Friar Daily Reflection
Pharisees
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Paul defends himself before the Jewish Sanhedrin. He claims he is on trial for his belief in the resurrection: “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of...
Sent With Joy And Truth
Today we see Jesus at the Last Supper with the apostles in Jerusalem imparting his last catechesis, prayer, and blessings on them. Being a farewell message, you would think it would have to be a message filled with a heavy sense of grief and sadness. Yet taken...
The High Priestly Prayer
Over that last two weeks and more we have heard passages from the Gospel of John that together are known as the “Farewell Discourse.” The discourse covers four chapters and often seems to be repetitively redundant. Today’s gospel is known as the beginning of the...
Widows and Orphans
The words of today’s Psalm reveal something essential about the heart of God: “The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God gives a home to the forsaken.” This is not a small theme hidden in Scripture. It is one of the great...
Do Not Be Afraid
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles God tells Paul: “Do not be afraid.” This phrase is found often in the Scripture and even in the hymn “Be Not Afraid” that we hear often at Sunday Eucharist and Funeral masses. In this exhortation God calls us to...
Choosing
In today’s Gospel Jesus calls his disciples to live in the joy of his love and he reminds them that he was the one who chose them. He was the one who broke into their lives interrupting the sadness they had constructed with their lifestyle. The choosing, the...
Existence
St. Paul was an excellent evangelizer. He arrives in Athens and would have been identified by the locals as an immigrant, foreigner, outsider, tourist, and Jew. When he arrived in Athens, he took time to walk through the city and get to know the local culture. Greek...
The Paraclete
“But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you....
Parting of Ways
Christianity roots are in Judaism. Jesus and all the apostles, including St. Paul, were all Jewish. As good Jews they would make the yearly pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple for the Feast of Passover and would attend the weekly service in the synagogues in Nazareth...
Burdens and Necessities
In the first reading today, the apostles and elders, after prayer and discernment, send a message to the Gentile believers. And at the heart of that message is this line: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these...