Each day it would appear that the widow only had “a handful of flour” and “a bit of oil” left, and she would have to renew her trust that the Lord would, indeed, continue the miracle. How often He acts the same way with us! God always gives us the grace we need for today – but not for tomorrow!
Read MoreObedience to God is not a matter of force, but of peaceful surrender; He wishes to form us, not to destroy us! “See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine,” as the Responsorial Psalm asserts.
Read MorePs. 54 is a song of lament, but all of a sudden we see David breaking forth into thanksgiving and praise. He is so confident in the Lord’s deliverance that he begins his thanksgiving while still undergoing trial!
Read MoreVery often in our day, obedience to God’s law is portrayed as blind, unthinking anti-intellectualism. However, Moses here insists that the opposite is true! Secular society may paint religion as childish, but the example of saints throughout history proves that mature obedience to God and His commandments is ultimately the path of “wisdom and intelligence.”
Read MoreJesus is the Son of God, the all-holy One, and we find Him weeping at the tomb of a friend, passionately decrying abuses of the Temple, and – in this Sunday’s Gospel – being “moved with compassion” at the sight of those in need.
Read MoreGod does not ask us to “fix” our own weakness, but to bring our brokenness to Him, humbly admitting that we can do nothing without Him. It is at times like this, when we are faced with the reality of our own weakness, that He calls us to take the sometimes-scary step of total trust in Him
Read More…This story shows God’s utterly personal love. Jesus is fully attentive to both situations, seeing the individuals rather than just the task to be done. In His Divine wisdom and providence, He uses this situation for the benefit of both.
Read MoreWhen we are “anchored” in Him, though He may not always take away the storm, we are able to maintain peace of heart even as the wind and waves rage. Saint after Saint testifies to the fact that the Lord wishes to bring us to this deep peace, which paradoxically becomes more obvious when we are undergoing external or even emotional/spiritual distress. God Himself is our “harbor,” and by dwelling in Him we can weather any storm.
Read MoreIt is actually an act of God’s infinite mercy to humble us when we begin to rely too much on ourselves. He does not cast us from our self-made thrones simply to leave us in misery; rather, He does this so that we can become one of the lowly whom He raises high. The Lord wants our happiness and glory with all His Heart, but He knows that we as creatures can only achieve this fulfillment on His terms.
Read MoreWe no longer live a merely earthly existence, since Christ has claimed our souls for His Kingdom through the Sacrament of Baptism, but we still await the fulfillment of this reality in the world to come. So while we do not yet experience the Beatific Vision, we nonetheless are connected to Heaven in an amazingly intimate way.
Read MoreThe readings for this Sunday are all focused on the mystery of love – God’s love for us, and our love for Him and for our neighbor. Such a seemingly basic topic is actually the profoundest mystery of our Christian religion. After all, as our Second Reading reminds us, “God is love”!
Read MoreThe Paschal Mystery in us is both a preparation for and a foretaste of the Trinitarian life of Heaven: we live the Passion by giving of ourselves, and the Resurrection by receiving the grace that God pours out in return.
Read MoreOne Sister was particularly struck by the emphasis which Jesus lays on the sheep being His “own.” In a sense, this must be our primary identity; we must first and foremost remember that we are His, and that as such we are infinitely precious to Him.
Read MoreWhen we approach the Word of God, do we recognize that it is truly a grace to understand it as God intends us to? Biblical exegesis and research can do much for us, and they certainly have an important place in Scripture study, but ultimately the ability to penetrate the deeper meaning of the sacred texts is a gift from the One Whose Word they are.
Read MoreGod’s Word is infinitely rich, and even though we hear the same Scriptures over and over again during the 3-year Lectionary cycle, we will never exhaust their treasures. Sometimes, for instance, familiar passages suddenly come alive with new meaning when we are facing a particular challenge. This was certainly the case for us as we pondered this Sunday’s readings in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreSt. Paul’s words to the Corinthians are the earliest record of Christian men and women voluntarily foregoing marriage “for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven,” as Our Lord Himself suggested. Nearly two thousand years later, God is still calling people to this special state of life, one that is focused on becoming “holy in body and in spirit.”
Read MorePope Francis has declared this the “Sunday of the Word of God” – a special time to study the Scriptures and grow in our love for them. This theme inspired the first part of our sharing for this week, as we pondered how each of the readings emphasizes the power of God’s Word in our lives and in salvation history.
Read More“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon …’” What was this “look” of Jesus like? What did the future head of the Apostles see in the eyes of the Incarnate Word on that fateful day? What love, what eagerness was in Jesus’ Heart as He saw the glorious future in store for the simple fisherman before Him!
Read MoreIn the season of Advent, we are called to enter mystically into the faithful Jews’ experience of waiting and trusting in God’s faithfulness. This applies not only to our preparation for Christmas, but most especially to our anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ, the ultimate hope of our faith.
Read MoreOur whole life as Christians could be described as “already, but not yet” – of rejoicing in salvation already wrought, while still looking expectantly for its completion. And while sorrow is an inescapable reality in this life, the comfort that God so joyously proclaims through Isaiah truly does penetrate even the darkest hour.
Read More
