“The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, – 1 Kings 17:10 Our Scripture passages about the poor widows who gave generously cause me to reflect on what I would be willing to give away out of love of God and others. I know that I do not have a perfectly generous heart. What is it that I am stingy or selfish with? Is it the “safe” space…
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself. – Mark 12:29-31 Love, caritas in Latin, sums up the purpose of our lives. Loving God and others is what makes us truly human. Love unites us to God spiritually. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “…charity,…
A “masterclass” is a lesson given by an expert to knowledgeable students. Thank you, St. Mark, for blessing us with a masterclass in prayer in this Sunday’s Gospel! Here we have the story of Blind Bartimaeus, the poor beggar who heard Jesus passing by and called out for healing. He had a dialogue with Jesus—that’s prayer! If St. Mark taught us in person, here are some high points he might hit. Approach prayer with listening…
…whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. – Mark 10:43-45 I recently was blessed to attend the Funeral Vigil and Mass for Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun. The Korean war chaplain died as…
Whenever I read this Sunday’s Gospel reflection about the rich young man who “went away sad for he had many possessions” (Mark 10:22), it gives me a feeling of dread: “Oh no, not this one again, Lord. I can’t possibly sell everything! Am I doomed?” But then I calm down and remind myself that Jesus was calling this specific person to a life of poverty. He doesn’t call all of us to an ascetic life.…
This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh – Genesis 2:23 This one goes out to all the married couples out there. I’ll start with this: your marriage is important. Really important. Important enough for Jesus to make clear boundaries about it. Marriage between a man and a woman reflects the covenantal relationship between Christ and His Church. The exclusive, faithful love between a man and woman is a…
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. – Psalm 19:14 Imagine that you are being held captive. Your hands are tied with ropes. You are a slave to another. You must do what the other commands. You are ruled over. This is what the Psalmist prays to God to protect him from: being ruled by serious sin. When I look back over my life, especially before I became Catholic…
How interesting that our second reading this Sunday is from St. James who exhorts us to put off “selfish ambition” and instead “cultivate peace” (3:16-18). The Gospel passage shows Jesus’s disciples arguing about who was the greatest (Mark 9:34). Later in Mark, James and John ask to be the greatest in the kingdom by sitting at Jesus’s right and left hand (10:35-37). They are still hustling to get a spot at the top! St. James…
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do. – Mark 8:33 What do you see when you look at Jesus on a crucifix? Pain, anguish, sorrow, death—all these come to mind. I used to look at the crucifix and wonder why Jesus would suffer for us in this way. I eventually learned that the answer to that question is love. When I started to see the cross as an expression of…
“And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.” – Mark 7:32 In our Gospel passage today, Jesus heals a man who cannot hear or speak. He is essentially cut off from communicating with others. But Jesus is able to communicate His healing touch to the man. Notice that Jesus takes the man aside privately. Healing is one-on-one work. Then Jesus touches…