Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Monday – 26 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Luke 9:46-50 The Child In All of Us Every Child Matters PowWow Life got you down?   Struggling to find enough money to buy the groceries or gas up the car?   Feeling lost or abandoned?   Everywhere you turn, you see sadness or anger?   Overwhelmed by senseless violence in the neighborhood or the insensitivity of people to the plight of the downtrodden?   Getting kicked while you were down and you wonder why bother even getting up?      Feeling like you lack the patience of Job (first reading today)? Jesus gives us the answer to these questions in today’s Gospel!   Be a child!   Welcome others!   If you want to be the best, you must be the least.   You must accept this child in My name and, if you do, then you have accepted Me.   Stop arguing and treat everyone like you would a child. The Kateri Center and American Indian Health co-hosted their annual ...

  26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 That Was Harsh! Wailing Wall, Jerusalem What’s your favorite Christmas movie?   Yeah, I know, we have just barely entered autumn and Halloween is still a month away.   But there is a point to this!   For me, Christmas Story has to be in my top five!   And if there is one line that stands out, it is this:   You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!!!!   For a family comedy, that’s a pretty grim image to conjure up, particularly for children.   Today’s Gospel is filled with all sorts of stark images and language – plucking out your eyeball, cutting off your arm or foot.   It’s the sort of imagery that seems destined for a very gory horror movie, not suitable for children.   And yet through it all, there are notes of tenderness and compassion, words of mercy and grace. We are reminded that sin begins, not with our actions, but with our thoughts, our intentions.   Yea...

  Saturday – 25 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Luke 9:18-43-45 Pay Attention Synagogue Church, Nazareth   A slightly different version of the Beatitudes!       Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathered them around him. He taught them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are they that thirst for justice. Blessed are you when you are persecuted. Blessed are you when you when you suffer. Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven." And James said "are we supposed to know this?" And Simon Peter said "will we have a test on this?" And Phillip said "I don’t have any paper." And Bartholomew said "do we have to spell correctly?" And Mark said "do we have to hand this in?" And John said "the other disciples didn’t have to learn this." And M...