Friar Daily Reflection
Mysteries
In today’s Gospel Jesus addresses the first disciples and all of us disciples: “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” What is it that we see and hear? We hear the Word of God proclaim the mystery of God overflowing love and...
Jesus the Farmer
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of a farmer who goes out to sow. He sows here, there, and everywhere. Jesus, of course, was not a farmer but a carpenter, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary…And they took offense at him.” (Mark 6:3). Jesus caused...
Jars of clay
Today’s first reading is one of my favorite passages from St. Paul: “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7) - also as "jars of clay". It points out one of the great paradoxes of this life of discipleship: it leads to glory, but entails suffering along...
Signs
It is a natural human desire to see signs, signs of God’s presence, signs of God’s power, of God’s goodness, of God’s love. Some of the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel respond to that human desire: “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” People today also...
Passover and Sabbath
In today’s Gospel Jesus once again cites the prophet Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13; 12:7). Neither the prophet Hosea nor Jesus wants to do away with the cult, the sacrificial system and worship of the Jews. The cult and solemn...
What am I to tell them?
Today’s first reading continues the story of Moses’ encounter with God on Mt. Horeb. God has commanded Moses to return to the “scene of the crime,” - his own taking of a life and Pharaoh’s attempted infanticide. Moses asks a reasonable question, “When I go to the...
The Burning Bush
In the first reading for today we continue with the story of Moses who “was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.” (Ex 3:1) Meanwhile “A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage...
Unrepentance and Conversion
We have been hearing of Jesus’ activities in the towns along the Sea of Galilee - preaching, teaching, and mighty deeds. In the Gospel Jesus’s marvelous deeds accompany his preaching and clearly show to all who he is – the Messiah. Yet as we see in today’s Gospel, in...
Mission
In today’s Gospel Jesus finishes the second of five discourses in Matthew’s Gospel. The first discourse was the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28). In this second discourse Jesus commissions his disciples to go out on mission: “Jesus sent out these twelve after...
Evangelization
Evangelization is a word we often hear today in the church. We are called to evangelize. The word “evangelization” comes from the Greek word for Gospel (Greek: euangelion, Latin: evangelium). In today’s Gospel Jesus sends the apostles out to evangelize, to proclaim...