Sunday Gospel Reflection, November 8, 2026: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God...

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God…
Have we learned to thirst for God’s wisdom? 

    We start with a story. There are two characters. One chooses wisdom; one is Wisdom. The author of the Book of Wisdom personifies its subject in order to draw his readers into the story: Resplendent and unfading is wisdom… Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate. The one looking for wisdom is actively seeking her out, and of course the wisdom with whom he desires relationship is the Divine Wisdom of God. Our relationship with God, the Book of Wisdom suggests, is essential to our well-being, and so the sage thirsts for that wisdom, a quest Psalm 63 captures well: O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts. The psalmist knows that divine kindness is a greater good than life, and that in relationship with God his life is blessed. 

    But in what frame of mind do we pursue this relationship? In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins (or bridesmaids), five of whom were foolish while five were wise. The foolish young women brought no oil with them, and eventually their lamps went out. The wise bridesmaids, on the other hand realized that, if, while they waited for the bridegroom, their lamps went out, they would be unable to fulfill their role in the relationship. They were ready; they were open to relationship; they were prepared to come to the feast! 

    Like the wise bridesmaids, we must be ready to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, our communion feast. It’s about being conscious and intentional. It’s a choice. And if, as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep, along with all living believers, to eternal union with him at the feast of heaven. Thus we shall always be with the Lord! But first, we need the wisdom to trust in relationship, open to and longing for the Lord’s presence in our lives always, here and now, full of hope in his promise and ready to meet him when he comes! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, November 1, 2026: Everyone who has this hope...

Everyone who has this hope…
What is our hope? 

 

    In the time of King David, anyone who approached the temple had to respond to a series of questions before they would be allowed in. Psalm 24 speaks of the people that longs to see the Lord’s face. Are we ready to stand before the Lord, ready to see God face to face? Do we clearly desire to be in his presence, and if so, are we dedicated to doing his will? Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? the psalmist asks. One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. 

    The saints are those who we believe have been brought into the blessing of God’s presence. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount offers a series of blessings, or beatitudes, designed to help us to know that blessing one day as well. We are to be poor in spirit, surrendering ourselves in spirit to our dependence upon God, renouncing all desire for power and thus remaining meek in the eyes of God, opening our hearts – our clean hearts – in mercy and making peace for all by revealing the love of God as something we all hold in common. Like the saints, we hope that our reward will be great in heaven, that we might see the face of God. 

    As the author of the First Letter of St. John writes, what we shall be has not yet been revealed. But right now, we know the love the Father has bestowed on us, that we might be called the children of God, and that is a tremendous blessing indeed. And so we hope for salvation, making ourselves pure, as he is pure, striving to become the very image of God. 

    Many have entered the Kingdom of God before us – a great multitude, the Book of Revelation tells us – and are standing before the throne and before the Lamb, worshipping God. We too hope to be marked with the seal of the living God, marked as belonging to God, and thus ready for perfect union in heaven. May this Solemnity of All Saints offer us encouragement, that we might stay true to our hope, remaining faithful to our God forever, that our blessings may be eternal! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class. 

Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 25, 2026: You know what sort of people we were among you...

You know what sort of people we were among you…
What is the source of our integrity as a people? 

    One of the most important functions of the scriptures is to help humankind to understand what it means to live in the context of each other, in community. In the Book of Exodus, once the people of Israel reach Mount Sinai, the Lord God spends no small amount of time helping them understand that their identity, and therefore their collective integrity, is based on the relationships they cultivate with God and with one another. You shall not oppress or molest an alien, the Lord tells them. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. Their own memory of what it was like to live in another land, without any rights or possessions or land, should remind them that they were once dependent upon other people’s generosity and good will. Like the Lord God, they themselves must be compassionate, responsible to other because they value the compassion that God and others have shown them, and will imitate it. Psalm 18 invites the people of Israel into the present moment, where they can recognize God’s compassion towards them now – My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold – and ground themselves in the identity and integrity that relationship builds for them. 

    When, in Matthew’s Gospel, the scholar of the law asks Jesus, Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?, he does so to test him. Here, the Pharisees have clearly missed the point: their relationship with the Lord God does not depend on the absolutes of Mosaic law, but on the message of love Jesus embodies in their midst, even to the point of loving the very Pharisees who will one day effect his death. Love of God is necessary to love of neighbor, as love of neighbor is necessary to love of God. The love in question here is not a feeling, but an action: to will the good of the other in order to insure the collective identity and integrity of the community. This is how you enter into right relationship with your God, Jesus says: by loving. 

    Likewise, in his Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul will affirm the righteous conduct of the community that has become imitators of the apostles and of the Lord through their reception of the Word of God. It is the Word that is effective; it transforms, sustains, and is spreading all over the known world. The Word is the source of their integrity – it is their belief in God’s mercy and love, revealed in Christ crucified, revealed in their own life in community. The Word is their integrity – is it ours?

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 18, 2026: Give the Lord glory and honor!

Give the Lord glory and honor!
Are we ready to give God thanks, always? 

    When the Lord God empowers Cyrus, King of Persia, to send the people of Israel home from exile with the wherewithal to rebuild, the people are meant to understand that God is at work through Cyrus, even if Cyrus himself is unaware of this. I am the Lord and there is no other, God announces through the prophet Isaiah. God is at work even when we ourselves are not doing God’s work. This is why we have hope: because God is at work and so we do not despair. Rather, all are to give the Lord glory and honor, as Psalm 96 reminds us, singing a new song that speaks of God’s wondrous deeds to all nations. 

    In Matthew’s Gospel, the Pharisees are still blind to all that God is doing in their midst, and so they go off and plot how they might entrap Jesus in speech. But their plan is faulty. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? they ask him. Their thought is that, if Jesus says they should pay the census tax, he would be seen as supporting their oppressor, Rome, whereas if he says they should not pay the census tax, the Roman authorities could arrest him. Instead of responding immediately, Jesus asks them to show him the coin that pays the census tax. The very fact that the Pharisees can readily produce such a coin in itself condemns them. Yet Jesus simply says, Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. And what is it that we owe God? Glory and praise! Jesus is calling upon the Pharisees to open their eyes, their ears, and their heart so that they can see what God is doing right in their midst, and give praise. 

    The greeting of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians demonstrates quite clearly the praise that Paul knows is due to God: We give thanks to God always for all of you, Paul says. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy can be with the Thessalonians in spirit, supporting them in their prayers, unceasingly calling to mind the Thessalonians’ work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. To endure in hope is to continue to follow the gospel even though you are not yet experiencing it in its fullness, allowing God to dwell in you and to work in you. In so doing, the Thessalonians praise God, and so should we, allowing God to continue to speak to us, that our relationship with God might form and deepen over time, hearing the Word and living the gospel with our hearts and with our lives, in praise! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 12, 2026: A feast of rich food and choice wines...

A feast of rich food and choice wines…
 God’s gifts are abundant and meant for all --
 do we come with the right disposition to receive them? 

    Jesus’ challenge of the chief priests and elders continues in Matthew’s Gospel this week with the parable of the wedding feast. When a king gives a wedding feast for his son and some ignore the invitation while others mistreat and even kill the king’s servants, the king says to his remaining servants, Go out into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find. God’s salvation, Jesus is suggesting, is for all, no matter their origin, so long as their wedding garment – that is, the depth of their investment in relationship with the Lord – is intact. 

    The universality of God’s gift of salvation can also be seen in Isaiah: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, the prophet announces. Isaiah is speaking of a victory banquet, but an unusual one: usually, a victory implies one victor, but here all will be drawn to God. Christians read this text as a prophecy of what God will do in salvation history. Jesus’ death on the cross will destroy death, the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations. Moreover, God’s banquet gives life, as both Isaiah and Psalm 23 affirm: You spread the table before me; my cup overflows. So let us be glad that he has saved us! 

    Paul knows the abundance of God’s gifts in his own life and therefore can reassure the Philippians that God will fully supply whatever you need. No matter the circumstances – poverty or abundance – all are invited to find glorious riches in Christ Jesus, whose kingdom is present here and now, waiting for us to enter and participate… so long as Christ remains the source of our union and our hope! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 4, 2026: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened...

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened…
How do we come before the Lord? 

    In the case of St. Francis of Assisi, the Patron of San Francisco whose solemnity we celebrate this weekend, the answer was straightforward. Unlike Israel, whom God has put on trial for their infidelity in the Book of the Prophet Micah, Francis knew that he should come before the Lord, and bow before God most high with humility and virtue. As Micah tells the people: You have been told, O mortal, what the Lord requires of you: only to do justice and to love goodness and to walk humbly with your God. Francis let go of all he possessed in order to walk humbly with God, in order to understand all that God was calling him to. 

    St. Francis was able to, in the words of Psalm 16, say to the Lord, my Lord are you; you are my only good. The psalmist celebrates the fact that God and his rule over mankind are more important than any other inheritance. God counsels him, leads him, and cares for him; even in the night the psalmist’s heart exhorts him, urging him forward, toward God, that God might show him the path to life, abounding joy in God’s presence. Francis of Assisi found his joy in the Lord, as, on our best days, do we. 

    Yet St. Francis was not without suffering. Like Paul, whose scars spoke to the Galatians of his participation in Jesus’ suffering, Francis bore the marks of Jesus on his body in the form of the stigmata. Such marks proclaimed that Francis found his identity in Christ: the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world, as Paul writes. In the cross, Francis found salvation. 

   In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to those who have accepted his revelation of God’s love in the world: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Unlike the yoke of the law that burdens the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus’ yoke allows Jesus to bear the weight of our struggles with us, walking beside us, guiding us along right paths. The Son of God, meek and humble of heart, was Francis’ invitation to become the vehicle by which God’s message would be transmitted to the world. Unlike the wise and learned who rejected Jesus, Francis saw himself as a humble instrument of God, obedient not out of fear but out of choice, full of faith in the Savior who died for him, and ready to live the message of Jesus’ love for the world with the whole of his being. 

    We come before Jesus laboring and heavily burdened, but, like our patron St. Francis of Assisi, we come with open hearts, ready to receive the revelation as ones to whom the Son wishes to reveal the Father. May we do so in humble obedience, accepting the Lord’s peace and mercy as we follow his rule, conforming our life to Christ’s. 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 27, 2026: Is it my way that is unfair?

Is it my way that is unfair?
How far will we go to understand God’s way? 

    It’s so hard to let go of our own ways of being and try to see how God functions, how God’s love works! The prophet Ezekiel struggled to help the people of Israel in exile to understand that, even in this far and distant country, God was with them, though they had misunderstood God’s teachings: You say the Lord’s way is not fair! The people have come to believe that the sins of the parents are visited on their children. Instead, Ezekiel encourages them to take personal responsibility for their own actions, and for their relationship with the Lord. Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? Each individual has but to turn from the wickedness they might commit and do what is just and right, and they will have life. For, as Psalm 25 reminds us, the Lord is always merciful: Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. The psalmist seeks to walk in God’s ways, and be guided in God’s truth, to see past his own limitations and to understand how God works. 

    In Matthew's gospel, Jesus faces a similar struggle with the Jewish leadership of his own time, who refuse to recognize Jesus and what he has to offer, which is the possibility of entering the kingdom of God. But to do so, they need to change, to take responsibility for their own past limitations and to let go of the authority they so ardently cling to. This is the father’s will for which Jesus offers the parable of the two sons asked to go out and work in their father’s vineyard. The one who does his father’s will is the one entering the kingdom of God before the chief priests and elders of the people. The chief priests and elders have to step past their own limitations and recognize the redemption Jesus offers them; after all, he says tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” In other words, you too can enter, as long as you believe. 

    This is what it means to be a community of faith, to embody that kingdom, as Paul tells the Philippians: be of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Through baptism, the Philippians have been bound into a community faith, a people who are one in Christ. This is precisely what Jesus is encouraging the Jewish leadership to join. He knows they are far from God because fear has driven them to hold close to human law. Jesus is inviting them – and us – to draw close to God, by humbly regarding others as more important than yourselves, as Paul notes Christ himself did: emptying himself, humbling himself, obedient to the point of death. We can only do so if we step past the limitations we impose on God and on love, and open to knowing and manifesting God’s ways. The journey is ours; will we choose to take it? 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 20, 2026: Seek the Lord...

Seek the Lord...
How often do you find yourself looking for God? 

    Though we will certainly never really understand God – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, the Lord tells Isaiah – we certainly can appreciate the wonderful benefits of relationship with the God who loved us into existence. And while we may turn our back on God, shutting ourselves off, forsaking God, God, for his part, encourages us always to return: Seek the Lord while he may be found, Isaiah reminds the people of Israel, for it is with God that we ultimately find life and love, mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 145 reminds us of God’s qualities that make this so: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness… To sing God’s praises in this way is to make a confession of our acceptance of the terms of covenant, recognizing our desire for relationship, allowing the connection, restoring it if need be. God wants us to seek that relationship, one in which we will find compassion and justice on our journey. 

    Yet it is not necessarily ours to understand God’s justice either, as our gospel reading from Matthew demonstrates. When a vineyard owner pays the workers who arrive an hour before closing time the same wage as the workers who arrived in the early morning, our human hackles start to rise. That’s not fair! But again, my thoughts are not your thoughts: God makes it possible for all to live, the first to come to God as well as the last. Is it up to us to begrudge the on who comes at the last hour, or will we rejoice because they love the Lord? After all, they are following Isaiah’s directive: Seek the Lord… And God’s love is open to them as well. 

    God’s love is a free gift – wherever we might be. Paul tells the Philippians that whether he lives or dies, his desire is that Christ be magnified in his body; he has dedicated himself to the love of God revealed in Jesus, and spends his every waking hour sharing that Good News, fruitful labor that helps Paul to maintain his connection with the God who created him. Through obedience – conducting himself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, Paul demonstrates how to seek the Lord while he may be found… We, too, are called to seek the Lord through our attention to relationship, with God, with other, preaching the good news so long as we are able, magnifying Christ with our bodies, so that those who seek him may find him in the love we share. 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 13, 2026: Unless each of you forgives your brother from the heart...

Unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart…
If you can’t receive the mercy of God, how can you give it? 

    Our ability to be forgiving is based on our ability to accept mercy from God and to know that we need it. The author of Psalm 103 is very clear on God’s abundance of mercy for humankind: The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion. Indeed, God crowns us with kindness and compassion so that we might bring his mercy to bear on the world through our own forgiveness of others. For, as the Book of Sirach points out, mercy restores connection: Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? Rather, forgive your neighbor’s injustice, Sirach suggests, and set enmity aside, so that you might participate in the healing justice that mercy and forgiveness create in our world. 

    How often must I forgive my brother? Peter asks Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. In response, Jesus offers the parable of the unforgiving servant, in which the king understands the power of mercy and forgives the servant’s loan, but the servant himself does not understand forgiveness even after he himself is forgiven: he has his fellow servant put in prison until he pays back his debt. Jesus wants Peter to understand that God’s mercy is tremendous and there is no keeping score; if you have to keep score – as many as seven times? – it is not forgiveness you are contemplating. 

    God constantly forgave the people of Israel as a sign of the depth of his love for them. They didn’t get it, nor do we. God’s mercy is not conditional – God gave his Son for our salvation! -- nor can our forgiveness be conditional. For, as Paul tells the Romans, none of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord. All we do should thus be for the sake of his love for us, including opening ourselves to his divine mercy and wielding that same loving mercy in our world as we forgive our neighbor’s injustice and bring the Lord’s healing kindness to bear upon our world.

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 6, 2026: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another...

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another…

What are our responsibilities toward one another? 

    No one exists independently of others. If there is one consistent message in Scripture, it is that human existence is about relationships. No one is on their own; no one is to live in isolation for themselves only, but for each other, with responsibility to maintain connection in all circumstances. 

    Thus, in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the prophet is appointed watchman for the house of Israel as they try to maintain their identity as community while in exile. The Lord calls Ezekiel to speak to the wicked, those whose behavior is inappropriate, to call them to change; the salvation of the people is in his hands. The people’s covenant with God should tell them what is just and what is not; so long as they remain focused on the community and act justly toward one another, so long as their hearts are not hardened, as Psalm 95 states, the people shall not die to God and to relationship. All are called to find their identity in community and, as community, to do better. 

    Similar wisdom can be found coming from Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel, as Jesus explains to his disciples that the consequences of one person’s choice affect those around them, and may be damaging to relationship. And so the disciples are called to embrace their responsibility for each other in community: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. The community is meant to be in unity with one another; we tell another his faults not be superior but to come together on equal footing and connection. And if that person chooses not to connect, you still love him. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them, Jesus says. Jesus is the connection, the source of all unity. 

    Paul sums up these teachings nicely in the Letter to the Romans: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another. The only debt we have is that of love: we owe it to one another to love one another because Jesus showed the depth of God’s love for us in dying for all for our salvation. As we enter into union with one another, we are drawn into union with God and become the Body of Christ. And so we are called to be Christ’s followers, to model ourselves on the love he has revealed, modeling our love on his love, that we might live justly and one day know perfect union, eternally, with him. 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 30, 2026: Be transformed...

Be transformed…
How does surrendering to God’s will transform us? 

    The life of a prophet is never easy, and Jeremiah’s is no exception. The people Jeremiah is sent to serve have categorically rejected his message and have subjected the prophet to prolonged abuse, even time in the stocks, because he has participated in God’s plan unfolding. All the day I am an object of laughter, he tells the Lord; everyone mocks me. Yet Jeremiah has found the strength to surrender his own will to the Lord, and the transformation effected by this surrender is viscerally clear: God’s name becomes like a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. Jeremiah is no longer the man he was when the Lord called him; his identity has been radically altered, and he cannot stay silent. The author of Psalm 63 has undergone a similar transformation, and thus recognizes that his life and self exist only to the extent that the psalmist dwells in God. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God, he sings. To yearn to be close to God, the source of life, is an indication that this man knows his true identity and is ready to live from it, whatever it takes. 

    Jesus likewise participates in God’s plan and knows he will suffer for it. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus knows that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly and be killed, and yet he surrenders to God’s plan unfolding, that all humankind might be saved through his sacrifice on the cross. Spokesman for the disciples, Peter cannot countenance this revelation: God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you! Jesus makes it clear to Peter and to all that they are, first and foremost, to surrender, to participate in God’s plan unfolding. How? Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me, Jesus says. To surrender this life to Christ is to become what Paul in his Letter to the Romans calls a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Our worship must be worship with our whole self as we offer ourselves fully alive to the Lord, ourselves and all that is in us, living life as a sacrifice for other. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, Paul continues. Transformation of body and mind takes place so that we might discern what is right and do it, discern, as Paul writes, what is the will of God, living life for other rather than for self. Then and only then will we know the transformation of our identity that comes from making our whole self a living sacrifice. 

    God’s plan is unfolding, and Jeremiah and the psalmist find themselves at heart of it. Peter and his companions have some way to go. Our hope is to be able to say that God’s plan is unfolding and we are at the heart of it! But first, we must surrender, allowing our hearts and lives to be transformed! 

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 26, 2026: More precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces...

More precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces…
What is our true treasure? 

     We have this ultra-positive image of King Solomon. But is it really justified? When, in the First Book of Kings, God appears to Solomon in a dream and says, Ask something of me and I will give it to you, Solomon requests an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. Sounds good, right? Sounds humble? But what will Solomon do with the gift – this treasure – he is given? In point of fact, Solomon will soon begin to marry foreign queens and build his own home before building the Lord a temple. 

    Moreover, Solomon’s desire to be able to distinguish right from wrong brings to mind Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; their sin, after all, is to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God does affirm Solomon’s request as a way of affirming the humility with which it requested, but Solomon must then choose to use the wisdom he is given to fulfill God’s will, recognizing that he needs the Lord and the power of the Lord’s love in his life. This is the goal of the psalmist in Psalm 119: The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces, he sings. Why? Because God’s commands (and laws and decrees) are God’s way of remaining close to us. Like the psalmist, Solomon needs to have a listening heart and to remain open to relationship with the Lord. Alas, this will prove harder than he imagines. 

    When all is said and done, our relationship with the Lord – our union with God – is our greatest treasure. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples four parables, each of which is meant to reveal something about the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven where we will be eternally in right relationship with God. There are different ways to pursue the kingdom. One person comes upon the treasure by accident, while another is actively searching for fine pearls. In every case, however, discernment is required to separate the good of life from the bad, in order to draw closer to God and deepen our relationship with him. 

    We cultivate that relationship in the here-and-now through our temporal relationships on earth. Paul reminds the Romans that all things work for the good for those who love God. We are called to be a community for each other in the Body of Christ, as we are conformed to the image of God’s Son. We are called according to God’s purpose, to fulfill his will, which is that all may be one. When we enter in to be in his Body, then his image is the image we set forth – not in judgment or domination, but in compassion and mercy. For that is his will: that his compassion and mercy might flow out from us, to his world – a true and powerful manifestation of his kingdom… on earth! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 19, 2026: Your might is the source of justice...

Your might is the source of justice…
Just how open is God’s kingdom? 

    Jesus spends a lot of time in Matthew’s Gospel teaching the crowds about the kingdom of heaven, particularly through the use of parables. We are pretty familiar with the image of the mustard seed, which grows into a large bush where the birds of the sky come and dwell (ordinary mustard seeds do nothing of the sort!) and the image of the yeast, which suggests that God’s kingdom expands in ways we cannot imagine. More complex is the parable of the weeds among the wheat, in which good seed grows and bears fruit, but darnel, a pernicious weed, grows as well. When asked, Do you want us to go and pull the bad weeds?, the master gardener instructs his workers, No, if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. God is patient, not judgmental; like the farmer, God is willing to wait until all have a chance to show themselves. And, as Psalm 86 reminds us, the Lord is good and forgiving, open to all who seek to live in right relationship with him. 

    This notion of God’s expansive compassionate justice is announced in the Book of Wisdom as well. Though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, the author of Wisdom states, and with much lenience you govern us. Rather than simply annihilate the enemies of God’s people, God gives all good ground for hope because God permits repentance for sins, not only to the people of Israel, but to all. God has the care of all. Moreover, should we ever be tempted to impose our own judgment, we should remember what Paul tells the Romans: the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. The Spirit joins us in our groanings, enabling us to pray for our world and its sinful brokenness. God is the one who searches hearts, and only God is called to judge them. 

    Jesus’ parables reveal a secret: the reign of God is here and the reign of God works more profoundly than we could possibly imagine! We are called to do whatever reveals his love – to let him rule our lives, direct our hearts, rule our hearts. In so doing, we will see that reign dawn and division decrease. But if we give into fear, we lose the very thing we put our faith in. It’s God’s way we follow, God’s justice we enact… not our own. And God’s kingdom is large enough to hold all! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 12, 2026: Whoever has ears ought to hear...

Whoever has ears ought to hear…
 Are we really listening? 

    In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ parable of the sower has one point and one point only: the kingdom of heaven is at work among you and is producing beyond anything you can imagine. Yes, Matthew records the early Church’s alternative, analogy-based reading of this parable, which has to do with all those seeds that “fail” and bear no fruit, but ultimately, as Jesus tells the crowds, the seed that falls on rich soil and produces fruit produces a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold – the fruitful harvest promised by Psalm 65 and then some. It is impossible, and the impossibility is the point! God can do things beyond human imagining, no matter the soil, no matter the conditions. God is at work. God is going to produce. God is going to bear fruit. So be open to God and to where God is leading. The blessing comes for those who participate in the miracle that God is unfolding – but it’s God who is at work, accomplishing this miracle. So open your eyes, open your ears, and hear his Word! 

    Jesus’ message echoes that of the prophet Isaiah, who reassures the people who have returned from exile in Babylon and are beginning to rebuild that God’s word will achieve the end for which God sent it. Isaiah’s message of hope and encouragement suggests that God knows prosperity will come through his word. Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, so God’s word accomplishes God’s works, and in God’s time. What God creates is extraordinary, beyond our comprehension; we have but to be open to all that God’s creation has to reveal to us. 

    Mankind tends to limit creation, its value and abilities, to limit what is possible for God. But God doesn’t, and God expects us to participate! As Paul tells the Romans, creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God. God desires that all creation share in union with Christ, and so creation is groaning in labor pains, waiting to give birth to revelation. We eagerly anticipate the glory to be revealed to us in all its fullness, and so we live in hope… because our God is a God whose activity is fruitful beyond anything we can imagine! We have but to hear the word and understand it, allowing God to bear fruit in us to be that very revelation Paul describes! 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 5, 2026: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me...

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…
Does Jesus rule your heart? 

     Christians generally look to the Book of the Prophet Zechariah as a prophecy about the coming of Jesus. Your king shall come to you, the Lord says through the prophet, a just savior, meek and riding on an ass. In his gospel, Matthew will use this very passage to describe Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But before Jesus gets there, no one seems to comprehend the nature of his kingship, particularly in the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida where he has gone to preach. And yet Jesus prays: I give praise to you, Father, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Jesus speaks a prayer of praise for all that is unfolding, all that will lead to the salvation God has promised. Even the obstinate failure of many to understand – which will lead to Jesus’ death – is part of that promise, for Jesus must offer all for the sake of all mankind. His is not the meekness of the weak, but the gentle, humble heart of our King who gives himself for expiation of our sins. 

    It is only once we open ourselves to that truth and allow Jesus to rule our lives that our vision can be expanded past the tangible and we can truly know him, know Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves, Jesus says. It is invitation, not coercion. Jesus’ yoke is his love for us; to accept it is to open ourselves to his love and to allow him to dwell in us and rule our hearts. Our job is simply to let him steer and guide us.. Then we will find the kind of peace prefigured by Zechariah, when all the implements of war (the chariot, the horse, the warrior’s bow) shall be banished, and we shall shout for joy, praising God’s name forever, as Psalm 145 exhorts us to do. 

    How do we open ourselves to the truth of Jesus’ tremendous gift? As Paul tells the Romans, it is the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead who will give life to our mortal bodies also. If we live for the sake of the love revealed to us in Jesus Christ, if he lives in us through baptism, then we are participating in his love, and what we choose to do with our enfleshed bodies reveals that love. If we allow his Spirit to come and work within us, we are set free, and it is freedom that brings peace in the way that God has wanted to rule throughout all of Scripture – ruling our hearts with his love. 

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

Sunday Gospel Reflection, June 28, 2026: Whoever receives a prophet will receive a prophet's reward...

Whoever receives a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward… 
We are defined by our acts of kindness!

    Whenever, in the Second Book of Kings, the prophet Elisha comes to Shunem, he is treated with kindness by a woman of influence who, along with her husband, recognizes Elisha as a holy man of God. Appreciative of her repeated kindness and upon learning that she has no son, Elisha promises the woman, This time next year you will be fondling a baby son. Although she is at first skeptical, the woman will come to cherish this divine gift and sing the goodness of the Lord, following Psalm 89. 

    Did Jesus have this story in mind when, in Matthew’s Gospel, he says, whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward? Speaking to his disciples, Jesus sets forth a series of challenges, each of which contains both an invitation – Whoever… – and a clearly defined consequence: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of my disciples to drink will surely not lose his reward! Jesus is sending his disciples out into the world to proclaim the good news, and he wants them to know that for every condition he sets forth for discipleship, there is the possibility of a lasting recompense. The conditions of discipleship are not always easy: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, Jesus says. But to put Jesus first is to open oneself to absolute, infinite love; it changes you and it changes your capacity to love. If the disciples go forth with such love for the lost sheep of Israel, that love will reach out and draw those to whom they speak into relationship with Jesus. And the rewards are infinite: eternal life! 

    Our baptism into Christ Jesus has the power to draw us into the death of Jesus so that we can then rise with him to new life. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live in him, as the Letter to the Romans states. Baptism redefines us; it redefines the parameters of our existence and of our identity, allowing us to enter more profoundly into the life to which he calls us. We, like the disciples, are on a journey to do just this: to open our hearts to the Lord in such a way that our hearts are also absolutely open to everyone in our life and in our world. May we, like the woman of Shunem, be defined by our own acts of kindness, as we come to know the fullness of life in him, and become conduits of that life to all. 

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