What do you seek in your life?  What is the ultimate goal you seek to fulfill?  It’s important to consider this very important question as we got through life and today’s readings help us answer it.  In our first reading, there’s a lot of reference to seeking.  The reading personifies Wisdom as a woman who is sought by those who love her.  Wisdom – clearly the Wisdom of God – is described as a gracious woman who hastens to make herself known and who sits by the gate of those […]

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, a celebration that offers a glimpse of what awaits all who remain faithful to Christ.  We don’t often celebrate this feast on a Sunday; it happens only every five or six years.  This is a wonderful opportunity for us reflect on “what love the Father has bestowed on us” because we are “called the children of God,” as we hear so clearly proclaimed in today’s second reading.

On this day, we experience the hope of unity, of wholeness.  We find hope in the […]

What is love? Each of us probably has our own understanding of love, as well as varying experiences of loving or being loved. We need love as much as we need the air we breathe.  So, it’s important to ask ourselves: what is love?  Is it just an emotion, or a virtue?  Is it chemistry or a psychological commitment, or is it a rational decision?  As Catholics we will find the answer by looking to Jesus and his teachings.  And, as you know, Jesus came to fulfill the law and […]

Wow – those scribes and Pharisees were slow to learn, weren’t they!?!  Over the past three weeks, we’ve heard Jesus try to open their eyes to their disobedience, avarice and indifference toward God and neighbor and today, instead of repenting and turning back to God, we hear them double down and plot against him.  Let’s quickly review.  Three Sundays ago, we heard Jesus speak to them through the parable of the man who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard.  You’ll recall that the first son said […]

As we listened to today’s Gospel, it was easy for us to imagine why such strong tension developed between Jesus and the Jewish chief priests and elders.  Jesus presented this parable right after he presented the one we heard last week about the two sons, one of whom said he would go to work in the vineyard but didn’t and the other who said he wouldn’t go but did.  In both of these parables, the owner of the vineyard is clearly God.  In both stories, we can see that Jesus […]

We are all familiar with the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Our readings today teach this very lesson very well.  In our Gospel today, we hear the parable about two sons who are called by their father to work in the vineyard.  Of course, we all recognize that Jesus is teaching us about God, our heavenly Father, who calls us to work in his vineyard. The first son says “I will not,” but changes his mind and goes.  The second says “Yes, sir”, but doesn’t go after all.  And […]

Today, we hear some very important readings teaching us about the infinite power of God’s love demonstrated in one of the most important gifts of our faith: the gift of forgiveness.  It’s a gift we all need and one that we all need to learn to share generously.  We started our Eucharistic celebration admitting that we are all sinners and we need God’s merciful forgiveness.  “Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy,” we all said together as we recognized God’s merciful love demonstrated so clearly through his son’s […]

One of the many aspects of our faith that I find so compelling is the clarity of its teachings about how we are to live.  Today’s readings remind us of an important teaching of our faith.  It is found as one of God’s first teachings recorded in the Bible – in the Book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible.  Encountering Cain after he has slain his brother, Abel, God makes very clear to Cain that we are our brother’s keeper. Behind this commandment to care about our […]

“No pain, no gain” – we’re all familiar with that slogan.  It’s a very well-worn admonition that reminds us of the fact that some pain is almost always required in order to accomplish what is important in life.  It’s often used in reference to exercise or sports training but the saying holds true with regard to growing in our love for the Lord and living as faithful disciples of Jesus as well.

In our first reading this morning, we are given a look into the heart of the prophet Jeremiah, and […]

The people of ancient Israel believed that they were God’s Chosen people; they were special and holy in God’s eyes.  They were forbidden to associate with Gentiles.  They were not to do business with them or even pass through their towns.  And yet, we hear in all four of the Gospels that Jesus often associated with Gentiles.  It was one of the many strikes against him by the time he was led out to the cross.  But, it was also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and clearly an essential […]