The Carmelite feast of Blessed Titus Brandsma
July 27, 2017

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is well known as one of the martyrs of the Second World War.  Less well known is a Carmelite priest who was martyred at Dachau on July 26, 1942.  As the Carmelite orders celebrate his feast today, we can learn from his life, admire his death, and ask his living intercession before God’s throne. Continue reading →

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 20:1-17  +  Matthew 13:18-23
July 28, 2017

“‘But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it….’”

If you work on a computer you know that how many things one can do with them.  They can help us with our homework, with our finances, with preparing a talk, with sending messages and pictures to our loved ones by email.  The list seems endless. Continue reading →

Divine Intimacy § 241 is titled “Faith”.
The following reflection is based upon Father Gabriel’s meditation:

Faith, like hope and caritas, is called a “theological” virtue because “God” is the virtue’s object.  But faith and hope differ from caritas in one important regard.  To get at this difference, we can appropriate terms from the field of language. Continue reading →

Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 19:1-2,9-11,16-20  +  Matthew 13:10-17
July 27, 2017

“‘…knowledge of the mysteries… has been granted to you, but to them it has not….’”

When the disciples in today’s Gospel passage ask Jesus why He speaks to “the crowd” in parables, He responds with what we might call a “theology of parables”.  Jesus contrasts the disciples with the crowd.  The disciples, He explains, have been granted “knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven”.  But the crowd has not.  Jesus also points out that the crowd “look but do not see” and “hear but do not listen or understand”.  So given this two-fold deficit on the part of the crowd, why is it fitting for Jesus to speak to them in parables? Continue reading →

Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Exodus 16:1-5,9-15  +  Matthew 13:1-9
July 26, 2017

“And He spoke to them at length in parables….”

Jesus paints four illustrations in today’s parable.  The first three are pictures of the sower laboring in vain, because of “the path, rocky ground”, and “thorns”.  Only the fourth illustration describes seed falling “on rich soil”, producing “fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Continue reading →

Divine Intimacy § 239 is titled “Divine Providence”.
The following reflection is based upon Father Gabriel’s meditation:

When we reflect on Divine Providence as one of the divine perfections, we naturally think of Salvation History.  But we might wonder, what would Divine Providence have looked like throughout history, had Adam and Eve never committed the Original Sin, and had all their progeny also never sinned?  Surely God’s Providence still would have been at work, but certainly it would have manifested itself in a much different manner. Continue reading →

St. James, Apostle
2 Corinthians 4:7-15  +  Matthew 20:20-28
July 25, 2017

“…so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Today we celebrate the feast of the apostle James.  But two of the apostles were named James.  The apostle whose feast we celebrate today is usually called “James the Greater”.  This James was the brother of St. John the Apostle. Continue reading →

The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [A] *
Wis 12:13,16-19  +  Rom 8:26-27  +  Mt 13:24-43
July 23, 2017

“‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Weeds and wheat.  Jesus’ parable today is simple.  But like the grain of wheat itself, it can bear much fruit.  Jesus told us that He came into this world so that we might have life, and have it abundantly.  But accepting that gift of life is challenging at times for every follower of Jesus, especially for those called to the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

By way of example, consider three different married couples, each facing a different situation.

First, John and Mary have just gotten married.  They are excited about settling down and starting their new life together.  They want to raise a family eventually, but are not in a financial position to begin right away.  They figure that they will be ready to have children in about two years. Continue reading →

Monday of Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 14:5-18  +  Matthew 12:38-42
July 24, 2017

“‘…there is something greater than Solomon here.’”

If one were to choose a saying of Our Lord from elsewhere in the Gospel to summarize His point in today’s Gospel passage, the following would be a possibility:  “Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required” [Luke 12:48].  A more mundane way to express Jesus’ disapproval of the request for a sign would be to say that the scribes and Pharisees don’t know what they’re asking for.  It’s dangerous to ask for a sign, because with the sign comes a responsibility. Continue reading →