Covenant Love – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Jer 31:31-34; Ps 51; Mt 16:13-23) ********************************************* Yearning for intimacy is one thing God and humans have in common. For God, that was always expressed through covenant relationships. The liturgy today invites us into an ever-developing covenant relationship with Jesus that involves following him into even […]

Persistent Faith – Memorial: St. Dominic (Jer 31:1-7; Jer 31:10-13; Mt 15:21-28) ******************************************* There is a very significant faith process at work in the readings today. First, we have the familiar pattern of God’s unconditional and faithful love in the face of Israel’s infidelity. Jeremiah presents God’s promise to ransom and restore the remnant of […]

Trust, Fidelity and Praise (Jer 30:1-22; Ps 102; Mt 14:22-36) ****************************************** Three words – trust, fidelity and praise – capture the essence of today’s liturgy. In the first reading, God comes across as a rejected lover who uses Semitic hyperbole to communicate the depth of his hurt and disappointment in God’s beloved, unfaithful Israel. God […]

Being Attentive to the Mystery (Dan 7:9-10/2 Pt 1:16-19, 13-14; Ps 97; Mt 17:1-9) ********************************************** “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” Those words from St. Peter, a witness to the transfiguration, invite us to ponder this mystery and let this feast strengthen our […]

Change, Conversion and Transformation (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, 31a; Psalm 78; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35) ************************************************************* A saying attributed to Cardinal John Henry Newman fits the readings today: “To live is to change; to live well is to have changed much.” St. Paul, in the second reading to the Ephesians, puts it this way: “Put […]

Called to do Metanoia – Memorial: St. Jean Vianney (Jer 26:11-16, 24; Ps 69; Mt 14:1-12) ********************************************* “Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God…” Today’s liturgy invites us be prophetic – to speak the truth of repentance, to do metanoia and call others to conversion. […]

Our Struggle with Unconditional Love (Jer 26:1-9; Ps 69;Mt 13:54-58) ***************************************** One of the traditional “seven sayings of Jesus” on the Cross is, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Renowned theologian Karl Rahner offers the following intriguing reflection on that saying: “Actually, they did know what they were doing. They were killing […]

Hungering for Justice; Thirsting for Love (2 Kg 4:42-44; Ps 145; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15) ************************************************** One night on television, a news item featured the reality of children starving in Zimbabwe. Pictures of children with extended stomachs troubled the viewers; a few minutes later, another news item dwelt on the problem of obesity among youth […]

On Shepherding and Being Shepherded (Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 23; Ephesians 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34) ************************************************************* Did you know that if a lamb falls on its back, it cannot even right itself? That lamb needs a shepherd even for that. The liturgy today invites us to let Jesus be our shepherd, to minister to us, and in […]

Relational, Transformative Justice (Micah 2:1-5; Ps 10; Mt 12:14-21) ************************************* “He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles, and bring justice to victory.” This promise in the gospel of Matthew today puts our focus on justice as central to following Jesus and our faith life. That should not be surprising, as social justice was a main […]