Spiritual Reflections

The readings today talk about things that we are familiar with and that are an integral part of Christmas. They are the parts of our faith that we need in difficult times. The readings speak of signs and wonders, calls…

Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Every word of today’s readings tells us to rejoice because our feet are firmly planted in the goodness of God’s creation and we have nothing to fear. Isaiah promises that…

“Brothers and sisters, whatever was written before was written for our instruction that we might have hope!” That’s what Paul says today.  Then he says, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one…

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…