Friar Daily Reflection
Repent
Today is Ash Wednesday the beginning of the Season of Lent. During this season we are called to repent. When we receive ashes on our forehead the minister proclaims: “Repent and believe in the gospel.” This phrase is taken from the Gospel of Mark and is Jesus first...
The Lure of Temptation
St. James speaks today about temptation in a way that is both honest and disarming. He does not begin with dramatic sins or shocking failures. Instead, he speaks about desire; how temptation works from the inside out. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and...
Signs
Give me just one more sign, just one more proof of God’s presence. In today’s Gospel some of the Pharisees are “seeking from Jesus a sign from heaven to test him.” While Jesus performed many healings, exorcisms, and extraordinary deeds it seems that people were...
Ephphatha
In today’s Gospel we have this strange word “Ephphatha.” Mark helpfully translates this Aramaic word: “Be opened!” Aramaic was Jesus’ native language although he could also read the Scripture in Hebrew. All the Gospels were written in Greek but have a number of...
The Dogs
In today’s Gospel Jesus is in the Gentile territory of Tyre. He encounters a non-Jewish woman, “a Greek, a Syrophoenician woman.” She begs Jesus to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus first reaction is uncharacteristically off-putting: “Let the...
Impression or Conversion
In the gospel Jesus tells the crowd that what truly defiles a person is not what comes from the outside, but what comes from within. What comes out is likely an indicator of the conversion happening within. Take someone’s intentions, attitudes, choices, words - what...
Tension as old as Faith
The readings today place us inside a tension that is as old as faith itself: the tension between tradition and obedience, between familiar worship and a living relationship with God. In the first reading, Solomon stands before the newly built Temple and prays with...
The Temple
Today’s first reading describes the dedication of the First Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple was destroyed by the King of Babylon who also exiled the Jewish king and many of the political and religious leader to Babylon. After the return from the exile a Second...
Life and Legacy
Today’s readings invite us to consider what remains of a life once the moment has passed. What kind of legacy is left behind? We are also asked how that legacy is shaped by the way a person listens to their conscience. Sirach remembers King David with generosity. He...
The Twelve
In today’s Gospel Jesus sends out the Twelve to continue his mission. The Twelve were a select group of disciples. Jesus had previously chosen this group to preach and heal as we hear earlier in Mark’s Gospel: “Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he...