Listening to God Words In today’s reading, Jesus heals a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. This is a story about Jesus’ healing power, and in it we find clues about our understanding of sacrament. In the Sacrament of Baptism, water and oil are used to show the power of the…
God’s laws If we read today’s Gospel carefully, we will see a pattern in Jesus’ teaching method that will be repeated in the weeks ahead. Jesus’ first teaching is directed to the Pharisees who questioned him. Jesus’ words are then directed to the crowd, teaching that a person is defiled by his or her words…
Lord, to Whom shall we go? In today’s Gospel we are being asked to make a choice, as we are, to choose to follow Jesus or not. Will we choose to follow him for a while and see how things work out and if they don’t we can always opt out of our choice of…
I Am the Living Bread Who is Jesus for me? Who is Jesus for us? The early followers of Jesus had to struggle with the words that Jesus gave to them. Even more they had to struggle to understand and accept fully that Jesus is God. Jesus tells us that He is the living…
Bread of Life Today’s Gospel begins with a report that the Jews complained about Jesus’ claims regarding his identity. They knew his family, and they knew he was the son of Joseph. They could not comprehend what Jesus meant when he said that he came down from heaven. Jesus responds to the complaints by…
Open Your Mind and Heart to the Lavish Love of God. When the Israelites asked for food in the desert, God gave them exactly what they needed. Their grumbling didn’t put him off; he fed them with manna and quail. God only asked them to trust in his loving care for them. When crowds of…
Trust in the Lord Today’s Gospel passage from Saint John reflects the first reading. Jesus asks Philip to feed the people and Philip knows right away that there is not enough food. He complains that not even a large amount of money would be able to purchase enough food. Philip forgets the teaching that…
A Place to Rest a While who is a good shepherd? Is a good shepherd one who encourages people to “fight like hell” when asserting their own baseless allegations? Is a good shepherd one who sells arms to nations engaged in wars and violence that cause the most vulnerable to suffer the worst? Kwame…
Blessed with a Purpose Today gospel reading shows that purpose in action as Jesus summons the twelve disciples and sends them out. As a missionary church, Jesus also wants to send each of us out to accomplish the tasks only we are gifted to do. Though we’re all given particular charisms at baptism, it’s…
Jesus is Rejected in His Hometown. Today’s Gospel describes what many believe to have been the typical pattern of Jesus’ ministry: teaching in the synagogue followed by acts of healing. In his hometown of Nazareth, the people are amazed by what they hear, but they also cannot comprehend how someone they know so well…