Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10b; Luke 1:39-56      It is easy for me to forget when we celebrate the Assumption of our Lady that her death has been enfolded into the finality of her glorification. As for all of us—as for her Divine Son—death was a part of her life from the start.    Certainly, in […]

(1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a & Matthew 14:22-33) Waiting for the boarding call in a busy airport can be quite a challenge amid the usual noise, activity, and boarding calls for other flights departing around the same time. Failure to hear the boarding call does not mean that it wasn’t made, only that the excessive surrounding […]

Scriptural References: 1 Kings 3:5-7:12; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52    We’ve just heard three parables that are only recorded in Matthew’s Gospel and, very significantly for Matthew, are only told to the disciples. It may be very gratifying to Jesus that, in the midst of his ups and downs with these men, and against the […]

This familiar parable was important enough to the early church for Matthew to reproduce at length Mark’s original scheme and interpretation. Luke condenses it in his version, but all three present Jesus teaching the parable to a crowd, his comments in private to the Twelve, and his interpretation of it for his inner circle, an […]

Despite being one of the most influential Christian documents (aside from the Sacred Scriptures), Saint Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries is anything but a precise and clear set of rules, regulating daily monastic life, and leading to holiness. Again and again, Saint Benedict seems to present noble spiritual ideals only to enumerate instances when these ideals […]

Beatification and canonization ceremonies are occasions for joy and jubilation. Saints serve an important function in our lives—not only by their intercession on our behalf, but also by the inspiration of their exemplary lives. Yet, although we admire, love, and honor, the saints, we can be reluctant to emulate them. Placing saints on an exalted […]

Twelfth Sunday, Year A: Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33      Jesus teaching the Twelve to fear no one, could seem addressed directly to us and our times. I wonder whether the fears that fuel our reactions and shape our mishaps, which forge our crimes, are ever acknowledged and owned. As I listen to the […]

Today’s great feast of Corpus Christi feels something like a return to the Paschal Triduum and the Maundy Thursday celebration of the institution of the Eucharist. As Catholics, the Eucharist lies at the center of our spiritual lives because it is the means par excellence by which we are sanctified and, ultimately, divinized. As such […]

      We celebrate the Trinity in the liturgy not as a recollection of some past event but as the matrix of all that we celebrate. This Solemnity reminds me that all our liturgical celebrations are not pageants evoking incidents past and gone but are encounters with the deepest realities, still unfolding, still defining our destinies. […]

We have all had those sad and painful moments at airports, train stations, or before the car pulls out of the driveway carrying a loved one away from us. Saint Luke doesn’t make clear whether this apparent final parting of the Risen Christ from his gathered disciples was an occasion of sadness, perplexity, or dread. […]