In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 11:1-13), Jesus exhorts us to persevere in prayer and trust in the infinite goodness of God: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Lk 11:9-10). Prayer stretches our souls so that God…
Experiencing the Holy Spirit is kind of like a visit from a butterfly. You can’t force a visit from a butterfly. You can’t send an invite and expect one to show up for tea next Tuesday afternoon. No, butterflies come and go with the breeze. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in a similar way: “the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it…
In today’s Gospel, the disciples went fishing but caught nothing. Then, once Jesus directed them where to cast their net, they caught so many fish that they couldn’t lift it into the boat (Jn 21:5-6). Notice how Jesus addresses them: “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” (Jn 21:5). To whom do these children belong? To God, of course! When you were a very small child, you were completely dependent on your parents. You had…
Jesus was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 4:1), which led Him into the desert. Are you ready to follow Him? The desert of Lent can seem a little overwhelming at the beginning. It’s hard to stare down forty mostly cold winter days. Most of us long for spring this time of year. We can’t wait to leave our coats at home, feel the sun on our faces, and see the daffodils cheerfully greeting us.…
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor 12:27). Each part of our bodies has a specific purpose, a role to play in the success of the whole. In our second reading, St. Paul describes the importance of each part of the body. We need our eyes to see, our hands to work, our legs and feet to get us around, and so on. Because we are each a part of…
Today Jesus reveals His divinity at the miracle at Cana. It was Mary who noticed that the wine had run short at the wedding: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus replied: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). Jesus’s hour came later at the Last Supper, where He turned bread and wine into His Body and Blood: “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this…