Spiritual Reflections

The season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the feast of Pentecost.  On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in a locked room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church.  The…

The Gospel reading for this week reminds me a great deal of all of the following: a loving prayer to God, a commencement address to graduates and a missioning ceremony to those about to leave for faraway lands. Now they…

In addition to this being the Sixth Sunday of Easter, it is also Mother’s Day and my father’s birthday. As I read these readings, I was aware that I was hearing about the newly formed Christian church and looking at…

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…

The image of Jesus as shepherd and his followers as sheep has endured over many centuries even for those who have never had the experience of watching a shepherd caring for sheep. The shepherd calls the sheep by name and…

When I was a child growing up in a household with numerous siblings there was often chaos as you can well imagine. My mother would sometimes register her frustration by declaring that she didn’t know whether she was coming or…

In today’s Gospel, John gives us enough material to reflect on for the rest of the week. Most of us, however, like homilies that are short and to the point, so let’s not get too excited about boring homilies. I’ll…

Today’s readings tell the story of Easter according to John and how it  unfolded. The story seems to indicate that the disciples of Jesus needed each other to understand what was happening. In the days after the crucifixion and before…

Our Jewish kin celebrate Passover this week. Around family tables they are passing on the stories of their ancestors, the story of themselves as a people. We have just read the same Scriptures that  we recognize as our heritage, the…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 4/30/1944: “You would be surprised, and perhaps even worried, by my theological thoughts and the conclusions they lead to; and this is where I miss you most of all, because I don’t know anyone else with whom I…

John 11:1-45 We just heard a tender story about Martha, Mary, Lazarus and Jesus. The evangelist, John, has Jesus saying that he, Jesus, is the resurrection and the life. John has Jesus saying further, “Whoever believes in me, even if she…

Today’s Gospel follows a theme of light and darkness that is spread throughout John’s writings beginning with the prologue where light shines through the darkness. It also follows several previous unpleasant encounters between Jesus and the religious leaders. They are…