Unity, Humility and Love (Phil 2:1-4; Ps 31; Lk 14:12-14) ********************************** “Coincidence is God working anonymously.” That saying seems to apply to the readings today, as the message they contain just happens to be rather remarkably reflected by an article at the back of the same issue of Living With Christin which Jean Vanier recounts […]

Living Teepee Spirituality (Dt 6:2-6; Psalm 18; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28-34) ************************************************* A man shared his problem of having nightmares with a psychiatrist – sometimes he dreamt he was a teepee, sometimes he dreamt he was a wigwam. The psychiatrist responded with a simple diagnosis – the man was just too tense (tents)! How can […]

Humble Faith and Joyful Fulfillment (Phil 1:18-26; Ps 42; Lk 14:1-11) ******************************************** Has the Word of God ever brought you to tears? The readings today invite us to humbly place our faith in an intimate relationship with Jesus leading us to experience deep joy and the fullness of life. A friend with whom I was […]

Living the Paschal Mystery (Job 19:1, 23-27; Ps 103; 1Cor 15:20-23; Jn 12:23-26) ***************************************************** Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Both the readings and today’s commemoration of All Souls Day invite us to live the Paschal Mystery Jesus, in the gospel, speaks quite bluntly: unless a grain of […]

Living In the Reign as Servants and Children of God (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; Ps 24; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12) ******************************************************** “It is heaven all the way to heaven.” This statement from St. Catherine of Sienna, and our All Saints Liturgy today, invite us to live in the reign of God as servants and children […]

Undoing Slavery, Then and Now (Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145; Lk 13:22-30) *************************************** “Slaves, be obedient to your human masters.”Could Paul be supporting slavery with this comment? May our celebration today help us be more aware of the modern-day slavery still existing in our world, and motivate us to work at overcoming it any way we […]

Living as Children of Light (Eph 4:32-5:8; Ps 1; Lk 13:10-17) ********************************* “… but now in the Lord you are light.” That sentence by St Paul leads right into the message of today’s liturgy – an invitation to live as children of light. In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul waxes eloquently on what […]

Faith to Heal and Follow (Jer 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52) *********************************************************** It was mealtime during a flight on a small airline in northern Manitoba. “Would you like dinner?” the flight attendant asked me. “What are my choices?” I asked. “Yes or no,” she replied. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus? […]

Repent and Believe; Surrender and Grow (Eph 4:7-16; Ps 122; k 13:1-9) ****************************************** “Repent and believe” is the first message Jesus preached. “Surrender and grow” is a message emerging from today’s readings echoing that primary teaching of Jesus. Today’s liturgy invites us to be ready to “repent”, to surrender our will to God and “believe”, […]

Truth, Beauty and Goodness (Eph 4:1-6; Ps 24; Lk 12:54-59) ************************************** “Truth, Beauty and Goodness” – these are three classical pillars of believing in God and living in Christ. The readings today, read within the context of these three pillars, carry powerful messages for us: in the gospel, we can find Truth by reading the […]