In his compelling shift from words of blessing to words of woe in today’s Gospel, Jesus acknowledges that there’s an unavoidable distinction between the “haves” and the “have nots” in this world, but he warns that guarding our “having” to...
As a husband of 34-plus years, I know what it’s like to come home after the end of a workday or picking up the kids from school and having news to share with my wife. Sometimes it’s good news, sometimes...
Today’s Gospel begins shortly after Jesus left the Temple where, as we heard last week, he had condemned the Scribes’ desire for honors and flattery and wealth and had praised the widow’s embrace of poverty and her absolute trust in...
In Sunday’s second reading, St. Paul speaks of Jesus breaking down the dividing wall of enmity in order to create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace. The commentaries on this reading explain that...
Saturday was an incredibly joyful day here in the Archdiocese of Washington. Sixteen – sixteen! – men were ordained to the priesthood at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The beauty of the early summer day outside...
A reflection on the readings for Pentecost Sunday It was around this time back in 2013 that I was in the home stretch on the years-long path to my ordination as a deacon. The priests and deacons I spoke with...
A reflection on the readings for April 21, 2024 — The Fourth Sunday of Easter (also Good Shepherd Sunday and the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations) My wife and I recently traveled out of state for a visit...
A reflection on the readings for March 17, 2024 — The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) Holy Week will be upon us in just seven days. The week begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Sunday...
Welcome to Lent! The Catechism says of this season that “By the solemn forty days of Lent, the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (CCC 540), and fittingly, every year the Gospel for...
A reflection on the readings of January 21, 2024 — The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (and the Sunday of the Word of God) The Book of Jonah is an odd little story, four short chapters that barely take up...
A reflection on the readings of December 17, 2023 — The Third Sunday of Advent At Mass last Sunday, as we were listening to the second reading, there was the unmistakable sound of a happy child. It took a moment...
A reflection on the readings of Sunday, November 19, 2023 — The thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Speaking as a husband and father, I think St. Paul’s use of the image of labor pains coming upon a pregnant woman is...
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