This historical Jesus must have had an incredibly alluring and attractive personality. Today, we are drawn to a scene where Jesus is walking along and meets Philip, whom he invites to follow him. Philip tells Nathaniel, who, when he meets Jesus, is immediately taken by him. Earlier Jesus had done the same with Peter, John, […]

We are in the Season of Advent, the season of anticipation, and today’s readings lead us nicely into an attitude of hopeful anticipation. In our first reading, Isaiah proclaims the absolute sovereignty and transcendence of God. “I am God; there is no other.” God is the Creator of all that is and, therefore, the proper […]

Isaiah offers us a beautiful vision of a mountain on which God restores his people in our first reading. “They shall say of that day: Lo this is our God, we have waited from him, and he will save us: there is the Lord; we have patiently waited for him, and we shall rejoice and […]

Martyrdom, the acceptance of death rather than the repudiation of one’s faith and beliefs, has a long history in the Catholic Church and other churches and religious faiths. Today’s first reading offers us the incredible example of a Jewish mother. She encourages and exhorts her seven sons to undergo torture and death rather than eat […]

Saint Paul writes that we “should owe nothing to anyone except to love one another for one who loves has fulfilled the law.” Here Paul is simply repeating the message that Jesus preached and witnessed to throughout his public ministry. His love for individual persons compelled him to cure lepers, give sight to the blind, […]

The last line in today’s gospel should be a sobering one for all of us: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” To readers and writers of these Daily Eucharistic Reflections, we are entrusted with fostering the Eucharist in its […]

I have always liked the story of Jonah. God sends him off to warn the Ninevites to rid themselves of their evil ways and convert. The problem was that Jonah really didn’t like the Ninevites, so he tried to avoid going to Nineveh. There we have the delightful story of Jonah being swallowed by a […]

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which traditionally calls us to reflect on Mary’s “seven sorrows.” In the 15th century, this feast had another name, Our Lady of Compassion. I believe that this title more appropriately places Mary in a relational and dynamic reality in […]

In our first reading, Paul sends a beautiful greeting of praise and encouragement to the Colossians. He has seen that the gospel he preached to them has taken root and is bearing much fruit. “We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones.” Today […]