The Gospels readings for the 3 Sundays leading up to Palm Sunday have something peculiar in common — unlikely emissaries of the Gospel. The Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and this week’s spotlight guest in particular, a dead man, are not the first people we would choose to preach the Good News.
Yet these are the people God chose. Clearly, God can choose anybody he wants to be his messenger. More…
Reflection for the Second Week of Advent, by Fr Martin Connor
To establish the Kingdom is to teach Christ by giving Christ.
To give Christ is to teach that love is a choice, the choice of making yourself a gift to the other rather than use another as a means for some pleasure or end, which is so very common in our world.
Ultimately, love is a choice for Good over evil. More…
In the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist proclaims:
“The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
Over the next few days, we will offer some reflections on the Kingdom by Fr Martin Connor to help us to “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Violet and Rose: The colors of Dawn; The colors of Advent
From St Patrick’s Prayer (I Arise Today)
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me. More…
Today, I decided to reblog an old post related to today’s Gospel reading on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. I added a simple but probably familiar poem at the end for further reflection on the transience of temporal things, which our liturgy invites us to consider this time every year as a perpetual reminder.
Shrine of Dominus Flevit overlooking Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives
“I am waiting for peace.”
“And what is peace?” I asked.
The store owner replied, “When the words of the Prophet in the holy book are fulfilled.”
Of course what he meant was, “When the world is converted to Islam.” More…
St John Vianney
St John Vianney was well known as the humble, austere, potato-eating priest from Ars, who spent hours hearing confessions, by day, and dueling with the devil, by night. Little was it known how much he valued money. More…
I think we can all relate
Father! The first word Jesus teaches us to say when we talk to God.
As St Teresa of Avila observes, prayer is “nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” Fundamentally, prayer consists in cultivating our personal relationship with God. From there, everything else follows.
To illustrate his point, in today’s Gospel Jesus uses a parable of a man pestering his neighbor for bread. Imagine if Jesus’ parable were told differently. More…
Remember: Love your neighbor as yourself
Gospel then: An essential part of Christ’s mission was to teach the human heart to be more human. In the words of the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes, “Christ the Redeemer fully reveals man to himself.” In today’s Gospel, he teaches us how to be a neighbor to our neighbor, with compassion and mercy.
Gospel now: The Gospel of Jesus Christ challenges our More…
Gospel then: In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends 72 of his disciples out “like sheep among wolves.” When they return rejoicing over the success of their mission, he shares in their joy and reminds them of the fundamental purpose of their work: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Gospel now: Today the Church faces the daunting task of New Evangelization. Christ’s disciples today must take a lesson from the early Church, whose success hinged on persevering in courage, humility, and gratitude to the Lord who commissioned them to work in his harvest. More…
Sunday Gospel Reflection (Luke 9:51-62)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus sets the bar high for his followers. Not everyone is called to follow Christ in the same way. But we are all called to “Put on the new man in Christ.” That is, to live Christian perfection and holiness according to the circumstances of ones own life. More…
Biltrix 