Sunday Reflections

Unfortunately sometimes we can be overcome by sleep, perhaps when we have not had a good night of rest.  As we begin the Advent Season, this season of grace, we are told to "keep awake!"  Keep awake for what?  To keep awake to recognize and respond to the action of God here and now.  How sad to live with the sentiment of "If only I had …"!  Too often we do not recognize the ways of the Lord and miss the opportunity to do God's will.  We also then fail to help others to recognize, accept and do God's will.  Our Advent season is a time to prepare for the cel

The definition of a “King” is the sole and absolute ruler of a kingdom holding a position of great power and majesty. How did the people in Pilate’s time perceive Pilate? As someone rich, powerful, dominating, and manipulative? How did the people perceive Jesus? After all, “he was born in a stable”.  Someone who associated with tax-collectors, sinners and prostitutes. He avoided all show of earthly power and authority. You would expect kings to receive important people and dignitaries. Jesus was a humble king who received the lowly and rejected people of his era.

               I still remember my first Easter Vigil as we stood in the darkness of the chapel, only to be enveloped by the ever growing light of all the candles lit from the Paschal candle.   The receding darkness provided the setting for the Easter Proclamation: “Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!  Sound the trumpet of salvation!

The motto of the Scouts is "Be prepared!"  Our gospel of this weekend shows us the result of not being prepared.  The foolish virgins did not take seriously their responsibility to the groom, and let him down.  If we do not take seriously our responsibilities to the Lord, we let him down.  When we see our faith life as a relationship with God it is easy to gauge our response to God, just as we can with our interpersonal human relationships.  However, if we see our faith life as 'out there', about rules and structures, then we can easily lose track (or interest) in o

Of all of the evils that confronted Jesus, one of the greatest was hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the deliberate misleading pose by which we imply to others that we live one way when in actual fact we really live another way.

The Charism Statement of the Congregation of the Resurrection maintains that we are called “to respond with great love to the Father’s great love for us” and “to work together for the resurrection of society, bringing his life and love to all.” In these statements, we find the great commandments of Christ to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our minds, and to love our neighbor as our self.

As followers of Jesus we are 'in' the world, but not 'of' the world.  St.

What would your reaction be if you woke up one morning to receive a genuine invitation from any of the following world figures: President Trump, Pope Francis, the Queen of England, etcetera, asking you to join them for a dinner party in a couple of days time? How much happier would you be if the invitation reads: “Your visa is ready for the journey, and everything you need would be made available to you?” Today God hands out an invitation to everyone of us.

The Gospel text has truly shaped Christian attitudes and is one of the texts that has been the basis for a scheme of thought that played a dominant role in Christian theology and devotion for a long period of time. It could be briefly formulated this way: Israel, by murdering the Son of God, lost its election. Its role as people of God and instrument of salvation history was thrown away.  God chose a new people, namely the Church. This new people have replaced the old.

Some of the parables of Jesus are called 'mirror' parables, because they invite us to look in the mirror and find out what we look like.  This gospel, of the two sons, is just such an opportunity.  We may identify ourselves, and others, with these two brothers and their response (or lack of it) to the father (the Father).  Only one of them did as the father commanded, although his initial response was disappointing.  The other said what the father wanted to hear, but then did nothing.