Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Wednesday – St. Andrew, Apostle Gospel – Matthew 4: 18-22 Answering the Call Church of Peter’s Primacy, Tabgha     If you’re like me, your cellphone is permanently attached at the hip and you never go anywhere without it.   It’s our calendar, our camera, our documents and apps; it’s our email lifeline to the world. But in all its complexity, it is still plain and simple a phone.    And every day it presents us with choices –do we recognize the number,   do we answer the phone! It’s a process we are all familiar with.   The phone rings; is the number familiar?   If it isn’t, I regularly ignore and decline the call.   If I recognize the number, then it’s more complicated.   I can choose to answer it or I can deliberately decide I don’t want to talk to this person.   A simple call but so many options! We commemorate today the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, brother of Peter, patron saint of fishermen and singers, ...

  Tuesday – First Week of Advent Gospel – Luke10:21-24 Out of the Mouths of Children Entering the Old City, Jerusalem Let me tell you about Skye!   Skye is a little 9 year old girl and her family is part of our Native St. Kateri community.   She has a younger sister Sofie and a little brother Phoenix.   It has been an amazing blessing for me that I baptized all three of these little ones!   In fact, Skye was my very first Baptism after ordination.   Needless to say, the family is near and dear to my heart!   When we gathered recently for Mass at St. Kateri, we were all sitting around and chatting.   And I asked Skye about her Christmas list from Santa.   How many pages?   How many gifts she wanted for Christmas?   And her response?   Yes, I do have a couple of things on my list.   But really, I don’t need or want anything.   I have my health and I have my family!   What more could I want? Out o...

  Monday – First Week of Advent Gospel – Matthew8:5-11 Have a Little Faith Caesarea Philippi Way back when I was little, I remember our family went to the movies. It was my first horror movie   (The Fly) and it did not go well.   Every few minutes I kept asking to go to the bathroom.   My Dad finally caught on and he ended up having me sit next to him. And until the movie ended, every time a scary part came on screen, he would take his hat and cover my eyes.   Yes, my Dad never went anywhere without his hat.   Was I embarrassed?   Teased or singled out for my fear?   Not in the least!   In fact, what I felt was safe; I felt a tremendous sense of faith!   My Dad was looking out for me.   He didn’t berate me or tell me to ‘man’ up.   I felt protected and covered, not only by his hat, but by his love!   And to this day, I remain grateful for his fatherly concern and that hat! That is what I see in today’s Go...

  First Sunday of Advent Matthew 24:4-51 Like A Thief During the Day? Synagogue at Capernaum Some 15 years ago or so, I was driving home from a long day of teaching and, when I pulled into my garage, I noticed that our backyard gate was open.   Curious!   Once I headed toward the house, the reason became disastrously clear.   Our back door was hanging open and the door frame was busted and in pieces.   It only got worse when I entered the house.   The floors were covered with debris. Drawers were pulled out and the contents strewn all over.   Every room was the same; it was like a tornado had hit!   We had been robbed!   Jewelry, electronics, television, computers, cash, you name it – so much was gone – even my precious pocket watch that had been gifted to me by my dad.   All gone!   It’s a terrible feeling to see your home and your privacy violated like that.   You keep asking yourself = what could I have done d...

  Saturday – 34 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Luke21:34-36 Sleepy Head! Outside Capernaum My guess is that sometime Thursday afternoon or evening, we all settled down for a nice little nap.   And for some of us, that nap extended into Friday, and maybe even today.   All that work and Thanksgiving dinner prep and cleanup finally got to us and we succumbed to a well-deserved rest.   Good thing we didn’t get today’s Gospel passage on Thursday!   Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel NOT to get drowsy, to stay awake and alert.   He reminds us not to get so involved in this life, not to be distracted by the lures, the distractions and the worries of this life that we are caught unaware when the King returns!   In simplest terms, Jesus calls us to be vigilant, alert and prayerful!   This evening we begin a new liturgical season, a new liturgical year – the Season of Advent!   It is a season that beckons us to prepare for the coming of...