Sometimes the simpler the remedy, the harder it is to follow. So many of our interpersonal conflicts, arguments, animosities, and needless sufferings have a simple remedy: Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. Our difficulty in applying this remedy is that it is deceptively simple and in fact requires a complete […]

In exhorting us, not to worry about what we are to eat or what we are to wear Jesus assured us that if we seek first the kingdom, all these other things will be added to us as well. This seeking first the kingdom is reflected in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. The […]

Today’s feast is one on which many consecrated religious, formally or informally, renew their vows and their commitment to ongoing conversion—conversion whose final goal is nothing less than transformation into Christ. The lives and example of Simeon and Anna reveal two indispensable virtues for this transformative journey by which we open ourselves to the fullness […]

Jesus’ probing question to the disciples—Do you not yet have faith?—can be understood in two complementary ways. The first, in light of the violent squall threatening to swamp their fragile little boat, concerns whether Jesus had the power to protect them from the raging waters. But the second, and perhaps more crucial, sense of his […]

It is a spirit of gratitude that permeates David’s prayer (as recorded in our first reading). This serves to remind us that true gratitude is only possible with true humility. This is because pride strives to perpetuate the illusion and delusion of human self-sufficiency. Authentic gratitude, however, peacefully acknowledges our utter dependence on God, and […]

Although the Original Sin involved the eating of forbidden fruit, its deeper reality was pride—a pride that had already been the undoing of Lucifer in his arrogant desire to be like God. That same pride, now manifesting as violent jealousy, lies at the heart of Saul’s downfall and fuels his murderous intention toward David. Lacking […]

This morning at Vigils we were reminded that whereas man usually sees only outward appearances, the Lord looks into the heart. God is therefore not swayed by merely external displays of holiness, religiosity, or devotion, but perceives the true state of our souls and the deepest intentions that move us. His penetrating gaze unmasks all […]

Occasionally, someone who is neither religious nor spiritual asks for our prayers for some temporal or earthly need. In doing so, they highlight a sometimes mercenary and self‑seeking tendency in our own approach to seeking God’s help. For although we value—and are even grateful for—whatever help God grants us, we can be adept at simultaneously […]

Like the Pharisees we encounter in today’s gospel, we too can have a problem recognizing the Christ who is among us, and whose face we are challenged to behold in one another. However, this difficulty springs largely from our own hearts—both from our failure to discern Christ in the brother/sister we dislike and find difficult, […]

Our gospel today concludes, rather matter‑of‑factly, with a description of the Holy Family’s return to their own town of Nazareth. Taken in isolation, it gives no hint of the momentous events that had just unfolded in the life of this little and poor family. Shepherds, angels, Magi, and the stirring witness of Simeon, and Anna […]