Reflections

In today’s first reading (Ephesians 3:14-21), Paul prays that the Church in Ephesus, and by extension, the entire Church, may deepen their understanding of God’s plan for salvation in Christ.  It is a plan that affects the whole universe with the “breadth and length and height and depth” of God’s love.  The apostle prays that […]

Jesus will come for us like a thief in the night. We don’t know exactly when. We don’t know exactly how. We must be ready. We can’t let our guard down. If the homeowner knew exactly when the thief was coming, he would make sure the door was locked. He would be ready for the

(Part Two) In Monday’s First Reading (Ephesians 2:1-10), Paul introduces the idea of Christ as the head of the body of the Church.  Having Christ as its head gives unity to the Church, with its individual members playing different, yet equally important roles.  Paul’s way of developing this idea unfolds through a review of the

(Part One) The mystery of Christ is so rich that no one image or model can exhaust the subject. Perhaps it is for this reason that St. Paul chose to emphasize different aspects of Christ in each of his writings.  The letter to the Romans, for instance, shows him as creating the New Covenant by

It is said that when looking for a job, it is not what you know but who you know that counts the most. While working in China for the U.S. government many years ago, I heard people use the term guanxi, “connections,” connections with people in the right places. Today (Mark 10:35-45) we see two brothers

Yesterday I began a 3-day series on what all Catholics, and other readers of these Daily Reflections,  should consider in deciding how they will vote on the various candidates, propositions, and measures that appear on the ballot this voting season.  Today, I continue that series with a summary of Part 1 of the U.S. Catholic

Yesterday I began a 3-day series on what all Catholics, and other readers of these Daily Reflections,  should consider in deciding how they will vote on the various candidates, propositions, and measures that appear on the ballot this voting season.  Today, I continue that series with a summary of Part 1 of the U.S. Catholic

Approximately one month ago I ran a series of Daily Reflections on the upcoming elections.  Since then, we have fully entered the “silly season,” when politicians feel emboldened to make statements that expose their own anti-religious bigotry, the sole remaining socially acceptable bigotry allowed in the United States.  One state governor has gone so far

In our final reading from Galatians (Galatians 5:18-25), St. Paul gives a list of things the Galatians should avoid. He says they are the fruits of self-indulgence. When we hear some of them, like idolatry, sorcery, drunkenness, or orgies, we might feel relieved and exclaim: Oh Good! I don’t fit in there. This could lead

Today Paul continues to speak to the Galatians about freedom, a freedom they cannot find by submitting themselves again to the Mosaic Law (Galatians 5:1-6).  “When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free.”  If only those words were emblazoned in huge letters in all of our churches! Instead, we find there people that