Spiritual Reflections

Midrash is expansive exposition, interpretation and explanation of the text. The facts might be a little misremembered, but the teaching is true. That’s what I remember learning in Scripture class. And I remember a Loretto reading of this Gospel.  It…

For the past several Sundays, St. Matthew the Evangelist has been weaving the story of Jesus’ ministry as teacher.  He has been traveling from town to town publicly giving his sermons and teaching the town’s people through parables.  Jesus, at…

This has always been a special day for me. I had the privilege of visiting Mount Tabor, the very place where this event took place. It is a fairly high mountain; the bus could not go all the way. We…

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. What do we treasure enough that we would sell all we have to buy that field? When I made vows, I didn’t really think about heaven, but I…

Today’s Gospel is very complete because Jesus explains it quite well when the disciples ask Him to explain the parable to them.  However, as we read it in our own time, we wonder if we have what it takes to…

Our readings this morning both challenge and reassure us.  We’re challenged to cooperate with change and reassured that God is with us calling forth life. The Gospel of Matthew was written specifically for Jews who were trying to find their…

Five hundred years before Jesus was born, Zechariah, a prophet in his time, wrote about how Jerusalem and Zion would be saved. He was living in a time when the Jews were under the control of the Persian Empire. I…

2 Kings 4:8-16         Romans 6:3-11         Matthew 10:37-42                   Good morning.  I want first to thank you all for your encouragement and prayers while I and several others in the Infirmary heal from falls…

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,…

Once at the St. Louis Catholic Worker the woman who had volunteered to give the homily forgot. So, at this point in the service she said, “The Gospel speaks for itself.” Today’s readings do speak for themselves. They say a…

John 6:51-58 The words from John that we have just heard speak strongly to those of us who stand within the Christian tradition. The words resonate with anyone who walks with followers of Jesus. Jesus says, “I am the living…

On this Trinity Sunday, one thing is certain: I am not going to explain the mystery of the Trinity. Scholars have worked on that for years. In one way, it doesn’t seem so mysterious to me. It is God manifesting…