The Lord’s Prayer begins by focusing on God, His nature, and His work in the world. This teaches us that our prayers should focus first on God, through praising and thanking Him. Only then, do we turn to our requests. “Give us this day our daily bread” is a petition for God to provider for […]

Martha’s generous service is not minimized by Jesus, but her worries show that her service needs to be grounded in Mary’s kind of love for Him. Together, the sisters embody the truth that generosity and love of God are intertwined realities. Martha performs the kind of generosity Jesus commends in Luke 14:12-14, for He is […]

We all have people in our lives that irk us far past what is holy. It is these people that Jesus says are our neighbors. It is these people we are to love. Pope Francis has trumpeted this message from Jesus that we are to go beyond our comfort zone and love these neighbors. Depending […]

The 72 disciples mentioned in today’s Gospel might be thought of as representing every person who has received the extraordinary gift of Baptism and who, by that Baptism, has become a living and vital part of the living body of Christ, the community of faith which we call the Church. In other words, in a […]

In today’s Gospel, the response of Jesus to those who would follow Him seems harsh. How could Jesus, known for compassion, not allow a potential follower to bury his father or say good-bye to loved ones? But for followers of Jesus, the commitment to the journey of life is urgent. It is a radical commitment […]

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish must continue through us. May our Eucharistic celebrations stir up within us a passion to reach out to the poor, the hungry, and the wounded; to reach out to the lost and bring them home. May they nourish in us a hunger and thirst for […]

Today’s Gospel reveals Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. The disciples could not understand the meaning of Jesus’ words because they had not yet witnessed the resurrection. But Jesus explained that everything He had taught them and the witness He bore was from the Father. He assured them that He and the Spirit were one […]

Pentecost is an invitation to share our love, to choose to move into action, and to choose to be the presence of Christ to others. This weekend’s “Good News” is that the same Spirit of the Lord which came to the first disciples at Pentecost is still at work in the Church today. Jesus promised […]

Jesus’ Ascension creates a longing in us for him to come back. At the ascension, the angel promised, “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). It assures us that a time will come when sin, […]

When we think of peace we usually consider the cessation of hostilities between warring nations, or even warring members of a family. That is not the peace the Lord gives. The peace of the Lord is the joy we experience when we are united to Him. This is the peace that Jesus felt on the […]