Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Wednesday   - Mary Magdalene Gospel –  John 20:1-2, 11-18 A Rollercoaster of Emotions Boat Chapel  at Magdala Just a few days ago I mentioned a quote from Bishop Barron – every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.    There is no better example than Mary Magdalene whose feast we celebrate today.    Tradition holds her to be a former prostitute, probably the one who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair and whom Jesus forgave and told to sin no more.    She was a faithful disciple of Jesus. And today’s Gospel portrays her at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning.   Consider this – she is the first witness to Jesus’ Resurrection – not Peter, not John, not even Mary His Mother.    She is the first Evangelist – she is the first to proclaim the Good News that Jesus is risen from the dead! Consider also the all too painful range of emotions she experiences.    The utter grief and despair as she finds the stone roll...

    Tuesday - 16 th  Week in Ordinary Time Gospel –  Matthew 12:46-50 They Aint’t Heavy, They’re My Brothers (Sisters) Chapel at Mt Tabor  I ended yesterday’s reflection with a prayer to the Creator asking for strength to rededicate ourselves to our brothers and sisters.    But I never specifically said who they were.    I have one brother, George, and two sisters, Mary and Theresa.    By blood these are my brother and sisters.    But today’s Gospel reminds us that all are brothers and sisters!    That’s gonna make for a lot of birthday presents;) Seriously, it’s a simple message but it demands so much of us.    We were all adopted as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father at Baptism.    That makes us all brothers and sisters in faith.    And it means we are called to treat each other as such.    No, not fighting tooth and nail like we do sometimes as siblings.  ...

Monday - 16 th  Week in Ordinary Time Gospel –  Matthew 12:38-42 What’s Your Sign? Sign, Mount of the Beatitudes In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a world of signs!    Traffic signs and price tags, for sale signs, detour and animal crossings! And remember how much more dependent we were on signs during Covid.    Shops had only one entrance and one exit door.    There were one-way signs for the aisles in grocery stores.    Arrows to direct us which way to go to communion in church and signs to warn us about wearing masks! And even today, if you look carefully, you can still see faded images on the floor – 6 feet apart! Signs!    They protect us, provide us with information, they give us direction.    And in today’s Gospel, that is exactly what the Scribes and Pharisees are looking for from Jesus!    Give Us A Sign!!    Show us the way!    Show us who you really are!    Prov...

  16 th  Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30 Be Patient, My Child Tied Up in Knots!   Many years ago, I remember one summer when it was time for our daughter Jaime to learn how to ride a bicycle.  So I took off the training wheels, she climbed onto the bike and proceeded to take off.  I followed close behind, holding onto the back bumper, trying to keep the bike upright and trying to make sure she didn’t fall.  It was exhausting for both of us.  I thought I was being a good dad by doing everything I could to keep her from falling.  But it didn’t work.  We were both getting frustrated.  Finally, she had had enough and she banished me to sit on the front porch while she worked it out on her own.  It took time and it took a lot of patience, something neither one of us had much of at the start of the process. I was getting impatient with the process and she was getting impatient with me.  Patience was in short supply....

Saturday - 15th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 12:14-21 No Rest for the Weary  St. Joseph’s Church, Nazareth We have all had one of those ‘endless’ days!  What started out as a relatively normal, calm day turned into more work, more stress, more demands to carry out.  And it wasn’t just work; it was also people asking for help, people you couldn’t and wouldn’t say no to.  So you just let it pile on.  That evening when you got home. you thought you had those last few hours of the day to put your feet up and relax and just catch your breath.  And then the phone rings, you need to help getting dinner on the table, help the kids with homework, corralling them into bed and then start planning for the next day. Now don’t get me wrong; many of those commitments were done willingly and out of love because you just can’t say no and you truly want to help.  But at the end of the (every) day, you are exhausted. And so it is for Jesus in today’s Gospel....

 Friday – 15th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 12:1-8 Apples and Grain Father Judge Mission Seminary Back when I was in the seminary (Father Judge) in Monroe, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we would spend a lot of our free time just wandering along all the country roads in the area.  I especially loved the hikes in the autumn when the apple orchards were ready for harvest.  We would always carry along a bag or two and grab as many apples as we could manage.  Was that “kosher”?  Not really!  Did we know we were stealing?  Sure!  And there were plenty of times when we ‘almost’ got caught.  The Apostles (looking for a snack, I guess), in today’s Gospel, are caught picking grain on the Sabbath.  The law is clear: no work on the Sabbath and picking grain qualifies as work.  Jesus reminds the Pharisees that there have been exceptions to the rule in the past, particularly King David.  And He tries to te...