Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Today we honor Saint Mary Magdalene. The gospel reading is tremendous. Mary Magdalene has taught me much about being a disciple and a follower of Jesus Christ. Mary was always with Jesus and when she wasn’t with him she was looking for him. As Christians we are called to see […]

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The account of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary is well known. They are close friends and disciples of Jesus. They’ve opened their home to him and some of his disciples and so have taken on the sacred obligation of hospitality. In the first reading for this […]

The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of […]

In today’s gospel reading from Matthew, we find Jesus in conflict with his good old friends the Pharisees. The problem is not with the fact that the disciples were eating the grain but rather the day they were eating the grain on the Sabbath. They were hung up on the law of God, not the […]

“I am Joseph, your brother. Be not distressed. It was really for saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you” (Gen 45:3-5). We all know the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is the story of jealousy, love and forgiveness in a family that became a nation and our ancestors. The gospel […]

Do we consider ourselves to have our feet on holy ground? It is a question we don’t usually ask ourselves unless we are at some well-defined sacred place but upon leaving we are then not on holy ground. Let’s reconsider. Certain places on earth have inspired us to engage with that space to come to […]

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” These same woes are invoked on Capernaum. It is rare that we see Jesus show anger (or at least frustration), but we have it here. We are told that “Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had […]

In today’s first reading we are reminded of the story of the children of Israel saved by Joseph only to be threatened again experiencing the cruelty of slavery. God’s plan for them was larger than their own hope for safety and stability. And they find themselves on the move again! How often we experience the […]

The question the scholar of the Law asks in the gospel today is not really “who is my neighbor?” because deep down he knows that every human being is neighbor and kin. Every living being necessarily relies on another in the fragile ecosystem of life on this earth. The scholar blinds himself to this truth […]

No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. (Mt 10:24-25) The focus of Chapter 10 of Matthew’s gospel is discipleship. This is evident even from a cursory reading. A prayerful reading […]