When we receive the Lord (Pope St. John Paul II / St. Francis de Sales)

When we receive the Lord
in Holy Communion,
he also receives us.

--Pope St. John Paul II

    The beauty of the Church is due to the admirable union of all its members, spread across the entire face of the world. 

    Now, the Blessed Sacrament is the center and principle of this union: it unites minds in one same belief, hearts in one same love, and wills in the same virtues. We are all nourished by the same bread, that heavenly bread of the Most Holy Sacrament, the partaking of which is called Communion; this signifies the common union that we ought all to share, a union without which we do not merit the name of children of God, since we do not obey Him. The very matter of the Sacrament—composed of grains of wheat united into a single loaf of bread, and of grapes blended into a single wine—expresses and symbolizes this union. 

   Let us pray: It matters little to me, O my God, how You come to me in this divine Sacrament; it suffices that I believe with absolute certainty that it is You Yourself—Your true Body, Your Blood, Your Soul, and Your Divinity; that it is the mystery of the most intimate union and communion that Your love could devise to unite Yourself to us and to impart to us the most precious gifts of Your divine love. Thus do I believe, O my dearest Savior. In this disposition, come, unite Yourself to me, and take possession of my heart. 

--St. Francis de Sales,
Spiritual Conferences,
On the Eucharist, III, 5

Image source: https://aleteia.org/2024/10/23/how-the-sacred-heart-devotion-is-intensely-eucharistic/
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To bind and to loose (Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

      The Christian power to bind and loose is the power to bind and loose in conscience, in truth, in goodness, and in love. When I refuse to forgive another, when I hold a grudge, I am acting not as the Body of Christ, nor as an agent of grace, but precisely as part of the very chain of sin and helplessness that Christ was trying to break. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser,
Facebook, January 14, 2026 

Image source: Joseph-Fortuné-Séraphin Layraud, Joseph se fait reconnaître par ses frères / Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brothers (1863), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Layraud#/media/File:Fortun%C3%A9_Layraud_Joseph_se_fait_reconna%C3%AEtre_par_ses_fr%C3%A8res.JPG

Hearing the Scriptures proclaimed in church (St. Ignatius of Loyola / Jon Stotts)

Every Mass is an opportunity
to draw closer to God.

--St. Ignatius of Loyola

    The Scriptures connect us to God, and Christ becomes present to us in a distinctive way when the Scriptures are proclaimed at Mass. Because we believe that the Scriptures are the Word of God given to us in writing, we trust that God speaks to us in them. This is true whether we’re reading the Bible privately, discussing a passage with a small group, or hearing the Sunday readings in church. 

    That said, I think that something special happens when we gather together in faith to listen to someone proclaim the Scriptures to us, something that doesn’t occur as readily when we’re reading privately or even taking part in a Bible study. My claim is that Christ becomes present to us in a special way when we hear the Scriptures in church because of how our intentions — what we anticipate and what we desire — are shaped by the liturgy. 

    To “read aloud” is simply to vocalize the words on the page, and anyone who happens to be listening might hear. But to “proclaim” is to communicate what has been written to an intended group of listeners. The lector proclaims the readings as a message intended for someone in particular: the assembled body of believers, gathering in Jesus’ name to hear the Word of God. 

    This is why hearing the Scriptures proclaimed in Church connects us to the presence of Christ in a special way. When we listen to the lector, we become conscious of ourselves gathered together as God’s intended audience: this assembled body, on this day, in this space. The reading of the Scriptures becomes an event in the life of the Church. 

    Here’s how Dei Verbum, Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, puts it: “For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her children, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life” (n. 21). 

    When we listen to the Scripture proclaimed to us, we remember again who we are and who God has called us to be. 

--Jon Stotts

 

Source of images: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1434956835336393&type=3
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 23, 2026: I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven...

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven…
How do we gain access to the Lord? 

    In the time of the prophet Isaiah, anyone who wanted access to the king needed to go through an official known as the master of the palace who was caretaker for the people and a conduit of information from the people to the king. But Isaiah writes that Shebna, entrusted with this role, has failed in his duty. Because Shebna has not served the needs of either the king or the people, the Lord will place the key of the House of David on another, one who will ostensibly do a better of job of facilitating the people’s access to their king. 

    The key of which Jesus speaks in Matthew’s Gospel also involves access, though of another sort. When Jesus asks his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?, Peter’s proclamation is in fact God’s revelation: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus is God’s revelation; Jesus is also the key that will restore humankind’s access to God through his death and rising. When Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Peter and his fellow disciples now have a firm foundation from which to facilitate people’s access to God: the authority to teach and preach and bring the power of God’s love to bear on the world. 

    The Church is founded upon the revelation of God through his Son Jesus. Throughout the centuries, the Church has sought to reveal God to the world, and that revelation depends on what knowledge is loosed and what knowledge is bound on earth. And often, we think we have gathered all we need to know about God. But, as Paul reminds the Romans, God is profoundly beyond our comprehension: Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! 

    Yet God does reveal himself to us if we are open to listening and to participating in the Eucharist that is our most profound revelation of the living Christ among us, a truth we see by faith, the action of God in union with the Spirit and in union with Christ. The Mass itself is that revelation, a celebration of our union with him, and good reason to, as Psalm 138 exhorts us, give thanks to you, O Lord, with all our hearts and worship at God’s holy temple! We may not be able to plumb the depth of the riches of God, but surely we can open to his revelation among us, daily!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Valuing each person (Pope Leo XIV)

 Todos, todos, todos...
--Pope Francis

    This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people. 

--Pope Leo XIV 

Image source: https://www.osvnews.com/see-what-missionaries-say-pope-leos-africa-trip-was-really-all-about/ 
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There is a place for all of them (Henri Nouwen)

Dear God,

As you draw me ever deeper into your heart,
I discover that my companions on the
journey are women and men
loved by you as fully and as intimately as I am.
In your compassionate heart,
there is a place for all of them.
No one is excluded.
Give me a share in your compassion, dear God,
so that your unlimited love may become visible
in the way I love my brothers and sisters.

Amen. 

                  --Henri Nouwen

Image source 1: Plautilla Nelli, Last Supper, detail, (1550s), https://angelusnews.com/voices/relating-to-jesus-and-christ/
Image source 2: https://holyfaithcatholicchurch.org/journey/companions-on-the-journey/
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Not according to categories (Rev. Eston Williams / Pope Francis)

At the end of the day,
I’d rather be excluded for those I include,
than included for those I exclude.

 --Rev. Eston Williams

     God’s great freedom in giving himself to us represents a challenge and an exhortation to modify our behaviours and our relationships. It is the invitation which Jesus addresses to us today. He calls us not to think according to the categories of ‘friend/enemy’, ‘us/them’, ‘those who are in/those who are out’, ‘mine/yours’, but rather to go beyond, to open our heart in order to be able to recognize God’s presence and action, even in unusual and unpredictable environments that are not part of our circle. 

--Pope Francis

Image source: Look carefully at the “tiles” of this mosaic. Each is a picture of a member of a larger group – a very diverse group! https://www.christchurch-southgate.org/home/inclusive-church/
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The pivot point of our faith (Fr. Patrick Michaels)

    The term pivot point is used in basketball: the player grounds one foot in place and then spins, looking around for an opening to throw the ball. But you have to remain grounded, because if you move, it’s a foul, and once you start traveling, it’s all over. 

    The pivot point of our faith is the Jesus Christ came to manifest the love of God for all people. That is the one place we need to keep our foot grounded, because if we don’t, we lose track of what we’re about. We lose sight of who we are and who we’re with. 

    It’s easy to get people off track if they don’t maintain their pivot point, if they don’t maintain their grounding in one thing. Our faith is in the power of the love of God to transform our world. It’s in the fact that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were effective at bringing salvation and making it available to all people. 

    When we believe this, when we stay focused in this, we cannot in fact then land in our divisions. 

    We are a Church divided, divided because we all think we know who’s right, and yet the one “right” gets lost in it all. Jesus Christ is our focus. Jesus Christ is what unites us. He is the source of our communion. 

    We live in a country divided, because we have forgotten what we have in common, and part of that is because we’ve had to move into a correctness that isn’t allowed to say, United Under God. There was a time when the United States was united under God, and therefore Jews and Muslims and Christians could actually all get along, if they chose to, because they had one grounding. 

    But even if the rest of the world, even if the rest of the Church, doesn’t stay grounded, we need to. For that is when our Eucharist and our worship are effective in our lives and make them something in this world that will help transform it. When we stay focused in that love of Christ, that love of God revealed in him, when that becomes our pivot point, everything doesn’t necessarily make sense, but it all comes into proper focus. 

    What truly does unite us, if we allow it to do so? His infinite love for each of us. This is when we are free to do his will: when we are set free by his love for us. 

--Fr. Patrick Michaels,
Homily, May 21, 2026

Image source: https://brobible.com/sports/article/steph-curry-travel-warriors-mavs-reaction/

We can be the woman who is Ark of the Covenant (Danielle Harrison)

    Mary is the embodiment of what it means to continually say “yes.” And this feast day shows us what is possible for all of us when we can continually say “yes” to God. 

    Right before Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, she had this remarkable moment with the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. It's her first ‘yes.’ And notice that Mary does not stop and just sit in that. She could have. But instead, she looks out to see where she can have an impact, where she can be of service to someone else. She doesn't wait for Elizabeth to come to see her. She goes and travels to be hospitable, to be caring, to be in community with Elizabeth. And so, we have that great scene where they meet, John leaps in the womb, and Mary and Elizabeth are filled with joy. And then Mary goes into this beautiful song of praise. And I have to think that that song held her throughout her journey, her life journey. Reminding her that: ‘yes, even though this beautiful gift has been given to me, it's not going to be easy. But I know who I am, and I know that God knows who I am.’ 

    My sisters and brothers, we look in the world today and we see… What do we see? We could dwell in the uncertainty and confusion and pain and strife and the negative. Or we can take our ‘yeses’ to what God is calling us to do and go into the marketplace of the world - whether that's the marketplace of our homes, the marketplace in our communities, the marketplace in a global situation - and be that good news. We can go and do those visits. We can go and be hospitable and caring and loving. 

   In essence, we can be the woman who is the Ark of the Covenant, the New Covenant, that we carry Christ within us. And as we carry Christ, we bring Christ in what we say and what we do and how we live and how we be. 

    Let's keep saying “yes.” So that at the end of our journey, we too are assumed. We too are brought close to the One who has always held us close. Amen. 

--Danielle Harrison

Today is the Solemnity of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Image source: Salvator Dalí, The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949), about which the artist said: “Modern physics has revealed to us increasingly the dematerialization which exists in all nature and that is the reason why the material body of my Madonna does not exist and why in place of a torso you find a tabernacle 'filled with Heaven.'” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madonna_of_Port_Lligat#/media/File:The_Madonna_of_Port_Lligat.jpg
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A heart open to universal embrace (Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

Todos, todos, todos... 

--Pope Francis

    We cannot sit at the heavenly banquet table if we are still selective as to whom we can sit down with. If, in the next life, like here in this life, we are selective as to whom we love and embrace, then heaven would be the same as earth, with factions, bitterness, grudges, hurt, and every kind of racism, sexism, nationalism, and religious fundamentalism keeping us all in our separate silos. We can only sit at the heavenly banquet when our hearts are wide enough to embrace everyone else at the table. Heaven demands a heart open to universal embrace. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI 

Image source: https://parishableitems.com/2023/10/14/gods-invitation/
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 16, 2026: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples...

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples…
Who are we to set limits on God’s love and mercy? 

    The Scriptures make it clear: God’s salvation is for all. Why is that so hard for us to accept? From the time of the prophet Isaiah to the Incarnation of Jesus, God has made it clear: even the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord will be brought to God’s holy mountain. All are welcome! My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples, God insists. As the people of Israel return from exile, God wants them to understand that community will be restored and all will be welcome, so long as they are ready to participate in covenant and embrace God’s justice, which is about to be revealed. Psalm 67 reinforces this promise of inclusion: So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. 

    At first glance, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ visit to the region of Tyre and Sidon might seem to belie the promise of inclusion we see in Isaiah. When confronted with a Canaanite woman who persistently seeks to speak to Jesus, his disciples say, Send her away! And Jesus appears to confirm this desire to exclude her: I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he says, not to the Gentiles of Canaan! The scene takes a disturbing turn when Jesus follows this up with, It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs. But in fact, Jesus wants to make this a lesson to the disciples, and so he recognizes the Canaanite woman in her need: O woman, great is your faith! Stop setting limits on my ministry, he is instructing the disciples. Don’t narrow my scope, for I will go beyond any boundaries you set and provide what you consider beyond the possible. 

    In his Letter to the Romans, Paul identifies himself as the apostle to the Gentiles, but this time, he’s reminding them that God sent Jesus for all: the Jewish people too may now receive mercy, Paul says, because the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. God does not take God’s covenants back. The unity we see is not an easy path, but so long as we don’t attempt to set restrictions on God’s mercy, so long as we embrace God’s all-inclusive promise, Jesus will provide what is beyond the possible… for all! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Jesus stretches out his hand (Andrew Peterson / Suzanne)

The world is whispering -- listen, child! --

The world is telling a tale.

When the seafoam froths in the water wild

Or the fendril flies in the gale,

When the sky is made with the swirling storm

And thunder shakes the hall,

Child, keep watch for the passing form

Of the One who made it all.

--Armulyn, Royal Bard of the Shining Isle,

in The Wingfeather Saga

by Andrew Peterson

    So often, when we falter, it can be hard to imagine that God wants us back, that God’s infinite love remains available to us, if we are open to it. 

    Look at Peter in the boat: he falters, though perhaps excusably so. When the disciples see Jesus walking toward them on the sea, they are terrified; only Peter is brave enough challenge their fear: Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water… And when Jesus summons him, Peter does stand and leave the boat, walking on water himself! It is ostensibly a brave act, a courageous move. 

    But then Peter falters – why? Because the wind is strong? Because his faith is weak? Because he doubts? Does it matter? 

    Here’s the thing, though: Jesus put the disciples on that boat, to travel alone… Jesus had a plan! It’s almost as if Jesus sets this up so that he has the very opportunity Peter seizes on: the opportunity to call them to himself! 

    I think sometimes we don’t realize quite how close, how often God calls us, and how near God wants us to himself – not just in the intimacy of quiet prayer, but in true and regular contact. Notice that, when Peter begins to sink, Jesus stretches out his hand and catches him. He takes him by the hand! Can you imagine? It’s almost as if Jesus sends them out so that he can say: Take courage! It is I… Do not be afraid! 

    Like Peter, we have all been called by name by the Lord, invited into relationship, and restored, daily, when we fail. That invitation comes not just once in a lifetime, not even just once a day, but every minute, in every choice we make, in every smile we see, in every fear we face, in every voice we hear… 

    Will we falter? Perhaps. But if we do, we can rest assured, Jesus is there, waiting, ready to call us and draw us near... 

--Suzanne T.,
OLMC Communion Service Reflection,
August 2, 2016

Image source: François Boucher, St. Peter Attempts to Walk on Water, Versailles (ca. 1764),  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Pierre_tentant_de_marcher_sur_les_eaux_by_Fran%C3%A7ois_Boucher.jpg
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Our windy, earthquaking, fiery lives (Henri Nouwen)

    I am not saying there is an easy solution to our ambivalent relationship with God. Solitude is not a solution. It is a direction. The direction is pointed to by the prophet Elijah, who did not find Yahweh in the mighty wind, the earthquake, the fire, but in the still, small voice; this direction, too, is indicated by Jesus, who chose solitude as the place to be with his Father. 

    Every time we enter into solitude we withdraw from our windy, earthquaking, fiery lives and open ourselves to the great encounter. The first thing we often discover in solitude is our own restlessness, our drivenness, and compulsiveness, our urge to act quickly, to make an impact, and to have influence; and often we find it very hard to withstand the temptation to return as quickly as possible to the world of “relevance.” 

    But when we persevere with the help of a gentle discipline, we slowly come to hear the still, small voice and to feel the gentle breeze, and so come to know the Lord of our heart, soul, and mind, the Lord who makes us see who we really are. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: https://theconversation.com/being-alone-has-its-benefits-a-psychologist-flips-the-script-on-the-loneliness-epidemic-250742 
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Fear can feel immense (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

    There is something in all of us that longs for “the other side.” We think the grass is greener on the other side. We want to explore new shores... and it can make us restless. Like the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee, we sense we are not meant to stay where we are; we are drawn forward, called onward, invited to a new shore. And yet, the moment we set out, the waters are rarely calm. Winds rise. The sea grows restless. Darkness gathers. Every new step, every new calling, every new job, every new house we move into, every change seems to bring with it resistance, uncertainty, even fear. we are excited on one hand, but on the other hand we are afraid. 

    It is precisely there, in the middle of the struggle, in the middle of the changes that Christ comes. Not when all is calm, but when the waves are high. Not in the brightness of certainty, but in the obscurity of night. He comes towards us and speaks those same quiet words: “It is I. Do not be afraid.” And somehow, when we recognise His presence and when we realise He is already in the storm with us, the whole journey changes. The distance shortens. The far shore no longer feels unreachable. Maybe the goal of the storms was never simply to arrive… but to discover that He is with us every step of the way. 

    Gustave Doré’s hand-coloured engraving, circa 1870, imagines the scene from Christ’s own vantage point: from close to the shore. He sees the small boat of the disciples tossed in the distance, and he sets off walking on the waters. And yet, having stood myself by the Sea of Galilee, only about 21 km long and 13 km wide, you realise how slightly odd today's reading is. The Sea of Galilee is not an ocean. At no point are you ever truly far from land. And still… the disciples truly panicked. This tells us maybe something interesting: even on a small lake, fear can feel immense. Even when the shore is near, it can seem out of reach. Even the smallest events in our lives can unsettle us, making us feel as though we are caught in a storm at sea, when in reality, the shore is closer than we think. The disciples were close to safety, and yet overwhelmed. And it is precisely there, in that gap between reality and fear, that Christ sees them… and comes towards them... and towards us. 

--Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image & quotation source: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-6-16-21-2026/comment-page-1/

Wrapped in awe and reverence (Sara Fairbanks)

Elijah pours out his story, and God listens with loving kindness. 

Elijah is told to wait on the mountain for God to “pass by.” 

On the mountain’s edge, he experiences 

a ferocious wind, an earthquake, and a fire; 

God is not present there but in a “gentle whisper.” 

Wrapped in awe and reverence, 

Elijah enters divine communion. 

God asks him again: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 

Recalling his scrape with death, this one question 

provokes an avalanche of questions for Elijah: 

What do you value most? 

What gives you meaning and purpose? 

Who are you, and whose are you? 

What larger story are you a part of? 

God poses the most vital spiritual question 

every human being must answer: What are you doing here? 

Can you hear God asking you this question? 

What are you doing here? 

What supreme reality can claim your whole heart and 

free you to live for one another, to love at any cost? 

Elijah answers these questions not with words but with his life. 

He has rested in the warmth of God’s loving arms.

With spirit renewed, liberated from fear, 

he rededicates himself to participate in God’s saving plan for Israel. 

--Sara Fairbanks, OP 

Image source: https://bible.art/p/FJLjksPKg8BtiMZtqWAP
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To hear the voice of God (Anna J. Cooper)

         One needs occasionally to stand aside from the hum and rush of human interests and passions to hear the voice of God. 

--Anna J. Cooper 

Image source: https://www.classycareergirl.com/peace-midst-chaos-find-6-ways/ 

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Lord, save me! (Mike Kuczkowski)

    I have always loved this Gospel reading. The image of Jesus walking on the water toward the boat that carries his Apostles. First, they think He is a ghost. Then they recognize it is their teacher coming. Then Peter asks Jesus to command him to come out on the water. And yet, when He does so, Peter becomes fearful and starts to sink. He cries out, “Lord, save me!” And of course, Jesus lifts him up and prevents him from drowning. 

    As a child, I loved this image because it gave me the sense that Jesus would catch me when I fell. I focused on what it must have been like to be in the presence of Christ. To experience him calming the waters. Which was a comforting notion. 

    Yet, as an adult I think more about Peter’s actions. His desire to be called. The fact that he is called, that he gets what he wants. And yet, he falters. This happens to us so often. We look down, rather than forward. We allow our daily doubts to get in the way of our faith. It happens all the time to me, those moments when I find myself unwilling to surrender to God’s will. “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I would have to reply, “I don’t know.” 

    It takes much humility to simply listen to God’s words and push away the self-doubt, the pride, the temptation to mischief. And yet, when we sin, we need only ask for mercy. Reach out. Gain enough perspective about our actions to say, “Lord, save me!” He will catch us when we do. 

--Mike Kuczkowski,
OLMC Communion Service Reflection,
August 3, 2021 

Image source: Henry Osawa Tanner, The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water (ca. 1907), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Ossawa_Tanner,_The_Disciples_See_Christ_Walking_on_the_Water,_c._1907.jpg

Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 9, 2026: Lord, if it is you...

Lord, if it is you…
How do we know the Lord is near?
 What happens when we open ourselves to the presence of God? 

    The prophet Elijah had reason to fear Queen Jezebel, wife of King Ahaz, who becomes angry when her own prophets are unable to call down fire on dry wood while Elijah, praying that God work through him, sees water-drenched wood ignite without difficulty. Fleeing Jezebel, Elijah takes shelter in a cave at the mountain of God, Horeb. One can imagine Elijah, wound up tightly because fear has overridden his faith, waiting for the Lord to be passing by. How does he encounter God? Not in the spectacular ways you’d imagine – the strong and heavy wind or the earthquake or the fire – but in the calm and stillness that follow. 

    A strong wind also plagues the disciples whom Jesus has get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But it is not the waves tossing about the boat that frighten them, but rather the experience of Jesus coming toward them walking on the sea. Peter is not convinced the figure is Jesus: Lord, if it is you, he says, command me to come to you on the water. If ?!? Ultimately, Peter’s focus is not on Jesus but on everything else around him: when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened, Matthew tells us. Fear has taken hold of Peter, and that fear will build upon itself. Jesus is, by contrast, the calm in the storm, stretching out his hand to catch Peter; the presence of God is revealed in the deep quiet within. What should be driving the disciples here is not fear, but their faith and trust in Jesus who saves. 

    As Paul reminds the Romans, God’s plan is that all will come to faith, but Paul has great sorrow and constant anguish in his heart because the Jewish people have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Theirs is the adoption, the glory, the covenant, Paul says, but they have to be open to God’s presence with the calm quiet of faith. 

    Our spiritual tradition always calls us back to calm; if you’re not calm, you can’t hear God. The psalmist knows this and can readily say, in Psalm 85, I will hear what God proclaims! Open to the presence of God, the psalmist celebrates all the ways he knows the Lord will come: when he sees signs of peace and kindness and truth and justice. May we too remain open to God’s presence among us, ready to see his kindness and salvation! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Nourished by Jesus (Jonathan Lewis)

     Jesus’ followers gather in community and are nourished by Jesus. Every Sunday, we have the opportunity to gather in community to be nourished by Jesus through the Eucharist. As you reflect on this gospel message, take a moment to thank God for providing us with the nourishment that our soul deeply needs and desires. 

--Jonathan Lewis,
Facebook, July 25, 2021

Image source: Loaves and Fishes, statue, St. Philip the Apostle, San Francisco, https://www.noevalleyvoice.com/2010/October/StPh.htm 
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Step beyond the literal (Fr. Patrick Michaels)

   To believe in the power of the Eucharist at work in us, we need to step beyond the literal and the tangible. If we can’t step beyond the literal and the tangible, we will not understand. We will misunderstand why Jesus came and what kind of life he wanted to share with us. It’s not a tangible life that he wants to share with us, it’s a spiritual life, a life of in-dwelling, he in us and yes, us in him – a shared existence, a Way, a Way through life where blessing is left behind in our wake because Christ is with us and we are with him.

--Fr. Patrick Michaels,
Homily, May 9, 2025

Image source: https://zeenews.india.com/web-stories/lifestyle/optical-illusion-within-6-seconds-spot-the-two-hidden-things-2830229.html. What do you see in this image?  Look again!

Ruminating the Word of God (Pope Francis)

Ruminate, v., from the Latin, ruminari,
to chew repeatedly for an extended period

-- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

     The Word of the Lord should be repeated, made one’s own, safeguarded. The monastic tradition of the monks, uses an audacious but very concrete term. It goes like this: the Word of God must be “ruminated.” “To ruminate” the Word of God. We could say that it is so nutritious that it must reach every aspect of life: to involve, as Jesus says today, the entire heart, the entire soul, the entire mind, all of our strength (cf. v. 30). The Word of the Lord must resound, echo and re-echo within us. When there is this interior echo that repeats itself, it means that the Lord dwells in the heart. 

 --Pope Francis

Image source 1: https://www.facebook.com/groups/biblestudyprayerandrevival/posts/4478263632453740/
Image source 2:  https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2021/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20211031.html
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Beyond all human logic (Henri Nouwen)

    Remember the big crowd, five loaves, and two fish (Matt. 14:15-21)? Jesus said, “Give them something to eat.” The disciples responded, “Lord, fives loaves, two fish, big crowd? It doesn't fit.” Jesus said, “Give them something to eat.” And he said, “Throw out your nets.” They did and caught fish, but not just as many as they needed. They caught so many their nets could not hold all the fish. It is the same with the crowd. Jesus didn't just want to be sure everyone got a little piece of bread. There were twelve big baskets of leftovers! And the boat was so full of fish that Simon didn't know what to do with them. 

    Jesus breaks right through our normal logic. He is moving all of reality to the kingdom. Suddenly the fishermen were no longer living in the logic of the world. They had entered the logic of God's house, which is beyond all human logic. They had entered a whole new world. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Miracle of the Five Loaves and Two Fish (16th c.), https://lisahendey.com/your-gifts-matter-five-loaves-and-two-fish/
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Multiplied (Bishop Robert Barron)

     What you have received as a gift, give as a gift – and you will find the original gift multiplied and enhanced. 

--Bishop Robert Barron 

Image source: Juan de Espinal, The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (ca. 1750), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milagro_de_los_panes_y_los_peces,_de_Juan_de_Espinal_(Ayuntamiento_de_Sevilla).jpg 

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O holy and sacred inebriation (St. Francis de Sales)

All you who are thirsty,
come to the water! 

--Isaiah 55:1 

    Now in all divine mysteries there is food provided for dear friends to eat and drink well, and for dearest friends to be inebriated. Some eat and drink, but they eat more than they drink and so are not inebriated: the others eat and drink, but drink more than they eat, and those are they who are inebriated. Now to eat is to meditate, for in meditating a man doth chew, turning his spiritual meat hither and thither between the teeth of consideration, to bruise, break and digest it, which is not done without some labour. To drink is to contemplate, which we do without labour or difficulty, yea with pleasure and tranquillity. 

    But to be inebriated is to contemplate so frequently and so ardently as to be quite out of self to be wholly in God. O holy and sacred inebriation, which, contrarily to corporal inebriation, does not alienate us from the spiritual sense, but from the corporal senses; does not dull or besot us, but angelicizes and in a sort deifies us; putting us out of ourselves, not to abase us and rank us with beasts, as terrestrial drunkenness does, but to raise us above ourselves and range us with angels, so that we may live more in God than in ourselves, being attentive to and occupied in seeing his beauty and being united to his goodness by love! 

--St. Francis de Sales,
Treatise on the Love of God,
Book VI, chapter 6 

Source of images: Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1652), https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bernini-the-ecstasy-of-saint-teresa-2659785
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 2, 2026: The hand of the Lord feeds us...

The hand of the Lord feeds us...
What feeds you? 

    Our readings this Sunday all focus on the ways God provides for our needs, feeds us, in other words, in ways we can perhaps only begin to appreciate… First, the prophet Isaiah reminds the people of Israel that God has never failed to meet their physical needs, sending water, wine, and milk for the thirsty and grain for the hungry and poor, those who have no money. 

   More importantly, though, God meets their needs with food that nourishes the soul, in the deepest sense: Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life, he says. In other words, take in my Word, digest it, let it fill you and feed you entirely… for the Word is more satisfying than any tangible food; it is our means to an ever-renewing covenant with God. These sentiments are echoed in Psalm 145, in which the psalmist stresses God’s loving willingness to give us our food in due season, again, with a focus on meeting our spiritual needs with God’s justice, grace, and mercy. 

     It is perhaps not surprising, then, that this week we hear Matthew’s version of the Loaves and Fishes, the quintessential example of Jesus providing for the people with overwhelming love. Taking bread, blessing it, breaking it, giving it: the point is not just that Jesus did this, once or twice, but that he does it, every day, through Eucharist, entering fully into relationship with us, every day, though we may not be ready for it. And the implicit message to the disciples – his intermediaries in the distribution of this communal meal – is that they too are sent forth (as are we!) to feed others with God’s Word, with God’s infinite love, finding their need and healing that need with grace. 

    What can separate us from the love of Christ?, Paul asks the Romans. His answer? Nothing – nothing on heaven or on earth – can stand between us and the love of God. We may struggle to live this love; that is our challenge is a world that is afraid, a world whose defenses against anguish, distress and persecution are high. But with open hearts, we are capable of true justice. Filled with the love of God present to us in Eucharist, we ourselves are not only fed, we are able also to feed others, capable of being life-giving to those we meet, capable of being food for the world. 

    What feeds you? God’s love.
 Allow it to fill you, so that you might feed others in turn! 

This “vintage” post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Saying "yes" to the reign of God (Fr. James Martin)

    [In one of Jesus’ parables,] a man finds a treasure buried in a field and sells everything to purchase the field. So far, so good, we think, until we realize that the man apparently never told the rightful owner of the field about the treasure! 

    Jesus is not inviting us to do immoral things—that is, to be sneaky with someone else’s money or buy something under false pretenses. Rather, he is recommending a particular aspect of this (fictional) character as an important attitude for the disciple: single-mindedness. The finder of the treasure is single-minded in their pursuit. 

    A second parable offered today is about a merchant searching for fine pearls. Once he discovers the “pearl of great price” (in another translation, a “specially valuable pearl”) he sells all that he has to purchase it. 

    So Jesus’s point is not only about single-mindedness, or single-heartedness, but also about the inestimable value of what has been discovered. (In one case, the person finds it unexpectedly; in another, he is searching for it.) Of course, both of these parables and the third one offered today—the fishing net that brings in fish of various sorts, both good and bad, which are sorted out—are about the central theme of Jesus’s preaching: the reign of God. 

    Jesus’s immoral heroes are vaguely disreputable, but they are also shrewd—that is, smart. And the wisdom that Jesus asks us to accept is the wisdom of saying "yes" to the reign of God, which is both our treasure and the pearl of great price. 

--Fr. James Martin,
July 30, 2023

Image source: Fish!  https://biblefilms.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-chosen-2019-s1e04.html
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The heart's true treasure (Pope Leo XIV / Anne Koester)

The heart’s true treasure is found
by loving the neighbor who walks beside us.

--Pope Leo XIV

    Seek joy by rummaging through your storeroom and bringing out the old and the new. And let us not only rummage in our own storerooms but in the storeroom of the Church; we will find there treasures to share but also the new that challenges us to broaden our ways of being Church in the world by leaning in with listening hearts, accompanying all persons, naming and eradicating injustices, caring for the earth, and boldly proclaiming the truth. This will show that we have listened to Jesus’ teachings about the reign of God. 

--Anne Koester 

Image source: https://www.thismorningwalk.com/blog/walking-with-friends
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Listening to God's love (Henri Nouwen)

    Discernment is a spiritual understanding and an experiential knowledge of how God is active in daily life that is acquired through disciplined spiritual practice. 

   Discernment is faithful living and listening to God's love and direction so that we can fulfill our individual calling and shared mission. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: https://www.cedarspringscrc.org/new-blog/2018/4/25/5-tips-for-hearing-gods-voice
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