Spiritual Reflections

Today, on this first Sunday of Advent, our readings offer us a vision and a challenge to “wake up!” I am reminded of my days as a student at Bethlehem Academy back in the 1940s when Sister Marie O’Flaherty would…

2 Samuel 5:1-3.         Colossians 1:12-20.         Luke 23:35-43 There are many passages in both the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures similar to those we have heard this morning, rich in imagery of the…

I recall when I was in fourth or fifth grade saying goodbye to my friends because the world was supposed to end the next day. None of us took it seriously and had a good laugh the next morning when…

That first reading needs to be finished. The fifth and sixth sons refuse to eat pork and are tortured and killed. Then the mother is threatened with torture if she doesn’t’ convince her youngest to eat pork. Of course, she…

Today we find Jesus on the road again and Zacchaeus up a tree.   Jesus has come into Jericho — intending, we’re told, to simply pass through the town and continue his journey to Jerusalem.  Zacchaeus, we’re told, simply wanted to…

I had such a mixture of feelings when I first read the readings for today. The first reading says “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw…

Exodus, 2 Timothy, Luke 18 Pray always, we hear today.  Be patient and constant, don’t get weary, keep at it, don’t give up, don’t lose heart.  These commands or urgings are threads throughout the three readings.  None of these expressions…

2 Kings 5:14-17 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Luke 17:11-19 Today’s Gospel builds on the first reading, taking the story 10 steps further.  Where one man in the Hebrew story is cured and transformed by the experience, in the Gospel 10 individuals…

In 1984, when my brother Joe was diagnosed with Gay Men’s Virus, before it was named AIDS and then identified as HIV, before there was any treatment, I prayed. I prayed that Joe would be cured. I’d been taught that…

When I first read this parable I thought “Jesus, this parable is a perfect fit for today’s world!” Let’s take a look at the actors in the parable and at their parallel in our imagination. The rich man: Amos would…

Always the question: “As I consider the readings in today’s liturgy, what do they say for me now?”  As you know the Encyclical Letter from Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, has become an important guide post for the Loretto Community as…

Exodus 32 1 Timothy 1 Luke 15 This morning’s Gospel tells the story of our confusions about enough. Enough trouble, enough loss, enough yearning, enough resentment. And enough love to embrace all those losses, yearnings, resentments. Love enough to celebrate…