Finding Your Spiritual Direction

Readings will vary, depending upon which Liturgy you attend. Imagine a time in your life when you have read a book, watched a movie/TV show, or listened to someone tell you a profound story. Perhaps you walked away from that experience with a little extra “spring” in your step; because you were feeling inspired, motivated, energized - thankful for the gift of life, and thankful for the story you had just experienced. Perhaps you realized that the story meant something to yo

Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Matthew 26:14 -- 27:66 As a child I disliked Palm Sunday. It was the day I had to stand for the long, long gospel. And I remember having to say the words of the crowd, "Let him be crucified! “ Why do we get the part of the bad guys, I thought? I'd never do that. .. And then I grew up. Fairly early in the gospel, before the crucifixion itself, we see two people betray Christ: Judas and Peter. And these were not casual bystanders. These we

Ezekiel, 37:12-14 Romans 8:8-11 John 11:1-45 Another long gospel today on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the raising of Lazarus. Because a tomb, an illness followed by death and a resuscitated body figure so prominently in the story, it is easy for us to focus on physical death. But let us look closely at the dialogue in the center of this event. “Martha said to him, ‘I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the lif

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Today's gospel, John 9:1–41, is quite long. A shorter option is offered but the longer version is well worth reading. We see a fascinating cast of characters each with their own degree of sightedness and blindness. We see a man who was born blind, is cured of his physical blindness by Jesus and comes to spiritual sight gradually. We see neighbors who suddenly do not recognize the same man they had seen begging earli

Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42 Today's first reading begins,"In their thirst for water the people grumbled against Moses.“ The Samaritan woman in the gospel has come to the well alone in the heat of the day to draw water. In our own day, people all over the world are on the move to find water for themselves and their animals as climate change turns their home uninhabitable, without enough water. The need for life-giving water is so elemental that when Jesus

Genesis 12:1-4a 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 Matthew 17:1-9 Ah, Peter. Man of action. You gotta love him! "How about if I walk on water to meet you?“ (glug, glug, sound of water splashing). “I’ll never deny you!” (sound of cock crowing). And today's gospel."How about if I build three tents here?“ And while he is still speaking… “A voice from the cloud” said “Listen!” The church gives us a Transfiguration story every year on the Second Sunday of Lent. This year we hear from M

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 Romans 5: 12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Like many other people, I use the monthly periodical, "Give Us This Day,” as an aid to daily prayer. There, in reflecting on this weekend’s readings, Fr. John Kartje shared an insight I thought well worth passing on to you. He suggests that we "pay attention to (our) temptations, not just (our) sins.“ Our temptations reveal where we are vulnerable.Those words brought back to me an experience from my own life. A number

Sirach 15:15-20 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Matthew 5:17-37 The gospel for today, Matthew 5:17- 37, is quite long. The second and longer portion of the gospel, which is offered as a stand alone option, includes the portion of Matthew’s gospel that elaborates on the commandments. Jesus quotes some of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not kill, “ then adds "But I say to you, “whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment… “ But before discussing the individual comm

Isaiah 58:7-10 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Matthew 5:13-16 One of the most beautiful parts of the Easter Vigil for me occurs at the very beginning. The Easter candle, having been lit outside with the New Fire, is carried into the darkened church. The light of Christ. That light passes from the Christ candle to us as we share the light with each other. And soon the whole church is alive with light. We are living in dark times. Today’s gospel tells us that we are to be li

Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13 1Corinthians 126-31 Matthew 5:1-12a As I write this reflection, world leaders are gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Because I have been reflecting on today's gospel, the words of our president jumped out at me. He described our country as, “rich, powerful, and strong. Again, I looked at the gospel, the Beatitudes, which Pope Francis described as "the Christian’s identity card. “ I saw very different qualities: poor in spir

Isaiah 8:23—9:3 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 Matthew 4:12-23 At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I must repeat a theme from today’s readings that has been prevalent in recent weeks: The good news of Jesus Christ is for all people, not simply the Hebrew people. If repetition is a form of emphasis, God really seems to want us all to understand that. The message is for all people, no matter their race, color, nationality, social status or creed. That is important.

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 John 1:29-34 Three little words can be used to summarize all three of today’s readings. And they are very powerful indeed! They are: “called to testify”. In the first reading, Isaiah is called to testify, as he is commissioned to be “a light to the nations” (Isaiah 49-6). He realizes that he is called, not just to deliver the news of the coming of the Messiah to the people of Judah and of Israel, but to the people of the whole wor

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17 Today’s first reading, from Isaiah, Chapter 42, is the first of four passages in Isaiah that are referred to as Servant Songs. For us, as Christians, these are very important passages. They foretell of one to come - not as an earthly king, but as a servant - who will “bring forth justice to the nations” and establish a new covenant between God and humankind. We understand this special servant to be none ot

Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Today’s readings are filled with challenging and intriguing concepts, designed to prompt us to think intently and act decisively. The more we study them, the more we will receive from them. As usual, the messages are relevant, not only for the people of biblical times, but for all of us. For myself, I am particularly challenged and intrigued by the theme of “inclusivity”. Isaiah’s passage begins with a reference to t

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Colossians 3:12-21 Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 Today's scriptures do indeed reflect the theme of the function and the spirit of family. In the first reading, we read of the call to respect our elders - especially our parents. In the gospel passage we see Joseph, taking responsibility for the safety of the family in what is indeed a perilous time for them. He does so, based on strong intuitions he receives in dreams - two of them! Dreams are amazing things

Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24 This reflection is a "re-post" of one that I posted three years ago, on the 4th Sunday of Advent. I think is bears repeating, and I hope it leads you into deep and meaningful prayer. If you follow these scripture reflections, you might know that I am a big fan of Christian music. I like many of the songs we sing from the hymnal and the songbook we use at Mass; and I also like many of the contemporary Christian songs you can

Isaiah 35:1-6a,10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 Once upon a time, I was asked to do a webinar on the spirituality of “Shaping the Future of Catechesis” (Religious Education). I was given about 45 minutes and asked to talk about important spiritual qualities to bring to such an endeavor. After considerable thought and prayer, I decided to focus on two in particular, Hope and Joy. Imagine my surprise when I read the readings for this Third Sunday of Advent - and found that t

Isaiah11:1-10 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3:1-12 Advent - A Time to Reflect Today’s readings are chock full of important messages from the Lord for all of us. They all merit a bit of extra “reflection time” - especially during this season of Advent. The gospel, relating the story of John the Baptist preaching in the desert, is often featured in homilies of the day…and rightly so. However, today I will focus on the first reading, from the prophet Isaiah. It is particularly no

Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 And so it begins again. The First Sunday of Advent begins the Church’s liturgical year. We remember the coming of Jesus in time as we walk with him from his birth through his ministerial life, his death, resurrection, ascension and his life now in the community he left behind. But our gospel reminds us that he will come again, "the coming of the Son of Man, “ at the end of time. Because we have no idea when this future event

2 Samuel 5:1-3 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 One of my kids was a real night owl. Bedtime was always a struggle. I recall the day she announced defiantly, "When I'm a grown-up I can stay up as late as I want! “ Ha! Little did she realize that being an adult means you go to bed when your responsibilities are taken care of and sometimes, by then, you’re exhausted! But who of us has not wanted now and then to be “in control”, to have the power to do whatever we want, to