The young man said to him: “I have kept all these things. What am I still lacking?” Matthew 19: 20 As occurs many times throughout the public ministry of Jesus, the encounter between Jesus and the young man in today’s gospel exemplifies Jesus’ attentiveness and response to the uniqueness and the inner stirrings of a…[read more]
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18: 21-2 On most readings of today’s familiar passage from Matthew, I have just assumed that Peter is…[read more]
It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed. Deut. 31: 8 One of the the most common injunctions in both Hebrew and Christian scriptures is “Do not fear.” Fearfulness has many causes in us, including…[read more]
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also. Whoever serves me the Father will honor. John 12: 26 . . . an eternal remembrance the just man shall be. From evil rumor he shall not fear. His heart is firm, he trusts in the LORD. Psalm 112:…[read more]
If anyone wishes to come after me, let that one deny one’s self and take up one’s cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save one’s life will lose it. But whoever loses one’s life for my sake will find it. For what does it profit one if one gains the whole world but…[read more]
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Mark 9: 2-3 The Transfiguration of Jesus is revelation and invitation. It is a revelation to the disciples of the true identity of Jesus and so, by extension, the true identity of each of…[read more]
O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish. Matthew 15: 28 The encounter of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman in today’s gospel draws us into the difficult and vital question of interfaith and inter-religious dialogue. Matthew’s gospel makes clear that Jesus has been sent, first, to the children…[read more]
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth. Numbers 12: 3 Today’s feast of St. John Vianney and the reading from the Book of Numbers invite a reflection on the inner struggle between the peace of humble self-awareness and the anxiety of envious comparison. The reading from Numbers…[read more]
I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;…[read more]
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”…[read more]
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