General
Reflection on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 18:6-9 Hebrews 11-12 Luke 12:32-48 In today’s Gospel, Luke’s audience is concerned about how they will provide for themselves for the long haul, about whether or not the claims…
Read MoreReflection on the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-21; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13:21 Vanities of vanities! All things are vanity! I remember Carroll Stuhlmueller saying that line. It was when we were in the novitiate…
Read MoreReflection on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 18:20-32 Colossians 2:12-14 Luke 11:1-13 Today’s readings are very familiar, and each is rich in multiple meanings and deep, compassionate reassurance. The most familiar reading, of course, is the…
Read MoreReflection on the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Recently, on CNN, I watched an interview with a man named Aaron Stark, who said that when he was in his late teens he could very easily become a mass…
Read MoreReflection on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We see the long pattern of human behavior and the even longer pattern of God’s invitation in today’s readings. Starting with the Book of Deuteronomy, which was written 700 years…
Read MoreReflection on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last Sunday and now this Sunday we have been reading from chapters 9 and 10 of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is aware that his days are numbered. He is heading toward…
Read MoreReflection on the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today, as we try to adjust to the ongoing presence of Covid, there are many uncertainties. One thing, however, seems to be abundantly clear: People are ready to move on…
Read MoreReflection on the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
The tradition of the Church has always made this day of Corpus Christi a solemn and beautiful feast honoring and celebrating the gift of the Eucharist. It’s a call to…
Read MoreReflection on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
This Sunday is known as Trinity Sunday. I have a confession to make. It makes no difference to me whether God is manifested as creator, as Jesus incarnate or as…
Read MoreReflection on Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-11 1 Corinthians 12:3-13 John 14:15-26 This feast of Pentecost is an inflection point. We hear a lot about inflection points, especially in…
Read MoreReflection on the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Robert McAfee Brown, in a talk given five years after the end of the Vietnam War, said, “Where we stand determines what we see. Who we listen to determines what…
Read MoreReflection on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11, Eph. 1:17-23, Luke 24:46-53 The Gospel passage from Luke that we just heard begins starkly and abruptly — an instruction from Jesus for his disciples. It is helpful,…
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