Weekly Reflections (Page 2)

“Ephphatha, be opened.” Today, Jesus orders us to be opened to the Father’s plan and to adopt a sincere concern for all his children across the globe, across the millennia. We are to do so in virtue of our Baptism. The rite of Baptism includes the gestures performed by Jesus and the word “ephphatha” “be opened” that he uttered when he cured the deaf person with a speech impediment. This complete openness is required of us for two reasons.  From the…

I don’t know about you, but whenever I walk into a room with a mirror these days, my first inclination is to reach for the dimmer switch—and dial it lower. Privately, I tell myself, “less light will be better for your eyes” and proceed to mimic that “clap on, clap off” commercial. For bright lights and mirrors reveal way too much: wrinkles, imperfections, and what’s left of my hair that grows grayer by the day. Quickly, however, the Spirit leads…

The gospel passage for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time forces us to come to grips with a somber, sad reality: some of Jesus’ disciples, in any epoch, become selective and refuse to abide by those words of life with which they disagree. It is a repeat of what we see described here as the first case of “cafeteria or smorgasbord Catholics.” Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” (John 6:60) … As a result…

In the first chapter of Lumen Gentium, the fathers of the Second Vatican Council noted that “To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us the mystery of that kingdom. The Church, or, in other words, the kingdom of Christ now present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world. This inauguration and this growth are both symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the…

Just recently, a friend indirectly reminded me of my short-lived experience in the St. Louis theatre scene. Moved by my daughter’s success in this genre, I was inspired to try my pen at it. At that time, I had thought the word was spelled playwrite. To my surprise, my first three efforts found their way to full production and the stage. My three subjects were dementia, abortion and suicide. Of the three, my third remains my favorite. While there have been…

I stopped and paused while looking at the day’s Sports section of my newspaper. Trying to avoid reading about baseball in Chicago these days, I gravitated to the medal counts for the Olympics. Then it occurred to me – why do I care about medal counts? Does knowing the US has more medals than Sri Lanka actually mean anything to me? I paused, noting how many times over the years I spent time on this same endeavor. I don’t remember the medal count in…

The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time marks the fourth Sunday of a vital lesson on the Eucharist in which we are led to consider the natural human resistance to what the Father intends to do for us in the Eucharist, by offering us the flesh and blood of his Son Jesus. To this end, it would be profitable to open our minds and hearts to what Jesus feeds us, first, at the table of God’s Word by imagining what our world would…

In his encyclical “Evangelii Nuntiandi,” (1975) St. Paul VI writes this: “Man, nowadays, is more willing to listen to witnesses than to teachers.” So true in every age! Without doubt, what I can teach you has less impact on all of us and on our world than how we, as individuals and as a Community, bear witness to Christ and to his Gospel. Or, it can be said that the way the Holy Mass, which we attend changes us from…

The gospels mention many times that countless people were looking for Jesus. If we are here today it means that we, too, are looking for him. Some were looking for Jesus because they needed healing, restoration, wholeness, but also grace, light, comfort, patience, courage. However, others, like the tetrarch Herod, were looking for him out of curiosity (cf. Luke 9:9); the Pharisees with the Herodians looked for him to embarrass him (cf. Matthew 22:16); the religious authorities looked for him…

The gospel passage for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time offers us a way out of a lot of the apprehension and restlessness we experience whenever faced with a daunting situation and we tip toward dejection or even mental paralysis. And I am talking about challenges much, much smaller than having to feed a crowd of about five thousand men, without counting women and children. (cf. John 6:1-15) The huge mistake we keep making is as old as the world itself. It…

Whenever we heed the soft voice of care and empathy whispering in our soul, we might feel so great and so uplifted that we ignore our need to rest and get re-energized. This is what happened to the first Twelve. Boosted by the enviable feeling with which the Lord rewards good deeds, they were eager to share with him their successes and feats. (cf. Mark 6:30) The crucial aspect of our human nature, which needs to be pointed out, is…

A Christian evangelist who went about preaching the Gospel was once asked his occupation by a stranger, and he answered, “I work for the Lord.” “Oh, really,” said the other man; “and how much does that pay?” “Not very much,” the evangelist admitted, and then he smiled and added, “But you sure can’t beat that retirement plan.” We might say that all the great missionaries and evangelists from the Church’s history are now enjoying their retirement in the Kingdom of Heaven. They were faithful…