Friar Daily Reflection
The Promise of Mercy
Today’s gospel is Mary’s prayer immediately following her encounter with her cousin Elizabeth in a scene known as the Visitation. It is part of a larger prayer known as the Magnificat and forms part of every evening prayer in the Church’s Divine Office. Mary’s prayer...
Joy and Service
In these last days of Advent, we hear how God prepared everything for Jesus’ birth. Mary surrendered herself to the will of God and her part in the history of salvation. Her openness to life went far beyond just accepting motherhood, it included an openness to all...
To Whom the Word Came
Today’s gospel is a familiar part of the Christmas story - the Angel Gabriel inviting Mary into the plans of God for redemption and salvation of the world. Given our proximity to Christmas, I suspect we quickly want to jump ahead in time and move our thoughts and...
Pray and Waiting – In Faith or in Doubt
Advent is a time of waiting, time to renew our lifestyle and our form of waiting. Advent waiting is a form of life, not just a passing season. Advent is living in hope and joy. Some people wait filling their time with frenetic, useless activities, some wait full of...
Emmanuel
In today’s Gospel the great promise or vision of Isaiah the prophet is fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel…” (Matthew 2:23; Isaiah 7:14). Matthew gives us the meaning of this Hebrew phrase (emmanu-El),...
Just Passing Through or Real Conversion
During most of the pandemic I lived in the Bronx and worked in Harlem in a support program for homeless and street people. Three times a week, I had to take the Metro North train or the subway into Harlem. Many of the larger subway stations have musicians on the...
God of Mercy
“The Lord is gracious and merciful.” This is the proclamation in today’s Responsorial Psalm. In this Psalm we give praise and thanks to God. This psalm proclaims: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. The Lord is good to all,...
Who is like our God?
Our first reading is taken from the 40th Chapter of the Prophet Isaiah - a chapter we have been reading for more than a week now. Taken a moment to quickly read over Isaiah 40 and you will note how many key verses there are which the Church uses during the Christmas...
The Many Faces of Our Mother
From our first reading: “Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you” (Zech 2:15) When I was in Kenya, I remember the first time I saw local artwork portraying Jesus, Mary, and the Holy Family....
Forgiveness
“Who but God alone can forgive sins?” In today’s Gospel some scribes and some Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy because he said to the paralytic, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus discerns their concern. He does not condemn them but tries to enter into...