Daily Reflections
Preface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord. From Psalm…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek. From…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. From Psalm 96:3…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.…
Continue ReadingPreface: This week, I reflect on the Responsorial Psalm, “which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61) Teach me your ways, O Lord. From Psalm 25 In high…
Continue ReadingThe picture we get from St. Mark’s Gospel today is that of Jesus and the disciples almost overwhelmed by the crowds wanting to get close to him and speak to him anytime they catch sight of him. St. Mark, always known for his brief and blunt descriptions, simply says that it was even impossible…
Continue ReadingDo you remember in grade school, when sides had to be chosen for anything, from spelling bees to inside games to outside games? There was always that sinking feeling of when, or even if, you would be chosen. I’m sure those embarrassing and often painful childhood experiences are handled differently these days. My point…
Continue ReadingHave you ever thought of the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim? Tourism is obviously big business today. On the other hand, making a pilgrimage seems to have much less appeal. Why would that be the case? It all comes down to what the person wants to accomplish. If it’s excitement and seeing…
Continue ReadingThere is an American Dominican sister who has been a missionary among poor villages in northern Nigeria for the past 40 years. One of her most successful community help programs involves inviting international surgeons to volunteer their skills to provide corrective surgery at local clinics for the many children who have rickets. This bone…
Continue ReadingSome of my favorite memories as an Iowa farm kid were all about summer threshing time. A great time to experience “neighborliness” when farmers (and kids like us) came together to help neighbors harvest the oats crop. Our “job” was driving tractors! Harvesting the grain was an up-close and personal experience of the gift…
Continue ReadingToday the Church has begun the annual World Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. As we observe the various struggles and divisions among some Christian denominations today the thought and even hope of unity might seem quite distant. Nevertheless, painful division over the centuries has not prevented Christians from praying for healing and striving…
Continue ReadingSleep is one of our most natural and yet most necessary functions. We all need restful sleep for our physical and mental health but also for our spiritual well-being. The first two are pretty obvious. But have you ever noticed in the bible how many times God uses sleep and dreams to communicate important…
Continue ReadingAs we come to the end of this week’s reflections we need to take stock of what we have learned. We have learned we must take the time to encounter Christ in the scriptures to learn who he is and what he is asking of us. Then we must act on what we have…
Continue ReadingToday, we must confront that there will be times when we fail and sin. We fail to listen to God’s word, to act on that word, or to live in that word. What do we do? Do we give up, ignore it, or suppress it? No, we go to God and ask for forgiveness.…
Continue ReadingWe all suffer. This is a given fact of life, we come with many wounds. These wounds can be from a childhood marked by abuse, poverty, ridicule, maybe racism, or trauma. We might have wounds because we have made poor choices that have marked us, maybe you have had an affair, or got in…
Continue ReadingThis week’s readings offer a powerful tool to the path that a Christian must take in our world to be a true witness of Christ. First, he or she must listen to Christ as the one voice of truth and encouragement. We can do this by daily reading of scripture. By listening to the…
Continue ReadingYesterday we reflected on the Word of God as Jesus Christ who speaks directly to us words of comfort, of conviction, and of hope: “The kingdom is here, repent and believe.” We also recognized that many voices try to cloud our ability to hear Jesus. I asked, whom do you hear? But why, if…
Continue ReadingWe have probably played the game telephone, where students all line up single file, and the first student is tasked to whisper a phrase to the next person in line, and that person whispers to the next person, until the end. We also know how it turns out, the initial phrase begins “the cat…
Continue ReadingThroughout the scriptures, we get to witness the dramatic event of the ‘heavens being torn open.’ It can be a unique and frightening event that manifests God’s very presence among us. We can call to mind the story in Exodus of God’s coming to Israel on the mountain of Sinai where they received…
Continue ReadingThere’s a flashback today in the Gospel to the time before John the Baptist was imprisoned. He’s asked about why Jesus is baptizing and why the people are going to Him. John is humble in saying that the “bridegroom has the bride,” and the best man rejoices to take part in the wedding and…
Continue Reading“Who is the victor over the World? The one who believes in Jesus Christ…” We have our victory in the Lord Jesus. He is the one who conquers sin and adversity. He delivers us from all the problems we have. I remember reading a book by Dinesh D’Souza, a Christian writer. He dedicated this…
Continue ReadingReading this section of First John is a challenge for me because I haven’t always lived by this maxim, “Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” In elementary school and in junior high, I fought often. I didn’t respect others as I should have. I acted like a bully and was bullied back…
Continue ReadingAmongst Catholics, very few topics hit the raw nerve of people like liturgy. Yes, liturgy. I want to discuss this because it’s so important to our faith. Jesus did say that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God inspired religion in order to bring us closer to him. If…
Continue ReadingI will often look over the readings for the coming week when writing a reflection like this and think, “what is the best way to approach this?” I’ve found that I can’t really write a good reflection unless it’s something that touched my heart first. I can only write or give a witness to…
Continue ReadingAs we move from the Epiphany to the Lord’s Baptism, we hear today about the arrest of John the Baptist in the Gospel reading. Jesus “withdrew to Galilee.” John’s arrest seems to have affected Jesus deeply. They were both cousins, and John played an important role in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There are…
Continue ReadingIntroductory Note: Many of my reflections are taken from an essay I wrote for the American Benedictine Review’s annual writing contest. The theme I chose to write on was the glory of God at work in our life. I humbly pray my writing will contribute to your own prayer and meditation. This is…
Continue ReadingSaints Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, whose feast we commemorate today, were lifelong friends. They studied rhetoric together in the best schools, they lived a monastic life together, and later as bishops, they spurned each other on to greatness working out theology on the nature of the Trinity. We intuitively know that friendship is important,…
Continue ReadingIn the year 428, there was a raging controversy in the Church over whether Mary could be called Mother of God—Theotokos in Greek. The dispute pitted Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, against Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt. Nestorius claimed that Mary is the mother only of the human Jesus, not of the…
Continue ReadingJohn begins today’s gospel with “in the beginning was the Word,” and says in the first reading, “it is the last hour.” At least for John and the scriptures in general, the beginning and end of time are marked, not by Big Bangs, but by the absolute sovereignty and rule of Christ. However, the…
Continue ReadingJesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” In the spiritual life, our souls also grow in strength, wisdom, and grace. But unlike our physical body, which reaches a certain maturity and then begins to decline, our soul keeps growing through every age, every experience, every…
Continue ReadingThere is an ancient tradition that a child is not given to parents by God but only loaned to them for a short time. The Jewish rites surrounding birth contained this belief, especially of the first-born son. The Presentation of Jesus in the temple had a significance his parents did not fully grasp. He,…
Continue ReadingOne can hardly imagine an evil more heinous than killing innocent children, nor a scene more heart-wrenching than their mothers witnessing and enduring such a violent act. This feast of the Holy Innocents presents us so quickly after the Christmas celebration of light and love, a reminder of the human heart’s darkest potential and…
Continue ReadingOn this Holy Family Sunday, the Gospel reading is obviously about the Holy Family. In particular, this year, we hear the passage about the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. There are five figures in this scene: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna. In my reflection today, I will focus on Joseph. Joseph…
Continue ReadingIt is commonly accepted among scripture scholars that the stories of Jesus’ birth and infancy were the last parts of the gospels to be written. As the early Christians tried to grasp the meaning of Christ, they first reflected on his death and resurrection. In stages, they looked back to understand his teaching and…
Continue ReadingHow beautiful and joyful is our celebration of Christ’s birth! A savior is born who brings salvation to the whole world. Yet, we hear in the scriptures that the shepherds were afraid when they first listened to this message. Mary and Joseph were also frightened when the angel first appeared to them. In…
Continue ReadingSeveral years ago the Ministerial Alliance’s clothing and food pantry in Stanberry, Missouri was getting vandalized in the back alley. One of the ministers suggested putting up cameras. Considering our modest budget, I recommended installing motion-activated lights instead. Sure enough, once the new lights were installed, the shenanigans stopped. Today is the last of…
Continue ReadingPeople have trouble with my religious name. Shocking, I know… Frequently when I meet someone new, he will ask what my name means. I understand it is exotic; still, I did not take my name for its definition but for the patron saint. At the time I proposed it to the abbot, I had…
Continue ReadingThe Greeks had a goddess named Nemesis. She was the god of retribution – specifically pouring out wrath for human hubris against the gods. Nemesis has many attributes to describe how she works: scales to weigh deeds against punishment, a scourge to chastise, and a bridle to rein in the self-exalted. She is the…
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