Reflections

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, untill heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. […]

Here we are in the middle of the season of Lent. How are you doing with your resolutions?  If you are like me, some of them have been kept and others haven’t. That may be a source of concern for us, but we can correct ourselves in midstream. I believe, however, that it is not

There seems to be a lot of anger in the readings of the past week, and that anger continues today. In the first reading (2 Kings 5:1‑15), Aram, king of Israel, is enraged because he thinks that the king of Syria is trying to pick a quarrel with him by sending Naaman, his army commander,

This weekend’s liturgy, and the liturgies for the next two weekends, present long readings from the gospel of John. Each reading is a reflection on some aspect of the paschal mystery, that is, the death and resurrection of the Lord. Today’s gospel, the story of the woman at the well (John 4:5-42), tells us something

Of all the parables that Jesus spoke, the one featuring the prodigal son (Luke 1-3, 11-32) may be the most touching and best remembered. The story is brief. A father has two sons, and when the younger son comes of age, he asks for his share of the family inheritance. The father obliges the request, and this

Today’s Gospel reading is the Parable of the Evil Tenants (Matthew 21: 33-46). Jesus starts, “Listen to another parable.”  He could have said, “get ready for another confrontation between the Pharisees and me.”   Regardless of what you think about the Pharisees, you’ve got to give them some credit today.  They got it.  They understood

The parable in today’s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31) is one of contrasts, contrasts that should make us feel very uncomfortable and move us to action.  On the one hand we have the rich man whose lifestyle is opulent.   He wears expensive clothes and dines sumptuously with his friends every day.  In sharp contrast there is

In the mid 1960’s, Joan Baez, a then well-known folk singer, wrote and sang a song called, “Love is Just a Four-Letter Word.”  The lyrics tried to show that although the word love has only four letters and might, therefore, be thought by some to be a simple concept, it is in reality a very

As I have said many times in these Daily Reflections, the Scriptures are not just talking about events that happened long ago, they also are talking about what is happening to us today.  This is, in part, because God inspired the authors, but also in part because human nature has not changed all that much

“Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings,