Bringing Peace
David Edwards was a college student during the Vietnam War, planning to continue his studies in the seminary. He was thus exempt from the draft that threatened so many young men in the U.S. Soon he began to chafe under…
Mary Swain SL has been a consultant to the National Religious Retirement Office and has served on the board for the National Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes. Along with her math background and service to the Loretto Community in the financial area, she has experience as a church organist and plans and prepares materials for Loretto liturgies at Loretto Motherhouse and for special occasions. Mary resides at Loretto Motherhouse, the grounds of which receive her careful tending and loving touch.
Reflection on the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:26-31, I John 3:18-24, John 15:1-8 This Gospel reading is so familiar to us: “The vine and the branches, I am the vine and you are the branches.” Jesus did not make up the image, of course. Jesus, as…
Reflection on the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 1:21-28 Jesus is in Capernaum. It’s early in his public life. Things go well. In last Sunday’s Gospel, he met Simon and Andrew, then James and John. He asked them to come with him. They dropped everything and followed him. Today,…
Reflection on the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
The Gospel we just heard sounds like Christmas all over again. The shepherds have made their way to Bethlehem. Mary, Joseph and the child are there, just as the angel had told them earlier. At the end of today’s Gospel, the…
Reflection on the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; I Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46 Here we are, on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, celebrating Christ as king. For some of us, “king” may carry negative connotations — kings and their subjects, power and…
Reflection on the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 22:20-26, Matthew 22:34-40 It is as though the reading from Exodus was written for our times. “Don’t oppress. Don’t extort. Be compassionate.” Oppression, greed and lack of consideration of another were prevalent enough in the early times, too, as…
Reflection on the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 33:7-9, Matthew 18:15-20 I find the Ezekiel reading today difficult to understand. I also find it filled with thoughts of hopelessness. It seems to be about correcting the other person, the wicked one, and about being responsible for that person’s death…
Reflection on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 14: 22-33 Last Sunday’s Gospel and homily spoke of John the Baptist’s disciples coming to tell Jesus that John had been beheaded. Jesus would have to be thinking that he might be next. He and his disciples went off…
Reflection on the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:10-13, Matthew 10:26-33 “Fear no one,” we just heard read at the beginning of today’s Gospel. Jesus said to the Twelve, “Fear no one.” To back up this command, to give the Twelve a reason to behave this way,…
Reflection on the Feast of the Ascension
In Matthew’s Gospel, in the section of the Gospel right before what we heard a few minutes ago, the women have just told the disciples, the eleven, that Jesus is risen. The women have seen him, they say, and he…
Reflection on the Fifth Sunday of Easter
These Easter days are so full of energy and life. The disciples are off and running to tell the various communities about Jesus and about The Way. The reading from Acts shows the Twelve getting organized so that the Greek-speaking…
Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent
Matthew 17:1-9 Last Sunday we followed Jesus into the desert. Jesus was at the beginning of this work he sensed himself called to do. We were reading from the fourth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, toward the beginning of Jesus’ public…