We hold this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained,…always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body, for we who live, are […]

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary This is the feast of the Visitation, which for the cousins Mary and Elizabeth, was no ordinary event. The conception of their offspring was announced by the angel Gabriel and was unexpected. Elizabeth was to bear in her old age a son John, and Mary, a young virgin, consented […]

In today’s gospel (Jn 6:52-59) Jesus is teaching the Jews in the synagogue at Capernaum …unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. And …my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my […]

Today’s gospel (Jn 10:31-42) is set amid growing unrest among the Jewish people about the miracles (signs) of Jesus and his revelation that he is “the Son of God.” “The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. . . . We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.” Jesus responds: “Can […]

As we approach the midpoint of Lent and the celebration of Laetare Sunday, the gospel reminds us of the “greatest” commandment. Jesus answers a challenge from a scribe: Hear O Israel! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, . . . your soul, . . . your mind, and . . […]

The Lenten discipline of fasting is the focus of today’s readings. The disciples of John ask Jesus: Why do we and the Pharisees fast and your disciples do not fast? Jesus answers them, Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken […]

In today’s gospel, Mark presents us with what led to the death of John the Baptist. Herod “had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’” (Mark, 6:17-18). We read […]

Today’s gospel (Lk 5:12-16) relates the story of an encounter between Jesus and “a man full of leprosy.” A person with leprosy in the time of Jesus was both physically and socially isolated, rejected by family and community and confined to remote areas. The belief that disease was punishment from God further enhanced this isolation. The man […]

Saint Margaret of Scotland and Saint Gertrude the Great, holy women honored in today’s liturgy, personify in diverse ways the message of today’s first reading “Let us love one another.” This second letter of John is addressed to a “chosen lady,” most likely a leader of a fledgling Christian community and reflects the Johannine theme […]