Tag: "Sunday Readings"

The Good Shepherd and His Abundant Life
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The Good Shepherd and His Abundant Life

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by on May 03, 2020 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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The atheist philosopher of the 19th century, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said: “if Christians want me to believe in their redeemer, they need to look more redeemed.” He was drawing the wrong conclusion from a perceptive observation.  To Nietzsche most Christians looked just as burdened, clueless and lost as everybody else.  When he looked into their […]

Reflections for Sunday, August 9, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, August 9, 2015

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by on Aug 05, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading 1 Kings 19:4-8 2nd Reading: Ephesians 4:30–5:2 Responsorial: Psalm 34:2-9 Gospel: John 6:41-51 Winning the Spiritual Battle through the Power of the Holy Spirit Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. (Ephesians 4:30) We all know how easy it is to conjure […]

The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment
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The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment

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by on Oct 25, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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They are at it again. In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus’ opponents enlist a lawyer to do what lawyers do best- ask a question that puts a person on the hot seat. “Which commandment of the law is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:34-40). If the law consisted in only the Ten Commandments, this would be tough enough. […]

Reflections for Sunday, October 12, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, October 12, 2014

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by on Oct 08, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14) Accepting Jesus’ Invitation to Say Yes to Him Cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. (Matthew 22:13) How crowded is heaven? How about hell? Theologians have debated this question for […]

Jesus and the Canaanite Woman
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Jesus and the Canaanite Woman

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by on Aug 16, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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The apostles thought she was a nuisance and asked Jesus to get rid of her.  Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon, modern-day Lebanon, and a local woman approached him for a favor.  This was pagan country, home turf of the infamous Jezebel.  The inhabitants of these parts were fondly referred to […]

Old vs. New in the Kingdom of God
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Old vs. New in the Kingdom of God

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by on Jul 26, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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“Liberal” and “conservative.” The definitions of these terms are seldom stated. Usually they are just presumed. Often people call “conservative” those who like old-fashioned things and “liberal” those who favor the latest ideas, trends, and values. But for the Christian, the ultimate question is not personal preferences of style, or whether something is old or […]

The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
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The Parable of the Wheat and Tares

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by on Jul 19, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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At one time or another, we’ve all dreamed of a perfect world.  Imagine a company where everyone is productive, a government full of honest politicians, a church where all are saints. Dreaming about such things is natural; expecting such things is dangerous.  Unrealistic expectations lead to discouragement, despair, even cynicism. That would be bad enough.  […]

Does Life Feel Like a Chore?
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Does Life Feel Like a Chore?

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by on Jul 05, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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I once knew a woman who called herself “a recovering Catholic.” It seems that as a child, she was taught a religion that was all about guilt. Impossible demands were placed on her requiring strenuous efforts that were doomed to frustration. Turn the other cheek. Don’t even THINK about romantic flings. Love your enemies. Attempting […]

The Eucharist: The Body of Christ?
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The Eucharist: The Body of Christ?

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by on Jun 21, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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The Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of transubstantiation, namely, that in the Eucharist, the communion wafer and the altar wine are transformed and really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Have you ever met anyone who has found this Catholic doctrine to be a bit hard to take? If so, you shouldn’t be […]

Lazarus
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Lazarus

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by on Apr 05, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Some find it hard to accept that God would love some people more than others. That wouldn’t be fair, they say. But God became man. If he did not love some more than others, Jesus wouldn’t be fully human. For human beings have family and friends. While we can do good and even risk our […]

The Great Deception
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The Great Deception

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by on Mar 08, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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As I crossed the great divide of puberty, I formed a vivid image of God.. He was a grumpy old man on a throne with a frown on his face. Every time anyone tried to have a little fun, he’d shout “Thou shalt not!” But to really live and not just exist, you had to […]

Turn the Other Cheek?
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Turn the Other Cheek?

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by on Feb 22, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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7th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Love your enemies.” “Turn the other cheek.” (Mat 5:38-40). This sounds admirable to some, but preposterous to others. The 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche thought such talk promotes a society of weaklings. Karl Marx thought these words keep the oppressed under the thumbs of the capitalists.  Does Jesus want us […]

A Mission From God
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A Mission From God

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by on Jan 12, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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“We’re on a mission from God.” In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, outlaw musicians Jake and Elwood Blues receive a divine commission to save the orphanage where they grew up by playing a one-night-only charity concert.  Though Jake and Elwood could “use some churching up,” they are convinced that their plan will succeed because they saw […]

St. Paul: To Rome With Hope and Love
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St. Paul: To Rome With Hope and Love

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by on Dec 09, 2013 in Catechesis, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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The season of Advent is about hope.  That is the message to be taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans.  His message of hope in Christ speaks to Christians throughout the millennia as it did to the Church at Rome c. AD 57. Back then the Roman Christians experienced persecution at the […]