Posts from 2023 (Page 5)

A Notre Dame professor (The Hidden Things, OSV, July 9-15, 2023, pp. 15) has wonderfully noted that the instruction of Jesus for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time comes to us after three key things have occurred: REPENTANCE. In Mt 3:1-3, John the Baptist’s holy voice is heard—crying out in the wilderness! A PRAYER WHERE WE ASK TO BE FORGIVEN. In Mt 6:9-15, Jesus has taught us to pray the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father).  THE DISCIPLES HAVE BEEN CALLED. By…

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.” (Matthew 11:25) Every time I hear these poignant words from the Gospel of Matthew, I think of the Saint who lived them out so egregiously: St. Therese of Lisieux “the Little Flower.” Undoubtedly inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Therese realized that the secret to be showered with divine blessings and…

During this Independence week, I have a confession to make. Several summers ago, I found myself standing on a bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. And without knowing that I shouldn’t pick the flowers— I did! After apologizing to the park ranger for my failure to read the “Don’t Pick the Flowers” sign, he smiled and allowed me to take the flower. At the time, it was a prized possession. Now, however, it is temporarily lost in my office. But that’s another…

On this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, our Gospel passage and second reading have a few powerful sentences with which we are familiar, yet they might have lost their edge precisely because we heard them so many times before. Hence, by now, they might be unable to penetrate the thick layer of spiritual insensitivity that, perhaps, we have built up around our minds and hearts. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. (Matthew…

In the Gospel of Matthew (10: 26-33), Jesus talks about the right kind of fear we should have as we live out and preach his Gospel mainly with our lives. It can be understood better if taken together with what is written in the preceding verses (Matthew 10: 16-23).  In them, Jesus conveys the idea of the explosive energy of the Gospel. For Jesus, the Good News packs such power that we should live it out and preach it without reliance on…

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) It should be reassuring to us to know that Jesus is fully aware of all the things and the situations that trouble us, cause us much concern and even sleepless nights.We should never forget that Jesus is moved with pity at the sight of the divisiveness in which our country finds itself and all…

A wise, elderly priest once celebrated an early morning Mass. Later that day someone asked him, “How many attended Mass this morning?,” and he answered, “There were thousands there—but I only saw three of them.” In other words, in addition to the three early-birds in attendance, the priest was including the thousands of souls from purgatory allowed by God to be present at this Mass, along with a multitude of invisible but very real angels and saints, especially Our Lady,…

On Black Friday, advertisers coax us to purchase gifts to be given at Christmas. Today, however, other gifts are sorely missing in our society—children. Based on ongoing research conducted by the Heritage Foundation, fertility rates have now declined below population replacement levels. Should this trend continue, we will ultimately see an aging population coupled with fewer workers to pay for social support systems such as Medicare and Social Security. As one who follows demographic trends and has taught college economics for more than…

In the Book of Sirach (6:15-17), we are told this about true friends: A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself. Note the descriptors: faithful, beyond price, and life-saving. Aren’t these awesome attributes regarding what it means to be a…

I wonder what must have been Nicodemus’ reaction the night in which Jesus broke to him the greatest piece of good news ever: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) What is our reaction to it now? Decades ago, we might have seen those placards, posters, even big signs at ballgames simply saying: Jn 3:16. The most astonishing news ever is encapsulated in…

We should keep in mind that not only the solemnity of the Ascension, but also the solemnity of Pentecost can be correctly understood only within the context of the mystical Body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the Head and all of us are the members of his Body; we are the Church. Now, while we do not know when the birthday of Jesus the Head is, we certainly know that Pentecost is the birthday of the Body, of all of us,…

When meeting someone for the first time, I always enjoy trying to figure out where they are from. Sometimes, the mention of a favorite food will give them away. But more often, their dialect will. One website notes that there are more than twenty active dialects in the United States. Included among them are: Coastal Southern, New England Eastern, New England Western, and Southwestern. As an inhabitant of Michigan, my dialect is classified as Chicago Urban. While these classifications are helpful in describing the…