Spiritual Reflections

Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Mark 1:21-28 Jesus is in Capernaum. It is early in his public life. Things go well. In Mark’s Gospel before the section we just heard, Jesus had met…

Our readings today continue the theme of call and response.  As a child, I grew up in a small town in close proximity to a Baptist church, and I had…

1 Samuel 3 1 Corinthians 6 John 1 One sentence in the reading from Samuel caught my attention: “At that time Samuel was not familiar with God because God had not…

For today’s homily, I was going to use three poems: one by T.S. Eliot and two responses to that poem, Medical Mission Sister Margaret Moran’s and mine. As I reread…

Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21 We just heard in the first reading about God telling Moses to instruct Aaron and his children just how to bless the people. A wonderful…

In my own life this feast of the Holy Family has always been a challenge. As a child it was the feast of the perfect family. It was the measure…

Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. What was God thinking? I walked around the dining room several times preparing for this homily, looking at all…

These readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent provide a timeless road map for our lives of faith and hope. They are as relevant today as they were thousands of…

Isaiah 61:1-11.     Thessalonians 5:16-24     John 1:6-28 This is a light machine – a device that produces bright light for these winter days. Today’s readings remind us…

If I saw John the Baptist walking up the driveway today, I would very likely alert the campus to go on full lockdown. As I thought about him, I wondered…

“Be watchful and alert: you do not know when the time will come.” The readings at the end of the liturgical year are dark and almost frightening. These reminded me very…