REFLECTIONS TODAY The miracles that Jesus performed do not suffice for the Pharisees, and so they ask Jesus for a sign from heaven, which is God’s confirmation of Jesus’ authority and claims. Jesus sees this as their “leaven” of unbelief, hardness of heart, and hostility towards him. Now,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY There is a proverb which states, “There are none so blind as those who won’t see.” Another proverb runs, “The hardest to awaken is the person who pretends to be asleep.” If one’s mind is set on one direction, it will be almost impossible to convince him of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness in today’s world is entitled Gaudete et Exsultate—“Rejoice and leap for joy” (Lk 6:23)—taken from Jesus’ proclamation of the Beatitudes. “Beatitudes” comes from the Latin beati, which translates the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus finds himself in the district of Tyre and then in the district of the Decapolis, both Gentile territories. The cure of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman and the deaf man with speech impediment are favors bestowed on those considered lo-ammi, those who are “not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the 2021 movie CODA (“child of deaf adults”), Ruby, the only hearing member of her family, helps her family’s struggling fishing business while pursuing her own aspirations of being a singer. When she decides to forgo college and join the business full-time,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Fittingly, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated as the World Day of the Sick, for the spring in the Grotto of Massabielle which the Virgin Mary pointed to Bernadette Soubirous has become a famous pilgrimage site for those who ask for physical and spiritual...
REFLECTIONS TODAY As in other societies in the ancient world, it was well understood that the Jewish people would always have the poor with them (Dt 15:11; Mt 26:11). The rich would be found mostly among the influential people, those who drew profit from their post and the favors granted by...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 5:1-11 Douglas C. Lloyd was an American minister and author best known for his historical novel “The Robe,” which hit the screen in 1953 and starred Richard Burton. This novel about the seamless tunic worn by Jesus in his passion was followed by a sequel, which...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Rest (Hebrew shabbath, “to cease” or “to stop”) is not just a cessation from work, strain, or activity. It means primarily to cease from one’s work in order to enjoy the fruit of one’s labors, to be free from anxiety and disturbance. The crown of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ warning against those who will not welcome the Apostles and the message of salvation (Mk 6:11) finds its realization in the action of Herod Antipas. This tetrarch of Galilee, in his better nature, likes to listen to John the Baptist, knowing him to be a righteous and holy...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Since God would send prophets to a rebellious people, Israel, to a nation that has rebelled against him (Ez 2:4), the life of a prophet was never an easy one. In condemning corruption and oppression, idolatry, and wantonness, especially on the part of rulers and the rich, the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Mark breaks his narrative of Jesus’ restoring to life Jairus’ daughter with the story of the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage. This is called “sandwich” technique or intercalation to break a larger narrative. The woman who barges in the crowd is unnamed, unlike the...
