Love’s Rich Harvest
Today’s Gospel is fit for funerals. It promises hope and delivers consolation. Families pray in hope that nothing of the self-giving they experienced in the life of their loved one…
Image by Frank Kacmarcik, OSB. Colorized and used with permission.
Humble Power
Is the story of Jesus Christ a “cleverly devised myth” (quoting St. Peter in today’s readings)? What’s striking about the Gospel stories is actually how different they are from our…
IIllustration by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB (1920-2004), Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. Colorized and used with permission.
Think Small
The Gospel today offers two of the shortest parables in Scripture. Both challenge any tendency we might have to think small. Mustard seeds and yeast are seemingly tiny contributions to…
IIllustration by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB (1920-2004), Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. Colorized and used with permission.
Not Moxie or Power
It’s easy to see the genetic origin of the “Sons of Thunder” nickname given to the brothers in today’s Gospel. The mother of James and John certainly had moxie and…
IIllustration by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB (1920-2004), Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. Colorized and used with permission.
The Fire of Love
Teilhard de Chardin said that, “[s]omeday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second…
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Compassion Awakened
The centerpiece of the Gospel reading today is the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant. It is a marvelous story of Jesus healing by his Word, in response…
Image from Met Museum, New York. Public domain.
Liberating Forgiveness
My children don’t always get along. I often find myself intervening. It can be a minor infraction, like when my two-year-old daughter takes my four-year-old son’s corn chip. Other times,…
Image from Met Museum, New York. Public Domain.
Loving with All
Couples married for any length of time know that love requires compromise, understanding, and sacrifice—loving with all your heart cannot be conditional or halfhearted but must be total and complete.…
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My Soul Thirsts
I can relate to the religious authorities in today’s Gospel. They are so concerned about how the crowds will react, that they forget to stop and consider what they believe.…
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A Perpetual Presence
We are all included in this touching prayer of Jesus. Aware that he must soon leave the ones he has loved and mentored, Jesus is pouring out his heart to…
