Friar Daily Reflection
Pray: Persistence and Hope
Once again in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks to his disciple about prayer and attitude of hope that is behind all Christian prayer. In this Lent of the Holy Year Pope Francis has called us all to journey together in hope. Christian prayer is rooted in hope. It...
The Word Unleashed
We are here in the first week of Lent and the collection of first readings so far this week have emphasized the Word of God. On Monday, the Word comes from God through his prophet Moses where he instructs the people about the meaning of God’s intentions couched in the...
Daddy
Prayer is one of the three ancient ways of penance which are important in this time of Lent to renew our Christian life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In the Sermon on the Monte, Jesus proposes a prayer that comes from his heart for his followers. It is known as...
Be Holy
In today’s first reading the Lord commands the Israelites: “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” This phrase is translated differently by Matthew and Luke in their respective Gospels: Matthew: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (5:48)....
Fasting
Today’s readings focus on fasting. What is the meaning and purpose of fasting? When should we fast? What is a fast acceptable to God? In the Gospel on Ash Wednesday Jesus taught us, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their...
The Cross
In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches his disciples the way of the cross. Jesus truly is the Son of God and the Son of Man and yet his way is one of humility, service, and sacrifice. “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and...
The Joy of Anticipation
There were two dieticians who lived very strict lives of diet and exercise. They would eat a healthy diet, watch blood pressure and cholesterol, get exercise and absolutely eat incredibly intentionally and purposefully. Perhaps the great symbol of all of this was the...
Giving Up Everything
In today’s Gospel we see the disciple’s reaction to Jesus’ encounter and dialog with the rich young man. The young man proclaims that he has good faith and a good practice of that faith. After Jesus calls him to give up his material goods and give them to the poor as...
Who then can be saved?
Today’s gospel asks: “Who then can be saved?” The answer is found in the first reading, words from the Book of Sirach, a passage that speaks to both the reality of human sin and the infinite mercy of God. Sirach 17:20-24 reminds us that though we may fall into sin,...
Christian Marriage
The scribes and pharisees taught based on the authority of their teachers, tracing the tradition of their teaching all the way back to Moses. Today the scribes come to Jesus with what they considered a trick question. They wanted to trip him up publicly so that they...