Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
There was only one thing I really hated about college--the pressure of making seemingly life-altering decisions. I changed my major 3 (maybe 4) times and each time it felt like I was holding my whole future in my hands and determining the trajectory of my life. At the time, it felt like a lot of pressure and I clearly remember wishing that someone would just make the decisions for me and tell me what to do. I felt like I did not know where I was going or how to get there. Now, as I journey with students at the University of Dayton who are discerning their own vocations, it is much easier to see that no matter which path one takes, Jesus is with us. It is less about what I do and more about how I do it.
Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
We hear in today’s first reading Paul recounting the story of how God saved Israel and made them into the chosen people. There’s something about humanity that thrives on the stories of how we became who we are today. Who brought you to the Lord? Take time this morning to remember them and the story of how you became a faithful follower of Christ. What conversations and teachings stick with you? What actions and movements of the heart proved God’s loving way is The Way? Was it your parents, or ministers of the Church? Was it a priest or sister or brother? Was it other family members or friends? How did you come to believe, and continue believing?
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
My friend has a wonderful perspective on discipleship. He regularly reminds us, “this is our generation.” This is our generation to love and serve, this is our generation to proclaim God’s word, this is our generation to receive the Sacraments, this is our generation to evangelize. I love thinking about this concept, as it locates us within salvation history in a deeply meaningful way. We stand on the shoulders of the inspiring saints who have gone before, and we see in our children the hopefulness of the ones being prepared. But this is our generation – our chance to make a difference, our one God-given opportunity to expand the Kingdom of Heaven. Today’s first reading begins, “The word of God continued to spread and grow.” The generation of the early Church did their part. Now it’s our turn to ensure that God’s word continues to spread and grow!
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Where are you from? When people ask you that question, what does your answer say about you? Do the favorite foods of your hometown apply? Do cultural stereotypes and weather preferences apply to you? Beyond the surface, what does claiming your hometown say about you? How do you feel when you recall your beginnings there? What elements of that life have most strongly shaped you?
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
There are so many options! Jesus is talking about the good shepherd, the Psalm is offering the beautiful images of our longing for God, and in Acts the covenant is being opened to the Gentiles. Amid all of that, I can only focus on Peter’s story.
Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
In today’s gospel many of Jesus’ disciples turn and walk away from Him because they find His teachings too “hard.” Living as a disciple in 2021 is difficult. Without the grace of the Spirit following Jesus would be impossible. St. Peter shows us how the power of the Spirit can not only strengthen our faith, but provide power to bring healing and new life to the world around us.
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
I generally support rational thinking and behavior that is based on logic and reason. I take it as a compliment to be referred to as a “rational person,” especially as opposed to irrational. I appreciate the predictability of math and science and recognize all the ways these disciplines have helped us as a civilization. And yet, today's readings remind me that we are sometimes called to set aside seemingly rational thinking to listen and respond with our hearts, with hearts of faith.
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
One of the gifts of being a teacher in a Montessori school is witnessing the students being drawn to their work by the things they instinctively know they need to learn. With interest as a guide, the children master appropriate skills when they are willingly and developmentally ready to do so. In other words, they are called forward by the truth. We see a similar theme in today’s readings. It is not we who find God, but God who finds us. In Acts, Christ beckons the Ethiopian eunuch through Philip the Deacon. But, we learn, that God was already preparing the eunuch through his reading of the prophet Isaiah, readying him for the encounter with Christ.
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
Today’s Gospel reading is part of a masterful account in which John weaves together Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand with his stunning Bread of Life discourse. John presents us with the opportunity to consider the extent to which we trust Jesus to truly satisfy us in our innermost being. Let’s contrast true satisfaction with transient satisfaction.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
The crowd in the passage from John has a very short memory, makes a lot of demands, and understands little about Jesus. Just sixteen verses ago, they witnessed Jesus turn five small loaves and two fishes into enough food to feed five thousand people. Yet here, they dare to ask Jesus what sign he will give them so that they may believe him. Rather presumptuously, they even tell Jesus what sort of sign they’d like to see. How about some manna from heaven? Couldn’t Jesus give them a sign like Moses delivered to the Israelites in the desert? And if he did, why then maybe they would believe. Poor Jesus! How many signs do they need? When will they get it?
Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Fat babies. That is what I sometimes think of when I hear the word angel. I think of curly hair, chubby cheeks, big eyes, and feathery wings. I think of cute, adorable, docile creatures. But is this what Luke is asking us to imagine when using the words, “All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at [Stephen] and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” I think not.
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
We belong to a culture obsessed with replies. We like to have answers to every question and bumper sticker slogans to every situation. Sometimes that falls short though. For instance, maybe someone faces a tragedy and our first response is, “I don’t know what to say.” Why do we have to say anything? I think that we are so present to one another digitally that we have forgotten the power of real presence, but I think today’s readings remind us of the power of presence.
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
We were blessed to welcome our newest child, Cecilia Ann, to our family almost 8 weeks ago now. Following her birth and arrival home with us a few days later, several friends and colleagues worked together to provide dinner for us a few nights a week as we learned how to be parents of four children. What a blessing! Providing a simple meal for supper was so powerful. Many of those who contributed saw it as a small act of kindness; no big deal; happy to help. Being on the receiving end of this love and support, it does not feel at all small or minor. Our community came together and made a big impact on our little family.
Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
We humans have a tendency to think in binaries. Man and woman. Good and bad. Black and white. We tend toward them because they make what is a very complicated world simple. And that gives us a sense of power over a puzzling and complicated world. But these binaries can be very dangerous. Just think Hitler. Aryan and everyone else. Next thing you know, you have death camps.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
Today’s readings speak to me of liberation, mercy, compassion, and the extravagant love of God for each one of us. I love the Easter season with its emphasis on hope, joy, forgiveness, and love! I hear the Lord inviting each of us to experience the same kind of liberation provided to the Apostles, and to walk in the freedom of knowing we are free from condemnation. Let us approach our texts today with openness and receptivity to the liberating power of God’s love.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
We’re in the first quarter of the octave of Easter, and our first reading has us jumping ahead 48 days to Pentecost. Why did the Church place this reading on this day? It reminds me of Stephen Covey’s prescription to “begin with the end in mind.” We’re beginning a fifty day season of Easter resurrection joy; where do we want to end? Perhaps Easter is a pep rally ahead of the sending mission of Pentecost, when we gleefully recall that victory over sin and death is ours in Christ. Perhaps we celebrate and act on our fundamental destination as the Church and as individuals. In an equal and opposite way as Lent, the Easter season is a gift that will hopefully change us for the better.
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
What would I do in the face of persecution? During these seasons in which we take a deep dive into the Acts of the Apostles, I find myself wondering about that. However, in light of today's readings, I am left to ponder a less often considered threat.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
“Immaculate Conception Parish is a community of disciples” This is the beginning of the mission statement for our parish. Being disciples of Christ is a central focus for our worship and our service to others. Today’s scripture readings remind us that the first disciples of Jesus experienced the challenges and blessings of living out their faith. These early followers of Jesus struggled with doubt despite the fact that they had been a part of His inner circle during His ministry. In spite for their unbelief, Jesus still commissions them to go out and proclaim the Gospel. It is through the grace of the Holy Spirit that they can boldly go forth and spread the Good News. We are called to do the same.
Friday in the Octave of Easter
During the Easter Season, we do not read the first scripture lesson from the Old Testament as is customary the rest of the year, but we read from the Acts of the Apostles. This is partly to emphasize that Jesus’ resurrection has brought about something new. God is doing a new thing in the midst of the old and we emphasize this by reading only from the New Testament. But there is another, perhaps more significant reason to bring in readings from the Acts of the Apostles: we cannot fully realize the meaning and importance of the resurrection without understanding its aftermath.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
In today’s gospel, the story continues after the two disciples encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. When the two disciples saw the risen Lord, they could not contain their wonder and awe and they returned to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had seen. The other disciples were gathered in the upper room trying to make sense of what was happening in their lives. In that moment, Jesus became present among them and wished them peace. The disciples were terrified thinking that he was a ghost. Even though Jesus let them touch him, they still did not recognize him until after he ate a meal and spoke the words that helped them to understand the fulfillment of the prophecies of old—that Jesus had to suffer and die, but would rise from the dead.