House of Prayer
In today’s Gospel Jesus performs a prophetic action in the Jerusalem Temple. Jesus “entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things.” Why does he do this? He quotes the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah: “It is written, My house shall be...
The Lamb of God
In today’s first reading the seer John has a heavenly vision. “I had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, ‘Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.’” (4:1). He sees the...
Busy About Something
One of my favorite films is the 1994 drama, The Shawshank Redemption. It is a movie I think I may have seen 10 or more times. The film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who spends nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife despite...
God’s Incredible, Unexpected Love
Zacchaeus was a notorious public sinner in Israel. He collaborated with the Romans by collecting tariffs and tolls. That made him a traitor to his own country in the eyes of all his neighbors. To make things worse, he was a chief tax collector, ostentatiously wealthy...