A Reflection for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
One evening at supper a young girl sat with her parents as they talked about all sorts of things. Schoolwork and homework were high on the agenda; so were good results and ‘doing well’. Expectations were obviously high; achievement equals ‘good’; doing badly equals ‘failure’; wealth equals ‘success’. The young girl was listening. She wasn’t ‘good at school’. Quietly she left the table and, taking the dishes to the kitchen, she washed them carefully, even though she found it...
Author: - February 2, 2020
A Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 4: 12-23 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012620.cfm) Celebrate, Study and Share these Dangerous Words! Among the great gifts that the many branches of the Christian family have in common are the Bible and the deep belief that God speaks to the people through its inspired words. Of course, there are many views, arguments…
Author: -
A Reflection for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Unlike the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Gospel according to John has a rather plain description of John the Baptist. It makes no mention of his eccentric lifestyle or dress (living in the desert, wearing camel hair), or of his strange diet (eating locusts and wild honey). The text doesn’t even use the title ‘John the Baptist’. However, one point in the Fourth Gospel is very clear, recording that the Baptist does not want any case of mistaken identity; he asserts that he is definitely not the Christ, nor even a Messiah look-alike. John is a witness to the light; he is not the light. He is merely a forerunner in the vanguard party.
Author: - January 19, 2020
A Reflection for The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
This Sunday marks the crossover from Christmastide to Ordinary Time. We do this by recalling something extraordinary that continues to remind us of what Christmas and the incarnation is all about. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord raises all kinds of interesting questions about the curious moment when Jesus comes to John for baptism. In Matthew, our Gospel for the coming year, the baptism is presented as another moment of revelation. In the scene, Jesus is depicted as “seeing” the Spirit coming down on him while the crowd is told “this is my beloved Son” (Contrast this with Mark where the voice speaks to Jesus!). What does it mean for Matthew?
Author: - January 12, 2020
