THE MEANING OF DISCIPLESHIPThe geography of today’s Gospel is significant. Jesus is completing his ministry in Galilee and beginning his journeyto Jerusalem, where he will meet both death and resurrection. The prediction of his death placed here is the second of three in Mark’s Gospel, and as usual it is the occasion for an important…
Sunday’s Readings: Is 50:5-9a/ Jas 2:14-18/ Mk 8:27-35Lecturas del Dia IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTROLFrom toddlerhood to old age, we grow in mastery of our own lives, our bodies, and our destiny. This mastery is hard-won, and we don’t let go of autonomy easily. Much of this self-mastery involves the avoidance of pain or discomfort, so…
Sunday’s Readings: Is 35:4-7a; Jas 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37 Lecturas del dia THE MESSIAH FORETOLDToday’s story of the cure of a deaf man with a speech impediment is a good example of how much is contained in a simple miracle story. The Greek word mogilalos appears only here in all of the New Testament. It is…
Sunday’s Readings: Dt 4:1-2, 6-8;/Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27/Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23Lecturas del Dia DOERS OF THE WORDThe second reading for today begins a five-week series of selections from James, a letter that is classified among the so-called “catholic” (or universal) epistles because they are addressed to a general audience rather than to one particular community.…
Sunday’s Readings: Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b, Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32, Jn 6:60-69Lecturas del Dia DECISIONSThere is an axiom that states, “Not to decide is to decide.” This saying was popular in the turbulent times of the Vietnam War. It urged us not to allow others to answer the moral questions raised by our nation’s…
Sunday’s Readings: 1 Chr 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2, 1 Cor 15:54b-57, Lk 11:27-28Lecturas del Dia THE DESTINY OF ALL MORTAL FLESHThe celebration of today’s feast on a Sunday is unusual on our Roman Catholic calendar. Our observance ofthe Lord’s Day is held in such high esteem that few other feasts replace it. Occasionally there is a…
Sundays Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8; Eph 4:30—5:2; Jn 6:41-51Lecturas del Dia CIVIL DISCOURSE “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” These words bring us up short! What could we be doing to grieve the Holy Spirit? Alas, the same things that the Ephesians were doing in the time of Paul, that is, fighting, shouting,…
Sunday’s Readings: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Eph 4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35Lecturas del Dia THE BREAD OF LIFEToday’s Gospel has the crowd asking Jesus three questions. First, “When did you get here,” to which Jesus responds by rebuking them for their failure to grasp his miracle as a “sign,” an occasion to put faith in him. Their…
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Kgs 4:42-44; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15; Lecturas del dia ONE LORD, ONE FAITHDo you suppose the authors of the four Gospels were aware of today’s first reading from the second book of Kings? Of course they were. The prophet Elisha fed a hundred men with twenty barley loaves in order to prove…
Sunday’s Readings: Jer 23:1-6; Eph 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34Lecturas del Dia THE DAYS ARE COMINGSeparation, isolation, and hostility are terrible things. We are, sadly, too familiar with all of them in our modern life, whether we look at world events or events in our own neighborhoods and families. All three readings today refer to these same…