Let The Spirit Lead Us This Lent!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is surprising to me how passive Jesus Christ is in the gospel of the temptations in the desert (Matthew 4: 1-11) on this First Sunday of Lent. He was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and was tested by the devil. This is the same Spirit that blew…
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Surprise Your Adversary!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ This was to limit the amount of damage you could do to the one who hurt you. Before this law if someone took out your eye then you might kill him and his…
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Jesus Wants The Law To Transform Us, To Be Authentic
Dear Brothers and Sisters, In the gospel that is part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 17-37) which Jesus must have preached many times in different locations and in different ways, he is not interested in making the law lighter. He came to ensure that the law accomplishes an interior transformation within us. …
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Make God Present To Those Around You!
Dear brothers and Sisters, Sister Josephine Bakhita said if I was to meet those slave raiders that abducted me and those who tortured me, I’d kneel down and kiss their hands, because if it was not for them I would not have become a Christian and a religious sister. She was taken as a nine…
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The Lord Returns To The Temple Suddenly
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple marks in a way the end of Christmas in the sense that the mangers are taken down after this feast. According to Jewish law the first-born son had to be redeemed and the mother needed to be purified. Luke is…
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Many Who Have Regrets Don’t Turn To The Lord
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This week we hear some of the first words that Christ preached (Mt. 4: 12-23) and he is still making himself known to Jew and gentile alike. The word metanoia in Greek means repent. It has two aspects. First is to regret an action or a sin or bad habit or…
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Behold The Lamb, The Weak One Who Doesn’t Strike Back!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Finally I had the good fortune to see the movie A Hidden Life recently, which is about a conscientious objector in Austria during World War II, Franz Jagerstatter, who was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. He and his wife and three daughters lived on a farm and life becomes…
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My Delight Is Being With Him!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Israel was called not just to save herself but to be a light to all the nations as Isaiah says. The same is true for us. We are called not just for our own salvation but for the salvation of the world. Each one of us has a particular role to…
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The Kings Prostrate Themselves Before The True King
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Kings or Magi represent pagans who are open and searching for the truth. Two words describe their way of life very well: they saw and they came! And they came quickly, not to get anything for themselves; they came only to adore the Child. Probably the journey took many months…
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May His Face Shine Upon You!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy New Year! It is a beautiful blessing that we hear from Numbers (6: 22-27) on this solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Lord will bless us, and let his face shine upon us, and look kindly and give you peace; he blesses us three times, a hint of the…
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