On eagles’ wings
A reflection on the Readings for June 18, 2023, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time In the first reading today, God tells Moses, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on...
Author: Fr. Alex Roche
The Creative Breath of God
A reflection on the readings for May 27, 2023 – Pentecost Sunday. Twice a month, I host a discernment dinner for young men, college-age and older, who are considering a vocation to the priesthood. The men in the group are...
I believe so that I may understand
A reflection on the readings of April 23, 3023 — The Third Sunday of Easter Almost one thousand years ago, St. Anselm of Canterbury penned his famous ontological argument for the existence of God. This philosophical proof has been debated,...
Regret, Nostalgia, or the Future Christ Promises
A reflection on the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 26, 2023. During my years as a high school chaplain, I would welcome the incoming freshmen with the following piece of advice: Some people look back on their...
The grace to depend on God
A reflection on the readings for the First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023. At this year’s meeting of diocesan vocation directors from around the US, I attended a conference on teaching young men to discern whether they have a...
The Challenge to Unite
A reflection on the Sunday Readings for January 22, 2023 — the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time As the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs dawns upon us this weekend, we are blessed to witness some genuinely epic rivalries between...
The king of the outcasts
After years of ending the Christmas season and recognizing that I hadn’t listened to any carols, watched any classic Christmas movies, or otherwise engaged the holiday spirit at all (aside from ministry-related matters, obviously), I have approached Christmas a bit...
The view from the mountain of the house of the Lord
A reflection on the readings for November 27, 2022 — The First Sunday of Advent Nestled in the forests of McKean County, Pennsylvania, the Kinzua Bridge State Park is one of many beautiful spots one will find when exploring the...
Replacing the Pharisee and Tax Collector
It’s obvious who the bad guy is in this Gospel. If this parable were a movie, he might as well be Darth Vader or some guy with a handlebar mustache and shifty eyes tying someone up to a railroad track...
Irritation forms pearls
A reflection on the readings for September 25, 2022 — the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Oysters are ugly, strange-looking little animals. Like so many things throughout the world, they seem like they could be from another planet. But, as you...
Humility, the queen of virtues
A reflection on the readings for August 28, 2022, the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. One of the most formative moments of my life came during the end of the first semester of my first year in college. Being a...
Flawed justice in Sodom and Gomorrah
A reflection on the scripture readings for July 24, 2022, the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Old Testament is not light on stories of divine punishment and destruction. One of the necessary tasks to have a mature, integrated Biblical...
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