Author name: Essjay Peatoo

I have often said, in these Daily Reflections, that it sometimes is useful to read the entire chapter from which the day’s readings are taken. That is particularly true with today’s first reading (Isaiah 22:19-23).  Shebna has a rather lofty image of himself, in part because he holds a lofty position in the palace. He

Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 23 (Matthew 23:1-12) brings to mind an earlier reading from Matthew 7.  In Matthew 7, Jesus admonishes us to not judge; and to not be concerned about the splinter in our brother’s eye when we have a wooden beam in our own.  Today’s teaching on hypocrisy is in the same

Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14) is one of my favorite stories in Scripture.  The vividness of its imagery, the wonder of its unfolding narrative, and visceral appeal of its symbolism endow it with a sort of “plug-and-play” appeal–even an uninitiated reader can engage with this wonderful story. Yet the story

Jesus is such a great teacher. His parables draw us in, have surprising elements and stunning lessons at the end. Jesus was well aware of Ezekiel’s preaching during the Exile that we have been hearing for the past few weeks. Ezekiel was full of promise. The remnant left behind in a destroyed Jerusalem needed hope.

In today’s Old Testament Reading (Ezekiel 34:1-11), Ezekiel indicts Israel’s leaders (the shepherds) for their failure to care for the nation (the flock). In Ezekiel’s time, Israel’s leaders oppressed the people by looking only to their own interests by clothing and feeding themselves at the expense of the needs of the flock. Instead of strengthening

Many of the readers of these Daily Reflections come from different faith traditions than do we Catholics.  We have Orthodox followers, Protestants, Muslims, Sikhs, and even a few atheists.   Occasionally, I receive thoughtful questions from one of them that make me think through my own beliefs about God.   One such question came in

The death of the prophet’s wife (Ezekiel 24:15-24) becomes a symbol of how the people are to respond to the loss of their Temple. God warns Ezekiel that he is going to lose his wife, the “delight of [his] eyes”, through sudden illness and death. She would be taken away in “one blow”, some swiftly

No matter what our political leanings might be, it is evident that the challenge of crossing boundaries is at the heart of many of the issues facing our world today. Under what conditions should immigrants be allowed into our country? How do we navigate the economic boundaries between rich and poor? How do we deal

Solemnity Today, Catholics around the world celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, commemorating the end of her earthly life and her assumption into heaven, body and soul. While the solemnity is relatively new, the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, also called the “Dormition of Mary” in the Eastern Churches, has its roots

St. Maximilian Kolbe was born as Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in the Kingdom of Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar and a martyr in the German death Camp of Auschwitz during World War II (WWII). Raymund was an active and mischievous boy who occasionally got