Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Monday – St Ignatius Loyola   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:31-35 With Great Abandon! Making Zucchini Bread!     You see this dot at the end of this sentence.   Yeah, the period.   That’s how big (small) a mustard seed is.   That tiny little dot that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel.   That smidgen that can end up growing to a height of over 9 feet!   What Jesus doesn’t mention is that the mustard plant is essentially a weed!   Once it takes root, it grows with great abandon and is almost impossible to get rid of.   Kind of like kudzu in the South!   Nobody sows mustard seed; nobody puts it in their garden.   If they did, it would take over the garden and choke out any other plants.   Such an exaggeration!   And in the second of today’s parables, Jesus speaks of a woman who prepares 3 measures of flour to make bread.   One thing I have become relatively proficient at over this past 4 p...

  Sunday – 17 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:44-52 Greatest Treasure – Greatest Joy View of Mt. Tabor from Mount Precipice, Nazareth   So I have a question – what’s your greatest treasure in this life?   Who/what brings you the greatest joy?   Maybe it’s your spouse or your child, your best friend or that first grandchild.   For me, the answer is simple – it’s Ginger, my wife.   I can still remember the very first time I ever saw her. I was working at Loyola U. of Chicago and I walked into the Student Government Office and saw this vision!   She took my breath away, so much that I just lost the ability to talk coherently.   I remember her sitting there fiddling with her camera and, in my idiocy, the first thing I did was offer to show her how to use the camera.   Little did I know that she was already working as a professional photographer.   Worst opening line ever! But look at us n...

  Saturday – Feast of St. Martha, Mary and Lazarus     (revisited) Gospel – John 11:19-27, Luke 10:38-42 Family Matters The Family! We celebrate today the Feast of Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus.   And we actually have 2 options for the Gospel reading.   One is from Luke where Jesus visits the town of Bethany and comes to dinner at Martha’s home.   Mary spends her time sitting and listening to Jesus while Martha spends all her time cooking and serving the meal.   She then complains bitterly about Mary not helping her out with the chores. The second Gospel is from John and tells of Jesus’ other visit after the death of Lazarus.   Martha, hearing that Jesus is on His way, doesn’t wait for him to enter the house but rushes out to greet Him on the road.   She unloads her grief and a bit of anger at Him, complaining that, if He had been there earlier, Lazarus would not have died.   And, in the end, she also professes her fa...

  Friday - 16 th Week in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:18-23 The Sower & The Seed – Part II Fields near Caesarea Philippi Yes, I know.   We just visited this Gospel parable 2 Sundays ago. The sower scatters seed everywhere and only some falls on rich soil.   And then Jesus explains the parable to the disciples. So let’s make this short and to the point!   We know the seed is the Word of God.   We know the Word of God is proclaimed to us every single day!   We know God speaks to us every day!   So my question is this – what “soil” are YOU today?   Are you the rocky soil that starts off joyful and then that joy quickly fades away?   Are you the soil among the thorns, so caught up in the cares of the world that you are too stressed to hear?   Or are you the rich soil that hears the Word and lives it out?   What soil are you today? And if you are the rocky soil or the soil with thorns, ...

  Thursday - 16 th Week in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:10-17 Let Me Tell You a Story! Town of Magdala My very first semester of teaching was a complete disaster. I knew all the material, I had all the training and preparation I needed, I was prepared – or so I thought!   Nothing worked!   I presented the notes but all I got back was a classroom full of blank stares.   There was no engagement; it was like we were on 2 different levels or speaking two different languages.   And that, in the end, was completely true.   I was teaching the material at them but not to them!   I realized I needed to speak to them where THEY were at, not at a level where I was at!   And so I began to weave in stories to make my point, to throw out some corny jokes or stunts to catch their attention. Go figure – it worked for 40 years! Every time we read the Gospel, it seems as if Jesus is always being followed by an immense crow...