Feast of Saint James, Apostle
There’s something about the story in today’s gospel from Matthew that is endearing in a way that the similar story in the Gospel of Mark is not. In Mark, James and John approach Jesus themselves and ask Him to do whatever they ask. They proceed to ask to sit at His right and left when He comes into His glory. Jesus, as in today’s gospel, tells them that they will indeed drink the cup He will drink, but places are not His to assign (Mark 10:35-45). A request for honor is much more palatable made by a mother on behalf of her children. We understand that mothers want what’s best for their children. And when she asks on behalf of James and John, we don’t find the men themselves as brazen as in Mark’s version. At first glance, we may think that their mother is naïve, as mothers can sometimes be when speaking about how worthy their children are. That she doesn’t know that she asking for her sons to suffer and die as Jesus will.
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today anticipates the well known parting of the sea in Exodus. Our Responsorial Psalm celebrates the event.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have worked in the world of private school admissions for over 10 years now, first at the college level and now in high school. The work is a combination of sales, marketing, communication, recruitment, event planning, and, in my current position, is driven by faith and mission. When I worked in college admissions, I managed a territory of high schools in the Chicago area, recruiting high school students to consider attending Monmouth College, a small, liberal arts school in rural, western Illinois. I was consistently challenged by the fact that I was working for a school that most high schoolers had likely never heard of and competing against thousands of other colleges and universities from all over the country. We were compelled to be creative and think outside the box. I had a colleague at Monmouth that worked in the Chicago area with me who had been working in college admissions for over 30 years. I still have this very vivid memory of the first time I met Peter. He looked at me and said, “Brandon, here’s how we make an impact and get results in our territory.” He put his hands together as if he were holding a giant ladle and sitting over a large cauldron over a fire and began to move his arms in a clockwise direction. “We stir the pot, get creative. Stir the pot and keep stirring.”
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s psalm response, “The Lord remembers his covenant forever” (Ps. 105:8a) guides us in thinking about today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Here we have the continuation of one of the most well-known passages in all of our beloved Old Testament: God speaking to Moses from the burning bush. If you have been following the daily Mass readings for the last few weeks, then you know that we have been hearing the narratives of the great figures – Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Jacob and now Moses, who has lately taken the lead role in these passages. From the 12th Week of Ordinary Time, we have heard mention of covenant with reference to Abraham, who was promised descendants, land, and blessing on all nations through him. The covenantal theme continues throughout the Old Testament, and in today’s first reading we see God’s concern that the Hebrew people do not have land of their own, but rather are being treated badly by Pharaoh in Egypt. God’s words to Moses can be seen as a reassurance of God’s commitment to his people. God has not forgotten the suffering Hebrew people; he has not forgotten the promises he made to Abraham.
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As we approach today’s Gospel, I invite you to call to mind children whom you know. Think about what characterizes these and other typical children. You might recognize their innocence, playfulness, inquisitiveness, joy. Jesus tells us that if we are to understand the things of God, we must be childlike. Let’s explore what it means to approach our faith in a childlike manner and ask our heavenly Father to gift us with a childlike heart and mind.
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A lot is going wrong as we enter the Exodus text for today. To start, Pharaoh has issued a decree demanding that all male babies born of the Hebrews be drowned in the Nile. To live amidst the darkness of such a decree, especially if you are of that ethnicity or religious identity, must be hell on earth. Not only that, Pharaoh chose to use the Nile—perhaps the most powerful source and sign of life for all the people of that region—as the instrument of death. Hell, indeed.
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not to bring peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34). What are we to make of such a statement from Jesus?
Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Maybe the fact that one of my sons is in Chile for eight weeks this summer and my other son will be studying abroad in China this Fall, and the fact that my elderly parents live more than 400 miles away, have something to do with my heartfelt reaction to the very emotional reunion of Joseph and his father, Jacob (Israel), in today’s reading from Genesis. The lectionary readings over the past several days have been taking us through the dramatic story of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers, who had sold him into slavery years prior, and reunion with his father who thought he was dead. Today I didn’t need the famous Broadway musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (or a high school adaptation), to visualize this emotional reunion in the final verses of today’s reading: “As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms.” And his father’s response, “At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive.” Years of grief turned to relief and joy.
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I know an older woman who was estranged from her only sibling, her brother, for many years. I’m not sure exactly the cause of the rift between them, but they stopped speaking at some point in their adult years and allowed the distance to remain for 10 years or more until the brother was diagnosed with a form of cancer that would take his life. With the knowledge of his poor prognosis, he reached out to his sister for the first time in a very long time and she responded with compassion and love. They both let go of their stubborn pride and bitter hurts to be reconciled to one another in the last couple of years of his life. He suffered a lot with the cancer, but it seems to me that God was able to use the “bad” of cancer to open the hearts of both he and his sister to reconciliation and their deeper ties of love. They, in turn, cooperated with God’s plan in their willingness to forgive each other and be reconciled.
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today Jesus sends us out, after the example of the Twelve Apostles, with this instruction, “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” The Twelve set the stage for us as we follow Christ on this journey of life as his disciples. What does it mean for us to proclaim, “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand?”
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Some time back, I jumped off a cliff. Literally. I was visiting family in Colorado; my sister thought it would be fun to try out a zip line - zooming through a mountain valley about 100 feet off the ground in places, attached to a wire with some climbing gear. I've tried something like this before, but it was a long time ago, and I remember being petrified and not being able to do it. The thing is, first you have to climb the several feet up to the spot where the zip line begins; then you have to find the courage to jump off the cliff - all while the wind is roaring around you and you're thinking, golly, this is crazy.
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The authors of Genesis pieced together legends from Israelite folklore, in particular in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. These tales spread orally for 900 years before being written down and another 400 years before taking the form that we can recognize. They are engaging narratives of the dysfunctional family of Abraham.
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
When I was in college, I lived in an intentional faith community house with 5 other guys. The life of the community was intended to be centered around prayer, fellowship, and outreach. The six of us built a household community of faith, friendship, and fun. In the midst of our individual lives, we established a rhythm of praying together, sharing in daily tasks, gathering around the table for meals, and supporting one another in the many other areas in which we were involved, both on and off campus. Looking back, we were fortunate to bond over many spaghetti dinners, liturgy of the hours, games of euchre, sleeves of Oreos, and evenings on the porch. However, as I reflected on the gospel today, I was drawn back to the third pillar of living in this intentional community–outreach.
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
This story from Genesis is so very hard. I want to think that I am a person of faith. But that kind of faith? Taking my son or daughter to an altar by God’s command. Putting a knife to one of their necks. Nope. Can’t do it. I don’t have that kind of faith.
Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I’m feeling sorrowful as I write this reflection. I have compassion for all who are suffering, and based on the first reading I have particular empathy for those who suffer at the hands of someone close to them. Exclusion, rejection, abandonment are especially cruel blows. Perhaps like Hagar, you’ve been mistreated by someone who should have protected you. Certainly, we all know and have experienced emotional and relational pain. Pain can too easily lead to despair. We also must stand guard that our pain does not influence us to mistreat others. Today I offer a word of hope from our psalm to all the Hagars and Sarahs out there: The Lord hears the cry of the poor. I also offer a doorway through which to carry our pain: the Sacraments and serving others. Beyond this door lies healing and redemption.
Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is with his disciples in a boat on the sea. They encounter a storm and the disciples panic, waking Jesus up from a nap to save them. He says to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” and then goes on to stop the storm and waves, amazing his followers. I love this story, mostly because I love when I can relate to the disciples. Every time I read it or hear it, I can’t help but think, “Well, what were they supposed to do?” I would have done the same thing if I had God incarnate in a boat with me during a storm! Do they not show faith in Jesus by relying on him to stop the storm? So why is Jesus rebuking them?
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle
A High School Religion teacher began the school year, as he always did, with a session on getting to know his students. Due to the nature of the class, it was apropos to inquire as to what faith the young men professed.
Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Words have power. Even the words we say to ourselves can have an influence. Telling myself or someone else that I WILL do something, rather than saying I’ll TRY to get that done, seems to increase the chances of doing it. It’s not fool-proof, but at least in my experience it makes a difference. Today’s readings remind me that God keeps God’s word. When God says “I will” do something, God’s gonna do it. In the first reading alone I counted God saying “I will” six times; we also hear of Jesus saying “I will do it” in today’s gospel passage. And in each case, what was said happens.
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. These two men are so important to our tradition that their feast is ranked a “solemnity,” the highest designation that the Church has. While both men were instrumental in passing on the Christian faith and leaders of the early Church, they are an unlikely pair, different in many ways and known to have disagreed at one time. Peter is regarded as the first pope, the rock on whom the Church was founded. Paul is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles and the author of most of our New Testament.
Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
I have recently found myself spending a lot of time in prayer contemplating the generational impact of our faith. I have found myself thinking about the deposit of faith that was handed down to me by my parents, the ways it has taken seed in me and grown and then the ways that I pass this on to my children, who will hopefully pass it along to their own children. There is a maturing that happens within us as we contemplate the faith of our parents and our childhood. I find myself holding tightly to some of their truths and wrestling with deep, persistent questions about others. I have found that it is in the wrestling (bringing these questions to prayer, to the sacraments, to trusted friends and to God’s word) that a deeper, more sincere and life-giving faith has grown within me.