Ripple Effects of Encountering Christ Every nuance of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman reveals His merciful, loving, and compassionate heart. It begins with the place He chooses to meet her—Samaria, a land considered unclean by Jewish standards. Her presence at the well, especially at noon, suggests she is avoiding others, burdened by shame. Yet Jesus waits for [...]
Faith and Action During this season of Lent, I think one of the images that comes up frequently is a desert. We perhaps think about Jesus fasting for 40 days in the desert or about the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt before they were freed. As these images come to mind I can't help but think what it would [...]
Jesus Shows Us How to Live I have heard a couple commentaries on today’s Gospel that have stayed with me. The first offers this passage as a practical way for each of us to combat the temptations we experience. Jesus relies on the word of God to refute Satan. Three times he is tempted and three times he responds with [...]
Return to God with Your Whole Heart Today we begin the great season of Lent. It always seems to arrive so quickly after Christmas and this year is no exception. The tree and decorations have been put away and all the parties have come and gone. We may feel like our homes and our souls are a bit barren. And [...]
Be Salt and Light in the World “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” Salt and light are so ordinary—present in nearly every home, every meal, every sunrise—and yet, in Jesus’ hands, they become extraordinary images of the Christian life. Salt preserves, enhances, and even heals. A sprinkle of salt enhances the taste [...]
Let Your Light Shine In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus, after seeing His crowd of followers, sits down and decides to teach them. Something He saw in the people propelled Jesus to take the time to sit down on the side of a mountain and teach what we would come to know as the Sermon on the Mount. In [...]
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ first public words are, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These were likewise the words of St. John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), and now that John has been arrested for speaking inconvenient and uncomfortable truths to the powers-that-be, Jesus takes up the same [...]
Building Up the Kingdom You are God’s delight. Yes, you. Isaiah speaks of how God has called you, and how, as a groom rejoices in his bride, He rejoices in you. Then, in the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that we have been given spiritual gifts that help us serve the people of God. While our gifts differ from [...]
Nostalgic Moments Don't you enjoy the nostalgia of pleasant memories, such as the beginning of a beautiful friendship? How wonderful it is to relive the moment when Jesus called His first followers. I love to envision the sheer excitement and camaraderie that must have existed among those He called—an endless jubilee, God uniting with those He loves, ordinary human beings, [...]
Second Sunday in Ordinary TimeFlipped-out Pharisees The Gospel reading for this Sunday is not only the first miracle in John’s Gospel, it is also John’s first mention of Jesus’ mother. I used to find it odd that Jesus addressed her as “Woman.” I can’t imagine my Dad letting me get away with that. But in that time the word was [...]