Friar Musings

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…

Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the June 6th “D-Day” landings in Normandy during World War II. It marked a turning Point in World War II as it provided the Allies with a foothold in Western Europe and set the stage for the subsequent liberation of France and the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Normandy landing resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with thousands of soldiers losing…

This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.  In Jn 6:60, some of the disciples of Jesus react negatively saying ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it.’  Are they referring just to the immediately preceding passages (vv. 51-59) or are they referring to all of Jesus’ claim in v.42, ‘I have come down from heaven.’?  Jesus’ own words give us the context, “Do you take…

Virginia Class Submarine The role of naval vessels, aircraft, missiles, drones, and ground forces are likely more familiar to the average citizen than the role, use, and operation of submarines. While I enjoyed the Hunt for Red October, I wondered if the screen writers wanted the submarines to perform an Immelmann Loop or some other amazing maneuver from the world of aerobatics. If jet aircraft…

Today is the Feast of St. Boniface, the Benedictine monk noted for his missionary efforts in the Netherlands (Frisia) and Germania in the 8th century.  Born in or near Exeter, England, around 675 AD,  and named Winfrid, he was of a respected and prosperous family. Against his father’s wishes he devoted himself at an early age to monastic life. He received further theological training in the…

This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.  Where the principal focus of the previous section is the bread of life as the divine revelation given to men by and in Jesus, Jn 6:51 moves the focus to a clearly Eucharistic theme – ‘I am the living bread come down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life…