Reflections for Ordinary Time

Yes Christmas is about a baby – and at last, on our fourth Sunday of Advent we finally get to the baby (Lk 1:39-45). In fact not just one baby but two. And perhaps almost more importantly, for this moment, two mothers.  Mary and Elizabeth couldn’t really be more different. Elizabeth is much older, past […]

The Book of Zephaniah that gives us our first reading today is very short, three brief chapters. The first two and a half are a dire prophesy of death and destruction, about to happen in the Babylonian invasion. The final section we hear today (Zep 3:14-18a) couldn’t be more different, giving us the name of

Today’s readings draw heavily on those familiar images of filling valleys and leveling mountains, making straight roads in the wilderness (Bar 5:1-9).  If you’ve been on a road trip and seen a major highway, bridge, or railway under construction you will know the scale of that sort of project. It’s pretty awe inspiring. The ancient

I do find myself feeling a certain amount of sympathy for Pilate in the exchange he has with Jesus in today’s gospel (Jn 18:33b-37). He’s been handed this hot potato by the Jewish leaders, who he trusts about as far as he could throw them. He doesn’t care whether Jesus thinks he’s a king or

Daniel in our first reading (Dn 12:1-3) talks of “a time unsurpassed in distress”. Mark (Mk 13:24-32) recounts Jesus saying: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will

Reading today’s Gospel (Mk 12:38-44) it would be easy to take away the message that we should be giving more to charity. The poor widow is an example to us.  But is that what Jesus was getting at? – give until you’ve got nothing left.  Mark sets the context of the story very clearly. Jesus

We make choices all the time. They range from the trivial (what shall I have for breakfast) to the profound (will I marry this person). Some are so easy to make we don’t even notice ourselves doing it, some we agonize over for days or months.  How do we make that choice, how we reach

Today’s Gospel tells the story of the blind man who was cured because he believed Jesus could and would do that for him (Mk 10:46-52). We can reflect on what got him to that point. He yells out from the back of the crowd. Did he simply think he had nothing to lose? There was

As we start to move towards the end of our church year, the character of our readings at mass changes. Over previous weeks we have focused very much on the teaching Jesus gave to the crowds, to the disciples, to us. Now we start to focus more on Jesus himself – what was happening for

We are familiar with stories like those of Saint Francis and Saint Ignatius who went through dramatic conversion experiences and literally gave everything they had to the poor. Those sorts of examples likely come to mind when we hear today’s Gospel (Mk 10:17-30). But where does that leave us? We are probably more like the