Jesus pulls no punches with the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel. The Scribes were the so called “elite” among the Pharisees because of their knowledge of the Mosaic Law and the traditions added on to it. Both prided themselves on their strict, rigorous observance of the law and the traditions. They…

My Philippine daughter in law, Jessica, will be arriving in the United States for the first time later this week. Like Ruth, in the Old Testament, she has chosen to give up her homeland, her family, the comfort zone of her own culture, to follow her heart and her husband to this…

Today’s celebration of the Eucharist reminds me of the story a woman tells about her 4 year old niece and nephew. She was babysitting the pair one day and for lunch she gave them their favorite food—burritos and apple juice. As she left the room, she heard her young niece start to…

I’m writing today from a camp in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains. There’s no television, no cell phone service and very few full-time neighbors along this forest-lined road. The lake is calm for the moment. My mostly-solitary life here will be ending soon, and I’ll return to the busyness of more…

Peter was a grateful man. Happily married, with two wonderful kids, he was the principal of a high school and had won many accolades for his innovative ideas. Yet, he was unhappy and restless. He felt something was missing in his life. He decided to talk to a counselor, an acquaintance…

The multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, a story of the Eucharist found in today’s Gospel of John, teaches us that the Eucharist is an action. In the Eucharist we are fed by Jesus Himself, and we are sent to serve others. Each of us must be ready to serve each…

In today’s readings as well as the Responsorial, we see the reference to Jesus as the shepherd and we the people as His flock. When I was growing up, I hated the reference to being a sheep and was sure I wanted to be one of the independent thinking goats, not a…

“Jesus summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. So they went off, preached repentance and drove out many demons.” Since we are followers of Jesus, do we have the ability to drive out demons? What are demons anyway? In the…

They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him?” And they took offense at him. Today’s gospel talks about the residents of Jesus’ hometown, and some of their old assumptions about him. They might have heard that he was a healer, a prophet –…

One of my favorite stories from Scripture is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. (Ch 12) Herod has increased his attacks on the early Christian community. He has beheaded James and now Peter is imprisoned – – chained and heavily guarded. The angel comes at night, loosens his chains and quietly…