Friar Musings

Last week our daily gospels were taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A major theme was a series of three gospels was a description of progression in Christian discipleship in asking three foundational questions. Who is God shaping me to become? What effect is that transformed life meant to have on others? If that is who we are and how we are to be present to others, what is the “end…

This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Last week (2023), with the celebration of the 11th Sunday, we returned to Ordinary Time in the liturgical sense. Depending on the year (leap year or no), the phase of the moon (seriously – that is in part how Easter is determined) and some other celebrations you may or may not have encountered the readings from the 9th, 10th or 11th Sundays…

Over the many years I have read, studied, written commentaries and led Bible studies, I have become ever more convinced that all the books of Sacred Scripture carry and reveal a pattern that runs through the entire story of salvation. It is simple three-step pattern God chooses a people, God loves them before they deserve it, apart from whether they think they are worthy, and God sends them…

This Sunday is the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The gospel is from the opening verses of the Matthean Missionary Discourse. In the previous two posts we explored the intention and meaning of the geographical limitations placed on the Twelve’s commissioning. In this post we examine two simple verses that provide the framework for the mission itself: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The…

I was baptized at a Sacred Heart Church, served Parokia Moyo Mtakatifu (Sacred Heart in Kenya) and served the Sacred Heart community of Tampa for many years. There’s a history. The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration that falls 19 days after Pentecost, on a Friday. The liturgical feast was first celebrated in Rennes, France. The liturgy was approved by the local bishop…

St. Barnabas was one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem, Jewish and Cypriot by birth. He was sent to Antioch as an emissary of the Church in Jerusalem and witnessed the work of the Lord. At some time before this, St. Paul had his Damascus Road experience and conversion. “When [Paul] arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing…

This Sunday is the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The gospel is from the opening verses of the Matthean Missionary Discourse. In the previous post we discussed Jesus’ commissioning of the Twelve but noted the geographical limitations on the mission. It is worth exploring this limitation a bit more. R.T France [2007, 381] notes: “Jesus is the Messiah of God’s people Israel (Mt 2:6), coming in…

Today is the third of three days reflecting on the daily gospels all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a progression in Christian discipleship: Monday, the question was: Who is God shaping me to become? Yesterday we asked: what effect does that transformed life have on others? The answer is…

This Sunday is the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The gospel is from the opening verses of the Matthean Missionary Discourse. In the previous post we discussed the summoning and significance of the 12 disciples called “apostles” (this one and only time in Matthew) and later called “the Twelve.” In this post The commission of the Twelve is spelled out in strictly functional terms as an extension of…

Today is the second of three consecutive days when I am presiding at the parish daily Mass. The three gospels are all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. What follows is really one longer reflection delivered over three days because these three Gospel passages form a remarkably coherent sequence. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe…

This Sunday is the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The gospel is from the opening verses of the Matthean Missionary Discourse. From the first verses one should notice a change in vocabulary as Jesus “summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles…” (Mt 10:1-2) Up until this…

Today is the first of three consecutive days when I am presiding at the parish daily Mass. The three gospels are all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. What follows is really one longer reflection delivered over three days because these three Gospel passages form a remarkably coherent sequence. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a…

For decades, U.S. policy has been characterized by “strategic ambiguity.” Washington intentionally avoids answering two questions: Would the United States definitely defend Taiwan militarily? Would Taiwan be supported if it declared formal independence? The purpose is to discourage both a Chinese attack on Taiwan and a unilateral declaration of independence by Taiwan. By leaving its response…

This Sunday is the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Liturgical Year A. The gospel is taken from Matthew 9:36 – 10:8 which falls in a section that is part of the Galilee ministry, but towards the end with a third cycle of Jesus’ mighty acts (9:18–34) which reveals his power over death and chronic illness, blindness, and speechlessness. The Galilee ministry ends with essentially a summary verse:…

This Sunday we will celebrate the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time includes the days not part of the Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter seasons. The Easter season extends to and includes Pentecost Sunday. Ordinary Time starts the Monday following Pentecost. Apart from special feast days and memorials, the liturgical color is green, but you may have noticed the two Sundays following…

Back in the day when I served in a slum parish on the edge of Nairobi. Over the course of several encounters I came to know a Mill Hill priest, Fr. John Kaiser. Fr. John was a missionary legend. Originally from Minnesota, he had a Paul Bunyan like quality to him – larger than life. By the time I met him he had been serving in Kenya for 30 plus years. One day he randomly showed up at the parish…

China is noted for the system of walls and fortifications known as the Great Wall that stretches 13,000 miles across its historical northern borders as protection against various nomadic groups invading from the Eurasian Steppe. Modern day China may one day be equally known for the underwater version it has constructed and continues to expand on the seabed of on its eastern border, the South and…