Listen on:
Episodes
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Normally when someone leaves us it is a sad occasion, unless we are sick of that person. In Luke's Gospel account of the Ascension, however, we hear that the disciples returned to Jerusalem "with great joy" after Jesus was taken up into heaven. Diving into what it means for Jesus to be taken up into heaven -- Jesus's being taken up into God's existence -- helps us to understand that, at the "right hand of the Father", Jesus can be more present to me hear and now than he could while on earth. So the disciples gained closer a more intimate presence to Jesus when they "lost" him to the Ascension. Truly a "joyful" reality!
Sunday May 26, 2019
Sunday May 26, 2019
Today we hear Jesus say to his disciples, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." The fruit of the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends in Jesus's name into our hearts is peace. Yet how often do we let our hearts "be troubled or afraid"? Worldy anxiety and lack of trust often make our hearts fearful and anxious. So what should we do when we have lost God's peace?
Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
Jesus gives us two words to focus on in today's Gospel: glory and love. Both of these words can mean different things to us, but the important thing is, what do they mean to Jesus? We dig deeper and find that both find their meaning for Jesus in the gift that he makes of himself on the Cross. Which makes us really happy that our Catholic churches and homes present to us crosses with the dead body of Jesus on it: The moment that he calls his "glory" and the place where he proves his "love".
Sunday May 12, 2019
Sunday May 12, 2019
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we meditate on the life of a good shepherd whose feast day the Church in the United States just celebrated on May 10: St. Damien of Molokai. His life shows us how to be happy and how to be a saint -- by making our life a gift.
Sunday May 05, 2019
Sunday May 05, 2019
One of the intriguing details from today's Gospel is John's inclusion of the detail that Jesus was standing by a charcoal fire when he appears to the Gospels. We talk about the hidden significance of this image and how it leads us to see what brings us to true life: Making a gift of ourselves, which Jesus does for us by giving us to eat his very Body and Blood.
Sunday Apr 28, 2019
Sunday Apr 28, 2019
Today's Gospel finds the disciples bunkered down behind a locked door because of their fear, grief, disappointment, and shame. How often do we lock the door of our hearts when we are experiencing the same thing?! The good news is that when we finally allow the Merciful Lord access, not only can He come in, but He can lead us out... to witness to our faith in the Resurrection.
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
The Letter to the Hebrews describes Christ's life in the Resurrection as "Indestructible Life". This is the new life that pulses through Jesus's Body and Soul in his Resurrected state, in which he enters into a new dimension of being. How, in the midst of our own darkness and misery, can Jesus's Risen Life touch our life? It is through our doing what Peter did in his own darkness and confusion: Rising. Running to the tomb. Seeking out the encounter with the Lord who has conquered darkness and who wants to bring this light and LIFE into the deadness of our hearts.
Friday Apr 19, 2019
Friday Apr 19, 2019
I've always been curious about the detail that St. John adds right at the end of his Passion narrative. He tells us that Jesus says, "I thirst." According to the text, just after the soldiers attempt to relieve him with a drink of wine, Jesus dies. Clearly there is something going on here beyond the literal level...
Thursday Apr 18, 2019
Thursday Apr 18, 2019
There's an interesting detail included by John in his account of the beginning of the Last Supper. Jesus removes his "outer garment". Literally, this would prevent his tunic from being souled as he went about the messy deed of washing the feet of his disciples. But it is a symbol as well: Jesus is peeling away the external, superficial and revealing his interior heart -- what is at his core and center. Everything that happens next during this meal will show us who He is and what is most important to HIm.
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
The use of olive oil in ancient Israel touches every aspect of natural and supernatural life. We ourselves find this echoed in our sacramental life, with blessed oil, especially Sacred Chrism, playing such an important role in communicating God's divine life to us. Is it any surprise that the beginning of the Passion takes place on the Mount of Olives in a garden called Gethsemane, or "oil press". Jesus Himself, in order for us to receive the anointing of the Spirit which makes us sons and daughters of God, must be crushed -- so that the oil of his divine life will flow out of him and into us. Let us commemorate the crushing of Jesus, which begins here in the garden of the "oil press" -- and be grateful -- during this Holy Week.