Reflections

Today we hear the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26‑40).   This Philip is not Philip the Apostle, but another Philip, a deacon in the early church.  The eunuch is unnamed in our reading today, but Ethiopian Orthodox tradition names him Bachos.  Bachos is a servant in the court of Ethiopian Queen […]

I usually try to reflect on all of the readings for the day and to integrate them into a single focus, but today I reflect on only on the last verse from today’s Gospel (John 6:40): “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may

In today’s reading from Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:51‑8:1), we hear about the murder of St. Stephen, the first martyr killed for proclaiming the Good News of Christ.  But who was St. Stephen?    “As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Greek-speaking Christians complained against the Hebrew-speaking Christians, saying that their widows

Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. (John 6:27) In what ways do I work for food that perishes? For what am I working? Does it result in any kind of lasting food for me? Do I find myself working

Yesterday I spent some time sitting on my patio enjoying the view and the smells of spring.  In this part of the world, the fruit trees are in blossom and some flowers are already blooming.  Even so, some have already presented their colors and their fragrances, and they are now fading.  It has been two

Our First Reading today (Acts 6:1‑7) likely describes the Christian community sometime after our readings of this past week.  The Church was experiencing significant growth and as the community grew, so did the problems that had to be addressed.  And a new language was developed to describe the roles of the Church membership.  For the

An old man goes to a local diner every day for lunch. He always orders the soup du jour. One day the old man asks for a little more bread. So the next day the manager tells the waitress to give him four slices of bread instead of just two. But that day the old

I would like to picture myself as one who exudes a loving peace and calm, leading a constant interior prayer life and always connected in some mystical way with the Holy Spirit.  But I am not like that. Instead, I am a more “high energy” kind of guy, tapping my feet and drumming my fingers

Ever since Easter, the first readings at Mass have been taken from the Acts of the Apostles.  The Acts of the Apostles is the second volume of Luke’s comprehensive presentation of the Gospel. For Luke, the account of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ cannot be separated from the life and ministry of the Christian

This week we hear the story of Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus (John 3:1-15).   Nicodemus is one of the few Pharisees who is sympathetic to Jesus and His teachings. In fact, Nicodemus so admires Jesus that he becomes Christ’s secret follower.  Nicodemus finds compelling the truth taught by Jesus and is deeply moved by what