Wednesday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time Gen 8:6-13,20-22Mk 8:22-26 A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord. I feel that God has decoded a mystery to me in the scripture readings today – that there is more than one component to having faith in God. The words of the Responsorial Psalm stuck with... Continue Reading →
13 February, Monday — Faith, Unsullied by Pride
Monday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time Gen 4:1-15,25Mk 8:11-13 "God has granted me other offspring... in place of Abel, since Cain has killed him." There are certain seasons in life when we desperately yearn for sweetness and sense-making. In the midst of great disappointments, grave losses and sorrows, we may try our best to... Continue Reading →
9 February, Thursday — One Flesh
Thursday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time Gen 2:18-25Mk 7:24-30 "It is not good that the man should be alone." If you’re ‘doing’ Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz and me (and 142 million others!), then on Day 23 you heard “NO ONE BUILDS A CHAIR ON THEIR OWN”. That line really resonated... Continue Reading →
2 November, Wednesday — Getting up after a fall
Nov 2 – All Souls Day Today we celebrate a feast in commemoration of the faithful departed in purgatory, that is, the faithful departed who have not yet been purified and reached Heaven. After Abbot Odilo of Cluny instituted it in the monasteries of his congregation in 998, other religious orders took up the observance,... Continue Reading →
26 October, Wednesday — Fear and Trembling
Wednesday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time Eph 6: 1-9 Lk 13: 22-30 "Try your best to enter by the narrow door..." In Luke's gospel today, Jesus had some acerbic words to the question of who will be saved. What Jesus said implies that the path to salvation is not going to be an easy one. We know... Continue Reading →
28 March, Monday — Simple Faith, A Faith beyond Crisis
Monday of the 4th Week of Lent Isa 65:17-21Jn 4:43-54 “So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!” It is usually easy to take someone familiar for granted. Whether it be a long time friend, family or relative. It is as the gospel reading tells us today: For Jesus himself testified that... Continue Reading →
4 March, Friday — Sacrifice and Service
Friday after Ash Wednesday Isa 58:1-9Mt 9:14-15 "I am here." Today is the first Friday of the six Fridays of Lent. Day of fasting. Day of sacrifice. In six weeks, it will be Good Friday. On Friday, 15 April, as you look back, what will this Lent look like? Will this be a/the Lent that transforms you? One that you... Continue Reading →
21 January, Friday – Not just the Twelve
21 Jan – Memorial for St. Agnes, virgin and martyr At the age of 12 or 13, St. Agnes was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and lose her virginity by rape. She was taken to a Roman temple to Minerva (Athena), and when led to the altar, she made the Sign of the Cross. She... Continue Reading →
17 January, Monday — Obedience
17 Jan – Memorial for St. Anthony, abbot Following the death of his parents when he was about 20, St. Anthony (251-356) ensured that his sister completed her education, then sold his house, furniture, and the land he owned, gave the proceeds to the poor, joined the anchorites who lived nearby, and moved into an empty sepulchre.... Continue Reading →
22 August, Sunday – True Love
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Jos 24:1-2,15-18Eph 5:25-32Jn 6:60-69 …Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her… I remember speaking with a colleague years ago about marriage and we were discussing about the challenges that married couples go through. I cannot remember much of this conversation, but I do remember how it ended. “If it... Continue Reading →
OXYGEN 