Reflections (Page 12)

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…

The only correct way to truly celebrate the Ascension is within the context of the Body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head and we are its members. Since the Body can never be separated from the Head, after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, he remains with us on earth, as the last sentence in today’s Gospel passage (Mt 28:20) indicates: And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. At the same time, we also…

There was once a missionary priest who had served for a number of years in Africa, and when he returned home to the United States he shared this description of an important lesson he had learned: “I had studied long and hard to learn the language of the native people. It took me more than three years to become comfortable in normal, everyday conversation. One day after preaching at Mass on Sunday, one of the men came up to me and said, ‘Father,…

One Sunday, a priest began preaching on the topic of love. But then, with great suddenness, he stopped, raised his arm, pointed, and exclaimed: Now there is love! And with all eyes now focused upon a young mother holding and tenderly caring for her small infant, love became more about doing than merely about words. In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John (9-17), Jesus uses the word, love, nine times. Over and over, He reminds His disciples how much they are loved. In speaking…

In the final scene of Frank Capra’s 1946 movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is toasted as “the richest man in town.” Why? Now, if you have seen this classic movie, you will remember that after his father died, the burdens of reality fell upon him. He was called upon to continue the family business, care for his mother, and ensure that those around him had what they needed to succeed. By serving his family, friends, and community, George used the gifts…

Across the centuries, Christians have always needed someone mighty and strong to lean on and to cling to whenever the squalls blow fiercely, and the pain becomes hard to bear. For three years that support was provided by the physical presence of the Lord Jesus in human flesh, visible and operative amid his first disciples. The Apostles took over that task after Jesus ascended into heaven to receive from the Father the fullness of his glory for having obeyed him…

Regarding work, President Ronald Reagan once said: “There’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” Why? Because work provides us with a purpose—for living out our lives. In the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15), “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” In the Dictionary of Bible Themes (2009) scholar Martin Manser asks and provides answers to fundamental questions about work—and our role in it. What was God’s purpose for…