Spiritual Reflections

When I was about 9 and my mother was pregnant and told me she was carrying a child in her womb, all of a sudden I recognized the word womb in the Hail Mary. I had never paid attention. I…

When I first read these readings several weeks ago, I had a variety of wonderful thoughts related to being wrapped in God’s cloak of justice, continuing the good work that God has begun in each of us and in Loretto,…

Jeremiah 33:14-16 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2 Luke 21:25-36  I struggled with today’s readings and was relieved to find that even the scholarly have difficulties with Advent. Words of several commentators mirrored my difficulties and eased my anxieties, and in the process gave…

In 1925 Pope Pius XI declared the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year to be the Feast of Christ the King. He did this to resist the rising fascism of Mussolini and the fascist movement in Europe. He was alarmed…

As I read the readings for today, especially the Gospel’s story of preparing for the end times, I kept looking for a word of hope. It is there if you read between the lines and don’t get lost in the…

Listening to the Gospel for today I imagine a tiny, bent-over, old woman shuffling up to the treasury box and dropping in two small coins from her meager funds. I wonder who looks after her. Is it a son or…

Deut. 6:2-6, Mark 12:28b-34          John McKenzie, a scripture scholar from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, says that Jesus’ answer to the question – “Which is the greatest commandment?”  – is not unusual, and rabbis of the day would have considered…

Jeremiah 31:7–9         Hebrews 5:1–6         Mark 10:46–52 The combination of the three readings this morning raises some provocative questions. What is a miracle? What does a savior do? What does it mean to…

Have you ever said a bold yes to a request or a directive and then discovered it demanded more than you anticipated?  You are asked to move from teaching third grade to teach high school freshman English and history and…

“As Jesus was setting out on a journey…” We’ve all been there, setting out on our journeys. And we do this time and time again. Like the man in today’s Gospel, asking about how to continue his journey, his attempt…

Kaitlyn Marie Wise was killed on Valentine’s Day 2023. She was 29 years old and lived in Lebanon, Marion County, Ky. On May 13, 2024, a year later, Dailin Marquez Brown- Graves, age 23, was arrested and charged with murder.…

Did you ever wonder what we would all look like if we took Jesus’ commands seriously? We might not have a hand or a foot or an eye! Or how would we feel if we knew another needed a drink,…