Weekly Reflections

In 1967, while traveling on an airplane, the Canadian singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell, was deep into a novel entitled, Henderson the Rain King. Early on, the troubled and middle-aged Henderson was on a plane destined for Africa when he looked down and saw clouds. After reading that passage, Mitchell remembered putting down the book, looking out the window and also seeing— clouds. Having received an inspiration, she immediately began composing the song, Both Sides, Now. The song employs a memorable verse to explore different…

Time is a very valuable gift given to us by the Lord. He is the owner of the vineyard where our “fig tree” is growing. It would be absurd to expect the fig tree to determine when its time is up. (Luke 13:1-9)  That right belongs to the owner of the vineyard. Similarly, we don’t decide when our time on earth is up. Regardless of our bearing good fruit or of our sterility; regardless of our preparedness, age, health condition, goodness or lack…

Already bruised by the skirmishes of life, we grown-ups let kids take refuge in a world of dreams, make-believes and incredible feats made easy by super-heroes. We do not want them to be scarred and traumatized by an early brush with the real world in which we must live. Alas, the world of grown-ups reserves many unpleasant surprises. At times, unceremoniously, we can be thrusted into surreal situations in which we would feel numb, disoriented, enveloped in darkness, trudging hesitantly…

We all sense that Lent is a special time of grace from God… but we might think that giving up a few little things for 40 days or so is all that it takes to get in spiritual shape and ready for Easter. Lent is perhaps the most intensely spiritual time of the year but must be so for a more comprehensive and radical reason; one that covers all aspects of life. It is our fundamental choice to be unconditionally…

There is a story of a farmer who lost his watch in his barn. As it had sentimental value, he searched high-and-low among the bales of hay. Eventually, however, he gave up and decided to enlist the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. He promised them that the one who found it would be rewarded. Upon hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through-and-around the stacks of hay but still could not find the…

Are these orders from Jesus (Luke 6: 27-37) a string of exaggerations designed to shock us? NO! We all know very well that Jesus means every single one of these statements, shocking and nearly impossible to implement as they truly are. We know him well enough to realize that these teachings are so “Christ-like,” so incredibly different from conventional wisdom, so radical that they must be divine; they must be filled with Life and designed to fill us with Life…

In 1996, the American singer & songwriter, Sheryl Crow, wrote and performed a song that made its way to the Billboard Top Ten and earned her a Grammy. Entitled If It Makes You Happy, the lyrics go like this… If it makes you happyIt can’t be that badIf it makes you happyThen why the hell are you so sad? Decades later, I surmise that her song (and question) continues to resonate because, despite our success in amassing greater wealth and “things”…

We are swamped with words. Some poisonous like gossip; some devastating like slander; others unsettling like rumors and criticism. Most of them, though, are empty and meaningless, hot air—precisely. How many millions of words have invaded our being this past week? Printed words, broadcast words, casual words from friends and passerby—words, words, and more words. Almost screaming, we take refuge in our churches and say: “No more words…we need facts!” There we get more words. But we do not mind…

But who will endure the day of his coming? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. …He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi… (from the first reading, Malachi 3:1-4) Isn’t it overkill, a pure exaggeration? We are talking about a 40-day-old baby, so cute, so charming. The 2nd reading (Hebrews 2:14-18) sheds light on this obvious discrepancy. It speaks of Jesus’ entire life as spent in obedience to…

The readings for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are about freedom.  From the first reading (Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10) we gather that, after returning from exile, for the first time, in a highly charged atmosphere of deep emotions, the Jews were free to celebrate God’s gift of the Torah (the Law). In the second reading (1 Cor 12:12-30), St. Paul tells us how Jesus freed us from sin through his blood on the cross, and how he has poured his Holy…

In an 1894 letter to her newlywed cousin, St. Therese of Lisieux wrote: “I am asking our Lord to be as generous to you as He was to the bridal pair at Cana. May He invariably change the water into wine! I mean, may He prolong His gift of happiness, and as far as possible sweeten the bitter trials you will meet on your way. Trials! Fancy introducing that word into my letter—how could I?—at a moment when I realize that life for…

Have you ever been given a gift and not opened it? Or, have you ever been given a gift and partially opened it? Years ago, I remember watching the movie, Agnes of God, in which a prosecuting attorney (and lapsed Catholic) was interviewing the mother superior of a convent regarding a potential crime she believed had been committed there. As their relationship deepened, the two found themselves beneath a gazebo on the convent grounds. On a cold, crisp Canadian morning, weather…