The prophet Ezekiel greets us this Sunday with the words: “Thus says the Lord God—O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them” (Eze 37:12). Ezekiel is among the earlier voices in the Bible to speak of resurrection. In Judaism, belief in a resurrection of sorts only came about over […]
Continue Reading
John 9: 1- 41 There are times in life that when things go wrong we wonder what we did that God is punishing us, or we recall some sin, and even though we confessed it, think that the bad that is happening is a punishment for our sins. This faulted reasoning was also present at […]
Continue Reading
At Meribah Moses was in the midst of an intense trial of faith; while he endured this trial successfully, the Israelites failed to trust in the Lord’s providence, as we hear: “the Israelites quarreled there and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” (Exo 17:7). This story is similar to […]
Continue Reading
Matthew 17 1 – 9 Today we hear the account of the Transfiguration of our Lord. This is a Gospel that is familiar and affords us with the gift of placing ourselves there with Jesus and Peter, James and John. We can imagine what it was like to see Jesus transfigured before our eyes with […]
Continue Reading
For the first Sunday of Lent the reflection practically has to be on the theme of sin. This is not simply because we began the penitential season of Lent this past Wednesday as we received our ashes, but because the scripture readings demand it. The first reading today is from the Book of Genesis and […]
Continue Reading
February 23, 2020 The Gospel includes one of the more difficult teachings of Jesus; “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” This teaching went against the mindset of the people during the time of Jesus, as it goes against the common thinking of today. Far too often our society tends to confuse […]
Continue Reading
Today’s scripture readings engage us in a reflection on the nature of sin and law, and they begin with a biblical author for whom the Torah and its commandments were life-defining. We hear from this author, Jesus ben-Sira, on Sundays at least twice each year. His advice is sometimes quite specific, for instance, when we […]
Continue Reading
Matthew 5: 13 – 16 The Christmas Season ended a month ago with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The gift of Christmas is always with us, the presence of Jesus in our world and in our lives. Jesus is the light of the world and when we allow his light into our […]
Continue Reading
Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple was a consequence of the Torah’s prescription regarding women who had recently given birth: forty days after the birth of a male child (and eighty days after the birth of a female child) the mother was to offer a sacrifice through a priest to symbolize her “purification” following birth (Lev […]
Continue Reading
Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Gospel –Mark 1:14-20 The first reading and the Gospel for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time brings out the power of God’s Word. God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and announce the need to repentance. At first Jonah refuses because he doesn’t think that the Ninevites are deserving of God’s mercy, […]
Continue Reading