Wednesday of Week 15 in Ordinary Time Is 10:5-7,13–16Mt 11:25-27 “… for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” I have always been interested in learning about what it means to be ‘childlike’, since it can easily be confused with the term ‘childish’. Childlike-ness could refer to... Continue Reading →
16 July, Tuesday — Struggling to see with the eyes of faith
Jul 16 – Memorial for Our Lady of Mount Carmel The Church celebrates on this day the feast of the Scapular of Mount Carmel. The scapular, which derives its name from the Latin word scapulæ, meaning shoulders, is a dress which covers the shoulders. It is best known among as the name of two little... Continue Reading →
23 May, Thursday — Addressing Temptation
Thursday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time Jas 5:1-6Mk 9:41-50 And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye... I had originally found today’s Gospel passage unsettling and fear-inducing because I had read it literally. Fortunately, I... Continue Reading →
21 May, Tuesday – Learning how to ask correctly
May 21 – Saint Christopher Magallanes and his Companions St. Cristóbal Magallanes Jara was born in the state of Jalisco in Mexico, in 1869. He was ordained priest at the age of 30, and became parish priest of his home town of Totatiche. He took a special interest in the evangelization of the local indigenous Huichol... Continue Reading →
21 February, Wednesday — Learning from Jonah and the Ninevites
21 Feb – Memorial for St. Peter Damian, bishop and doctor St. Peter Damian (1007-1072) was the youngest child in a large family. When he was orphaned, he was sent to live with a brother where he was mistreated and forced to work as a swine-herd. He cared for another brother, a priest in Ravenna,... Continue Reading →
17 February, Saturday — Responding continuously to Jesus’ call
Saturday after Ash Wednesday Is 58:9-14Lk 5:27-32 Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting at the customs house, and said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he got up and followed him. I always wonder why and how Levi, also known as Matthew, was able to immediately follow Jesus. Perhaps he had... Continue Reading →
16 February, Friday — Who are we fasting for?
Friday after Ash Wednesday Is 58:1-9Mt 9:14-15 They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw near. “Why should we fast if you never see it? Why do penance if you never notice?” Today, as the first Friday after Ash Wednesday, will probably be the day I am the keenest... Continue Reading →
10 December, Sunday — How have I responded to God in the past year?
2nd Sunday of Advent Is 40:1-5,9-112 Pet 3:8-14Mk 1:1-8… with the Lord, 'a day' can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all … It... Continue Reading →
28 November, Tuesday — Remembering that all things shall pass
Tuesday of Week 34 in Ordinary Time Dan 2:31-45Lk 21:5-11 “...the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.” Today’s readings have a sombre consistency in their focus on how everything will eventually be destroyed. They remind me of a book I read earlier this year,... Continue Reading →
18 October, Wednesday — Being unprepared for the journey
Oct 18 – Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist St. Luke (d. 74) was born to pagan Greek parents, and possibly a slave. He was one of the earliest converts, and a physician studying in Antioch and Tarsus. He probably travelled as a ship’s doctor, and many charitable societies of physicians are named after him.... Continue Reading →
OXYGEN 