Spiritual Reflections

Human history reveals many periods where people lost a sense of God’s transcendence.  It may even be argued that human beings have been wandering and lost more than they have been settled and focused.  Human nature being what it is,…

When I first read the readings for today, I thought I had made a mistake. I double checked and then looked back to find that the first reading today was also the first reading at the Christmas Vigil Mass on…

Imagine what this day in Jesus’ life must have been for him.  He has just taken part in a purification ritual that John, his cousin, does with the people.  Jesus is one of the crowd. This baptism of John’s is a…

These words from Wendell Berry call to me this Epiphany Sunday: “And we pray, notfor new earth or heaven, but to bequiet in heart, and in eye,clear. What we need is here.” What we need is here…  It sounds so…

Mary, the holy mother of God, or in Greek, “Theotokos.” That title goes back to the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. Nestorius held that the divine and human natures of Jesus were completely separate and thought the title of…

1 Samuel 1:20–28        1 John 3:1-24        Luke 2:41-52 Yesterday we celebrated Jesus’ “Birth Day,” and today we celebrate his family. Jesus was given to us in a family, given to us as the son of Mary and Joseph, grandson of…

A child is born to us.  Some of you may know that in one of my former lives I was a labor and delivery nurse.  So, this night has doubly special meaning for me. I think back on all the babies…

There seems to be a focus on doing God’s will in these readings. Jesus came to do God’s will from his birth until his death and resurrection. Mary agreed to do God’s will as spoken to her by the angel,…

Today, on this third Sunday of Advent, we are invited to rejoice!  When I was a novice, our multi-talented Sister Luke taught us how to do calligraphy, and one of my favorite quotes to work on was from Dom Marmion…

At least two times since living here I have seen crooked roads made straight: Bardstown Road into Louisville and more recently Highway 49 from Loretto to Lebanon. Those projects took months, even years to complete. Perhaps we can learn from…

Jeremiah 33:14-16      1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2      Luke 21:25-36 Last Sunday, the final Sunday of the liturgical year, Mary Swain pointed out to us that the Feast of Christ the King is as much a beginning as an…

Here we are, on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, celebrating Christ as king.  For some of us, “king” may carry negative connotations — kings and their subjects, power and prestige, wealth and castles.  For others, “king” may bring…