Friar Daily Reflection
The Key and The Rock
It seems there was a great deal of confusion and diversity of opinions about who Jesus was even within that first community of faith, the first disciples and apostles. Jesus spent several years with the disciples dedicated to preaching, teaching, healing, miracles,...
Listen to Him
The Feast of the Transfiguration is one of those Gospel scenes that almost overwhelms us with beauty. Jesus, radiant with divine light. Moses and Elijah appeared in glory. The mountain enveloped in a cloud—the biblical sign of God’s presence. And the Father’s voice...
Focusing on Jesus – Courage, Confidence, and Faith
My family has a cottage on a small lake in Upstate NY, in the Adirondacks. There are a lot of watercrafts at the camp: ski jets, kayaks, sailboats, and motorboats. It would be very rare for one of us to take a boat out onto the lake during the night. It is just too...
Hungry People
In both readings today we have stories of hungry people. In the first reading from Numbers the Israelites lament and complain because they have no food but this “disgusting” manna. They would even been willing to return to the “good old days” in Egypt! “Would that...
Yom Kippur
In today’s first reading from the Book of Leviticus Moses instructs the Israelites about the various holy days or “festivals of the Lord.” So, we hear about the Jewish feast of Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread that follows right after Passover. The most...
Fishing
In today’s Gospel we come to the end of the Parable Chapter in Matthew’s Gospel. The Evangelist has collected various parables that Jesus told throughout his ministry into Chapter 13. In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the Parable of the Fishnet, a parable that would...
What we treasure
In our gospel for today, Jesus gives two short parables today—simple, vivid, and deeply challenging. They’re about people who find something so valuable that they are willing to give up everything else to possess it. One finds a treasure in a field. Another finds a...
The Heart of God
“So the LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not...
A Mustard Seed
Jesus teaches through everyday experience, the sights and sounds that people experience each day. In today’s Gospel he uses the experience of seeing a tiny mustard seed or the experience of mixing yeast with wheat flour. Jesus teaches that both experiences tell us...
Earthen Vessels
“But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.” 2 Cor 4:7 St. Paul speaks with remarkable honesty about the fragile condition of human life and discipleship. We are, he says, like jars of clay, earthen...