The peer ministry group at school asked the faculty for their favorite Bible verse with a little reflection. Here is mine. You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8 […]
I recommended a movie to a friend. It is not a particularly great movie, but it has a good story. A light comedy with an unusual love story within a very somber setting. Some parts are kind of different but expected considering the premise of the movie. What really makes the movie, in my opinion, […]
The name Barabbas means “son of the father” (bar-abba). Before Pilate and the crowd, there were two sons of the father, one innocent, one guilty. They chose one to free, one to condemn. Which son of the father was Adam, and the rest of us, suppose to be like? Two sons of the father, that […]
Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the Cross can man better understand how much he is worth. — St. Anthony of Padua
Do we dare say it, “it’s all for you”? The winters marked the Earth Its floor with frozen glass You slip into my arms And you quickly correct yourself Your freezing speech bubbles Seem to hold your words aloft I want the smoky clouds of laughter To swim about me forever more I will race […]
A potential paradox/friction/confusion/fertile ground for mediation. (Or, I’m just missing a piece of the puzzle.) Justice = rendering what is owed to another 1) Question: What is the “what” that is owed to another? I have an internal sense of what is owed to others. Some words or labels: respect, love, kindness, compassion, help, service. […]
It all adds up to one thing: peace, silence, solitude. The world and its noise are out of sight and far away. Forest and field, sun and wind and sky, earth and water— all speak the same silent language. — Thomas Merton [via] Definitely don’t get any of this on the internet, especially from reading […]
The readings for today are especially powerful, starting with this portion from Wisdom 3:1-3: The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going […]
Sunday’s Gospel reading at Mass was about the rich, young man in Mark 10:17-30. I suspect that a lot of people, especially Americans, get a little uncomfortable with this passage, as well as they should. Many forget that the second half of the reading presents Jesus with a teachable moment for his disciples to learn […]
What a gorgeous morning! Reminds me of the refrain from the opening song from Oklahoma! (with one word changed in the last line): Oh, what a beautiful mornin’ Oh, what a beautiful day I got a beautiful feelin’ Everything’s goin’ God’s way Come to think of it, every morning is beautiful regardless of how I […]
The world’s a rollercoaster And I am not strapped in Maybe I should hold with care But my hands are busy in the air — Incubus, “Wish You Were Here” Suffering comes from holding on, not letting go of the pain. Let go. Do not resist. Joy is lost too when grasped at. Let go. […]
Standing on the beach in North Carolina this evening. Outer banks. Nighttime. Dark. The strong salty air permeates my soul. Everything is shades of dark grays. The waves roar as they break close to shore, immature white caps peak, stretching their energy and water as far as possible over the beach. Then the water gracefully […]
In fact, what separates man from divine Reality is but a thin partition: God is infinitely close to man, but man is infinitely far from God. This partition, for man, is a mountain; man stands in front of a mountain which he must remove with his own hands. He digs away the earth, but in […]
About a month ago, I realized that I was saying one particular prayer wrong. When I enter a church or chapel, I kneel and pray, and start with, “Lord Jesus Christ, please forgive me because I am a sinner…” and go from there. What is wrong in my prayer is the word because. It is […]
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. (Gerard Manley Hopkins) I ran across the initials A.M.D.G. the other morning. I knew they were Latin for something by the context. A quick Internet search found Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, “For the greater glory of God”. As the day wore on, I found myself more and more […]
Last Supper by Bohdan Piasecki, 1998 I like this painting of the Last Supper. Not because it rewrites the Gospel accounts or hints at the inclusion of women as apostles and as ordained priests. That intrudes upon theological issues that I do not want to get into, and frankly, could care less about. No, I […]
I was cleaning out some old files and ran across this. I do not know the author. I did a few minor edits. For all you people who say “I love you” when you have no clue what love is exactly. Something to ponder upon… Are your palms sweaty, is your heart racing and is […]
Julie had a copy of this painting at right in a post yesterday. It is called “Quod Est Veritas?” (What is truth?) by Nikolas Gay, 1890. Notice how the light is shining on Pilate and Jesus is in the shadows. My first thought was that it should be the other way around, but it’s not. […]
Father said at Mass that the only creature that knew it was not being cheered for during Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the donkey. The donkey knew its place as Bearer of Christ. We too are called to be Bearer of Christ. We are called to be like the donkey, and not […]
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:13) Compare Palm Sunday with Easter Sunday. The praise and glory the world gives is fickle and temporary. There is a lot of noise and flash, pomp and circumstance. The energy is directed externally, flowing outward like a shout, and disipates. It is […]
See also First, Second and Third Servant Songs. See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him— so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals— So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall […]
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my […]
Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, […]
I wonder what Jesus thought and felt when He read or heard this passage from Isaiah as a young boy of about 12 years old? I wonder how His thoughts and feelings changed when He was a young man, before He started His public ministry? I wonder what He thought and felt when He began […]
By grace of God, I am what I am. (1 Corinthians 15:10) Reflection. These words of St. Paul seem to be filled with pride and presumption but they are really the fruit of humility for humility is truth. Humility does not deny one’s value or achievements but gives all credit for them to God. Prayer. God of […]