Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. “A sower went out to sow.” As France [2007, 504] notes, in a primarily agrarian society the choice of agricultural imagery for parables needs no special explanation; three of the parables in this chapter are set on the farm. It is estimated that 90% of Israelites worked in some aspect of agriculture. There was also already a tradition in the…

Today’s readings for Mass again pair Hosea and Matthew. Both are rich with themes and topics, but one that came to mind was the way in which God views the world. When we view the world and all it contains we easily see what is on the surface and perhaps, from time to time, look more deeply into what we see.  God sees all the way to the heart of it. The prophet Hosea is speaking to the northern…

This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the previous post we considered the definition of a parable. In this post we’ll consider the context leading up to this gospel. Last Sunday’s gospel was composed on the final pericope in Matthew 11; today our gospel begins with Mt 13:1.  One can rightly ask, “What happened to chapter 12?”  As it happens, Matthew 12 is not used on any…

Today’s readings for Mass pair Hosea and Matthew.  At first glance, they seem unrelated. The Book of Hosea speaks of God courting Israel like a faithful bridegroom. The Gospel of Matthew recounts two healing miracles: the raising of a synagogue official’s daughter and the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage. But when read together they reveal something wonderful about God – He never stops…

This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle A. We read from Matthew 13, known as a “day of parables.” What is a “Parable”? Definition: “At its simplest a parable is a metaphor or simile  drawn from nature or common life,  arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness,  and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into…

Back in the day, I camped and backpacked in the wilds of Virginia and West Virginia. Generally, it was just for a weekend – maybe two or three days – along with a group of friends. We would carry everything in/out. I remember having fun, enjoying it all, but I always felt like I needed a day to recover. Perhaps it was the infrequency of carrying a load, the hiking, and all that goes with the…

Today is an ordinary Saturday in the liturgical cycle, but here in the United States it is also the 4th of July more properly known as Independence Day – a remembrance of the point in time when the colonies declared their independence from England. All this led to what is known in the U.S. as the Revolutionary War – or at the time in England as “the rebellion.” We’ll eventually get to the…

Today is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostles. The readings include the well known account from John 20:24-29 when Thomas, in response to the testimony of the other apostles, says: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  And from that episode these days he is “Doubting Thomas.”  The story of Thomas’…

28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  The last three verses of the chapter contain many echoes of the invitation of Jesus Ben Sira (Sir 51:23–27; cf. also Sir 6:24–31) for men to come and…

27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.  It is important to note that Jesus is not depicted as a religious genius who has discovered the divine mysteries. Simply put, Jesus is the beloved Son who is on intimate terms with the Father.  It is the…

Today’s readings for Mass continue the odd pairing: Amos and Matthew. Amos the fiery prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during a time of prosperity for the elite, but not so much for the poor who did not participate in the prosperity and at the same time faced corrupt courts and dishonest business practices. At same time Amos is also critical of the empty religious observance: “I hate, I…

25 At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. These words are not a prayer of praise for the ignorant, as elsewhere Matthew regards wisdom and understanding as positive attributes of the disciples themselves (7:24-27; 13:51;23:34;…

Today’s readings for Mass are an odd pair: Amos and Matthew. The first reading from the Book of Amos is a prophetic oracle of judgment. Amos speaks in stark images of roaring lions, traps, trumpets, and disasters before concluding, “Prepare to meet your God.” The Gospel from Gospel of Matthew tells the familiar story of Jesus calming the storm at sea. One sounds like doom and the end of the…

The Sunday to come is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The transition of Sunday gospels from the 13th to the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) passes over Matthew 11:1-24 which can be aptly described as the warnings of Matthew 10 coming true. (Note: these verses are read on the 3rd Sunday of Advent) There will indeed be opposition within and from the people of Israel. There have been all…

“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Tm 4:7) So wrote St. Paul in his letter to Timothy.  Eric Liddle understood that. He was China-born in 1902, the son of Scot Presbyterian missionaries, who, as was the custom, sent Eric and his sister Jennie back to Scotland for their education and formation for mission in China.  Eric was an excellent student and an even…

Today is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Most of the apostles and lots of saints have their own feast day, but how about the two most famous saints of the early church? There is February 22nd in which the Church celebrates the “Chair of Peter” the sign that Peter was the first among the apostles and the one designated to lead the early Church after Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension. But…

Most of the apostles and lots of saints have their own feast day, but how about the two most famous saints of the early church? There is February 22nd in which the Church celebrates the “Chair of Peter” the sign that Peter was the first among the apostles and the one designated to lead the early Church after Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension. But there is no “Feast of St. Peter.” St. Paul,…