Friar Daily Reflection
Daniel: Wisdom and Faithfulness
We are living the last week of the liturgical year for the Church. This coming Sunday we start a new season with the beginning Advent. The reading during this last week always addresses the end times. The first reading is taken from Daniel and the Babylonia exile....
Passing Things; Permanent Things
Today’s readings place before us two very powerful images of history. In the first reading from the Book of Daniel, is the scene in the Book of Daniel when he is asked to interpret a dream of King Nebichadnezzar. In the dream there is a statue of gold, silver, bronze,...
A Poor Widow
In today’s Gospel we hear the story of a poor widow putting her offering in the Temple treasury. It seems like a simple story highlighting this widow’s great generosity. Jesus remarks: “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest.” Jesus had...
A House of Prayer
Today’s readings remind us that both the Temple and the Church are called to be houses of prayer. Today’s Gospel is often called the “Cleansing of the Temple.” In the first reading from Maccabees, we have the description of the cleansing of the Temple after it had...
Discernment
Just a very brief note of history to better understand today’s readings. In the second century before Christ, Israel was a small country sandwiched between Egypt and Syria. Alexander the Great had expanded Greek culture over a large section of the Mediterranean and...
Tyrants
In today’s readings we hear about two violent tyrants. In the first reading the Greek King or Tyrant Antiochus uses violence and torture to try to force the Jews to violate God’s law. In the Gospel Jesus tells a parable that is taken from the real-life example of...
Mercy Alive!
This encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus is a key point to understand our life as Christians. Jericho is a good-sized city located about 40 miles east and north of Jerusalem. According to Google, if I were a US Marine, that would be an eight hour walk in the desert....
Spiritual Integrity Under Pressure
The first reading for today is from the First Book of Maccabees. It is an account of the time of persecution of the people of Jerusalem during the time they were ruled by Antiochus IV of the Seleucid Kingdom, a now distant descendant of the empire built by Alexander...
The Beauty of Wisdom
The first reading for today is from the Book of Wisdom (13:1-9). It is an amazing passage the speaks to the natural human inclination to be drawn to beauty - and at the same time our inability to look beyond the fullness of beauty to see the Divine Maestro who...
False Messiahs
It is right in front of you! You just need to know where to look. This is Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel. People search high and low for a new messiah, claiming some emperor, some king, or some president is the one who will save and deliver us. Jesus warns us...