Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time-A A large portion of advertising dollars goes to relieving or mitigating the suffering of the human condition. These messages claim they can help with physical and mental maladies. Some even claim they can eliminate the pain. Pharmaceutical companies don’t spend the money for nothing; the ads actually work.Not everyone, but … Continue reading Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Me
Author: Raphael Peters
Who Do You Say I Am?
Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time-A Today’s Gospel justifies the papacy. It recalls a moment in Jesus’ ministry when he asked his disciples what they had heard people saying about him. In response, the disciples recalled they thought he was St. John the Baptist; others thought he was the prophet Elijah or Jeremiah or some other … Continue reading Who Do You Say I Am?
Even the Dogs Eat the Scraps
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A This weekend, the task is to reflect on the conversation between Jesus and a Canaanite woman pleading for him to exorcize a demon from her daughter. The encounter occurred when Jesus retreated to the region of Tire and Sidon, presumably to rest and pray. The Canaanite woman called out to … Continue reading Even the Dogs Eat the Scraps
Just a Whisper
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A It was only a whisper, a small sound. Elijah was cowering in a cave because he was miserable. He thought himself a failure and wanted to die. But he was ordered to eat and travel to Horeb, the mountain of God. There he was told the Lord would pass by. … Continue reading Just a Whisper
The Great Miracles
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A Today’s Gospel reading is a recognizable story about the multiplication of loaves and fishes. Some Christian religious commentators have suggested the event wasn’t a miracle Jesus performed. They argue that with only five loaves of bread and two fish, it was impossible to feed five thousand people. They propose that … Continue reading The Great Miracles
Discerning True Treasure
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time- A Just as Jesus used parables to describe the Kingdom of God last week, He uses the same pedagogical mode again. The three images revolve around what is treasured and what is not. Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a treasure buried in a field. After it is … Continue reading Discerning True Treasure
Our Reluctance to Smallness
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A This weekend we are gifted with three of Jesus’ parables. The first is the image of evil people sowing weeds in crop beds, hoping it destroys the yield. In the passage, Jesus will explain this parable, but he does not explain the other two. One of those is the mustard … Continue reading Our Reluctance to Smallness
My Word Shall Not Return to Me Void
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A God does not make mistakes, and everything that emanates from him is providential. The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah is a beautiful, poetic passage. The ancient writer speaks for God and uses analogous language to represent God’s interaction with the world.Isaiah identifies himself as the messenger by starting with … Continue reading My Word Shall Not Return to Me Void
The Truth Revealed to the Little Ones
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary time-A There is an epidemic of hubris running wild in the world today. It is an environment in which subjective truth, even if false, is put forth as truth. The problem stems from a lack of gratefulness and humility. In the modern mind, knowledge passed down from one generation to the … Continue reading The Truth Revealed to the Little Ones
Not Worthy of Me
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A Trying to live a life of discipleship has never been easy. As in life itself, there are good and happy times when it is easy to be prayerful and filled with the Spirit. At other times, a disciple is called to do the hard things, many times in conflict with … Continue reading Not Worthy of Me