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Second Sunday in Ordinary TimeJanuary 17, 2021FocusBaptism of the Lord
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter.One-Minute-Homily
> If it has never actually happened, we can at least imagine what it would be like if our employer called us in and said something like, “You do good work. I’m going to promote you, with more pay, better benefits, and a company truck. Of course, it will mean more work.”
> Jesus wasn’t actually offering his disciples more pay, but he did offer them new opportunities, more benefits, more responsibilities – and maybe even, as in the case of Peter, a new title. They would all later be known as followers of the Christ, or “Christians”
> Over the centuries, people have become Christian for lots of different reasons – to avoid death or damnation, to gain power and influence, because that’s just what people did, to find meaning and purpose, to experience love and hope. The beginning of a new year is a good time for all of us to examine the reasons why we became – and continue to be -- Christians.
> We gather around the table of the Eucharist (when it’s safe to do so) because we have been invited by the Lord and we have said yes to the invitation. We are disciples of the Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: If Jesus were here in person, what might he ask you to do?
> Question for Youth: For some people growing up means being able to do whatever you want; for others it means being able to make a difference in someone else’s life. Do you struggle with the tension between those two motives?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are people confused about why we are Christians? Are our motives pure and are they obvious to others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
January 10, 2021Solemnity of the EpiphanyFocusIt happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”One-Minute-Homily• • •
> Being named and claimed by someone -- "this is my daughter," "this is my husband," "this is my mother" – has consequences. It defines our identity and informs our behavior; it limits our freedom to be and do whoever and whatever we want to be and do.
> In this week's Gospel, the Father names and claims Jesus -- "this is my beloved Son." This defines the Son’s identity and imposes on Jesus the responsibility to be and do what the Son of God is expected to do, which is to incarnate the Living God in time and space.
> Our challenge is to allow God to name and claim us – to recognize that relationship and to grow in our commitment to be and do what is expected of us as sons and daughters of the Divine. It prohibits us from using slurs and epithets to devalue God’s relationship with others who have also been named and claimed.
> The Eucharist names and claims us as the Body of Christ on earth; it imposes on us the challenge of embodying the Living God in our time and place.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when people call you names?
> Question for Youth: Growth into adulthood means forming new relationships which shape who we are and what we do. What happens to our existing relationships then?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we struggle seriously to balance the claims we make on others with the claims that others make on them?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveJanuary 3, 2021Focus
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. …[O]n entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
One-Minute-Homily
> Not too long ago, people were forbidden to associate or marry outside their social, economic, religious, ethnic or racial spheres. Now, personal affection has transcended these restrictions in many places, but politicians (and some religious leaders) continue to exploit group animosities to maintain power and control.
> The Christian tradition has long recognized the story of the Magi as a sign that the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a universal God whose love and mercy is not restricted to a chosen people.
> It is tempting to think along these lines that God is a God of both “us” and “them”, but the truth is, with the exception of minor and superficial differences, there is no longer an “us” or “them”, and that is the truth we are challenged to believe and proclaim in our personal lives and in our social lives.
> This truth -- more true than we like to admit sometimes -- is revealed to us in Eucharist when we pray “and you, my brothers and sisters.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do you think kids are mean to people who look, talk or act differently?
> Question for Youth: Peer groups -- people who are like us -- exert a lot influence on how we treat people who are different; how to you experience that kind of pressure and how do you respond to it?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do outsiders sense that we still judge between "us" and "them", between newcomers and oldtime members? What gives them that impression?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFeast of the Holy Family
• • •December 27, 2020Focus
When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,… Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
One-Minute Homily> Although modern society tends to devalue the wisdom of the elderly, time and again experience reveals they know and understand more than we give them credit for. It’s often grandmothers or fathers who perceive something true about a child which escapes their parents’ anxious judgment.
> In today’s Gospel, two elderly people—Simeon and Anna—recognize the child Jesus as the promised Messiah. Perhaps Mary and Joseph had already begun to suspect this, but it turns out that most of the wise Jewish religious leaders never would.
> The challenge for all of us--in our families, in society and in the church--is to appreciate the wisdom and experience of older members. Not being invested in existing power arrangements, they might have wise suggestions about what needs to be changed and improved
> Eucharist is the ultimate medium for change and renewal—each time, each week, it challenges us to adapt to new challenges and experience.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel that a grandparent understand you better than your parents?
> Question for Youth: The closer you get to adulthood, have you discovered the value of an older person’s wisdom and experience?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we open to the insights and wisdom of older members, or do we assume they agree with the way things are?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Fourth Sunday of AdventDecember 20, 2020Focus
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph… And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you”…. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. …[F]or nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “…May it be done to me according to your word.”
One-Minute-Homily
> How often in life are we confounded by events which are totally unexpected, improbable, even impossible—and usually unwelcome? Our first response is often anger or denial: “This can’t be!” we say. “This isn’t fair!” “This must be a mistake!”
> “How can this be?” was Mary’s only reaction according to Luke, so we are left to imagine the other feelings she had. The immediate shame and embarrassment would be obvious; only time would tell the pain and suffering which she would experience as the mother of this child.
> Only time and experience teach us that unexpected and unwelcome surprises often turn out to be blessings in disguise. Even faith doesn’t make it easy, but it does make the impossible possible. Our challenge as disciples is to give witness to the fact that nothing is impossible for God and those who trust in God.
> We often take the Eucharist for granted, without stopping to realize how improbable, even impossible – and frightening – it is that God lives among us
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Can you think of something that happened that seemed impossible and unwelcome?
> Question for Youth: The lives of young adults are filled with surprises—some welcome, some not. What does Mary’s example suggest about responding to these surprises?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How do we respond, as individuals or communities, to the unexpected and unwelcome? Do our lives witness to our faith in God’s providence?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday of AdventDecember 13, 2020Focus
A man named John was sent from God. He came…to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him…. And this is the testimony of John.... "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord’....I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me....
One-Minute-Homily
> As a general rule, we don't much appreciate advice, but we sometimes value people who understand things in a different and more helpful way. They have insight or wisdom which we value more than advice. They inspire options we would not have see on our own.
> Like John the Baptist, these special people are the voices crying out in the deserts where we find ourselves confused and afraid. Like John, they point to a new option we would not have otherwise recognized. They offer ways we might straighten things out.
> As people of faith, our challenge is both to hear these voices and to be these voices for others – to be people with encouragement and hope, people with vision who believe that there is something better – Some-One-Better -- revealing God's love in the midst of an imperfect and unfinished world.
> Eucharist is a Word of hope too, the celebration of Some-One-Better who is present among us, offering an alternative to the deserts in our lives.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Who is someone who helps you feel better when you are sad or worried? Do you think of them as Jesus?
> Question for Youth: Young people get a lot of unwelcome advice; where do you find encouragement and inspiration in the midst of the confusion and uncertainty of growing up?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we offer more advice than inspiration? Do we act like people filled with despair or hope?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Second Sunday of Advent
December 6, 2020
Focus
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you…. A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.... And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> When something goes wrong, we often say "I'll straighten this out" or "I'll make this right." It's our way of acknowledging that something needs to change, that we’re headed in the wrong direction, that we need to turn back or around.
> John the Baptist calls the people of Jesus' time to change--to turn around, to "repent.” He calls them, as he calls us, to prepare for a new understanding of God and a new relationship with the God who will be revealed by one mightier than himself.
> The God Jesus reveals to us is so amazing--so loving, so merciful, so determined to redeem humankind--that we must regularly stop to correct our inadequate and mistaken impressions of God. Unless we do that, we can’t live in right-relationship with God or with our brothers and sisters.> The Eucharist is naturally an experience of reconciliation; each week it calls us to change, to turn around, to reorder our relationship to God and each other.
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: What are some things you could change that would make you a better person?
> Question for Youth: Young people face so many options; are you choosing those which reveal a God of love and forgiveness?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are the inadequate impressions of God which we give people, and what do we need to do to change them?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
First Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! ...[Y]ou do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"
One-Minute-Homily
> With children, it seems that the longer they wait for something the more excited and impatient they get. Adults, on the other hand, seem to tire of waiting and go on with life; “I don’t have time for this,” we say--running the risk that we will miss what we were waiting for.
> The Lord's coming occurs gradually over time; we run the risk of missing where and how he is being gradually incarnate--made present--here and now unless we are expecting and watching, patiently, at the right time in the right place.
> For us disciples, it’s not just waiting and watching for the end of time (or the end of our lives on earth), but being watchful and alert for the many unexpected and untimely ways in which the incarnate Lord appears in our lives, often when we least expect him, or have given up waiting.> The Eucharist is not just about the Lord's future coming, but about his real presence among us now. If the Gospel says "Be watchful! Be alert!", the Eucharist, in its broadest sense, says "Look here!"
For Discussion or Reflection
> Question for Children: Where do you see signs of Jesus’s presence? Who do you know who acts like Jesus?
> Question for Youth: Young people do a lot of waiting – mostly, waiting to grow up and be on their own. How do you connect this waiting with people waiting for Jesus’ coming?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we focused on the Lord’s presence here and now, outside as much as inside the church? Do we share our experience of Jesus’ coming with others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of Christ the King
November 22, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory...all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.... Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed.... Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.... Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least...of mine, you did for me.'"
One-Minute-Homily
> It has been said that if you want to size up a person's character, observe how they treat the wait staff in a restaurant. How we treat people who are presumably less important reveals something fundamental about what kind of persons we are, and how we understand our relationship to others.
> Some scripture scholars think Matthew 25 is an example of Semitic exaggeration which is inconsistent with the image of a merciful God portrayed generally throughout the Gospels. Nonetheless, it shows us that we cannot know Jesus if we do not recognize him in those we consider the least among us.
> The Gospel is a challenge to us as individuals and as groups ("the nations," Matthew says) – as families, communities, churches. Judgment falls on the groups to which we lend allegiance, and it is based on how we and they treat those presumed to be the least among us.> The Eucharist forms us as the Body of Christ on earth; we are accountable not just for our individual actions but for the actions of the community which acts on our behalf.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel like people ignore you or tease you because you are not as important as they are? Do you ever treat other people that way?
> Question for Youth: Young adults are particularly sensitive about belonging or not belonging to the right group. How do you and the groups you belong to treat "the least" among and around you?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we even recognize "the least" among and around us? How do we as individuals and as faith communities respond to them?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2020
Focus
[The servant] who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,...so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.' His master said... 'Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.'"
One-Minute Homily
> As children or the parents of children we know that a person who fears failure or punishment is not motivated to try harder -- especially if trying harder means a greater risk of failing. Most people will stop trying if they fear failure and the punishment which it brings.
> In today's parable, the servant who feared the master as "a demanding person" buried his talent to avoid risking failure and displeasing the master. In the end, he lost what he had on account of his fear of failure and punishment.
> The God revealed to us by Jesus is a loving and generous God; we do not need to fear God as a master or a parent who will punish us if we try and fail. The love and mercy God shows us grows when we share it; it diminishes when we won’t share it out of fear of failing.> The Eucharist is not for people who are cautious or afraid; they put what God has given them to good use, risking mistakes, rejection and failure.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of something you don't like to do because you are afraid of failing?
> Question for Youth: There are a lot of pressures on young adults to succeed; do you think of Jesus or God as someone adding to that pressure?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Who is the God we know and share with others: a demanding, judging master or a generous, forgiving parent?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary TimeNovember 8, 2020
Focus
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom... The foolish ones...brought no oil with them.... While they went off to buy some, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, '...I do not know you.’”
One-Minute-Homily
> Humans, like many animal species, have a natural inclination to "care for our own," whether this is in a family, a community, or a church. In our own time, however, this tendency seems to have been redefined as the right to "take care of one's self."
> From the ancient and modern perspectives, today's parable seems perfectly sensible--the foolish virgins, for one reason or another, did not bring enough oil; they have to pay the consequences. Why should the smart ones risk running out?
> What should seem shocking to Christians is that the wise virgins apparently felt no responsibility to care about, or share with, the foolish ones--forgetting the main message of the Gospel, that salvation is a gift, freely given for all; no one has the right to hoard it, even from the foolish or undeserving.> We are reminded of this at Eucharist when the minister says "the body of Christ”--the community of believers, "our own," with whom we are expected share God's generosity.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of some of the ways other people take care of you and share with you?
> Question for Youth: Becoming an adult often seems to mean being able to take care only of ourselves; do you think that is what Jesus expects of us?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are some of the ways we get wrapped up in "taking care of ourselves" and ignore our responsibility as disciples to "take care of God's own"?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Feast of All Saints
November 1, 2020
Focus
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…. Blessed are they who mourn…. Blessed are the meek…. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…. Blessed are the merciful…. Blessed are the clean of heart…. Blessed are the peacemakers…. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness….
One-Minute-Homily
> By almost every contemporary social standard, people who are poor rather than rich, who are meek rather than aggressive, who are merciful rather than merciless, who seek peace rather than victory, are people who are thought to be losers--people who have failed, people who are weak, people to be pitied.
> The truth is, however familiar the Beatitudes are, they are almost as incredible to us as they must have been to people living in ancient Palestine: blessed are the losers; blessed are those who are despised, and pitied, and weak.
> The challenge for us as Christians today is to realize that the Lord was not kidding. God loves the so-called “losers” as much as the “winners”. God does not distinguish, as we do, between those who are successful or important or powerful, and those who are not. And we should not either.> We are easily tempted to think (if only silently) that some people don’t belong around the table of the Eucharist; it is not likely Jesus would agree.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Are their certain people who you think don’t deserve your friendship? Do other kids treat you as someone who doesn’t deserve their friendship?
> Question for Youth: Do you struggle with accepting yourself or being accepted by others because you don’t meet society’s expectations for who deserves to be accepted?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Who are the people we have a hard time believing God loves as much as us? Are we tempted to think, that’s fine for God but not for me.
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 25, 2020
Focus
...[A] scholar of the law tested him by asking "Teacher, which commandment...is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
One-Minute-Homily
> Every family, every community, every organization, every faith has laws or rules. These laws and rules are designed to guide and guard the members’ behavior, but they do not constitute the relationship which exists within the group or between its members.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus explains to the Jewish scholars that above the law is something even more important: their relationship to God and to each other. They are linked not by laws, but by love.
> Disciples need to realize that sometimes enforcing the rules can strengthen and preserve a relationship; at other times it may diminish or destroy it. Laws are secondary to the relationship and meant to serve it; this does not make them "relative" but it does make them "relational."> The Eucharist is first of all an expression and an experience of our relationship to God and to one another.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What rules do you have in your family and how to serve the family?
> Question for Youth: Can you identify the rules which help strengthen your relationship with family, friends and church -- and the rules which don't?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people get the impression that we care more about the rules than about the relationship? How can we change their impression?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 18, 2020
Focus
The Pharisees...sent their disciples to him...saying, "...Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" ... Jesus said, "...Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
One-Minute-Homily
> We live in a busy world where each of us has multiple roles and responsibilities. Often enough we feel trapped between conflicting responsibilities -- between home and work, between our parents and our children, between our human responsibilities and our responsibilities as disciples.
> In today's Gospel, the Pharisees challenged Jesus by presenting an apparent conflict between their responsibility to God and their responsibility in this world. His response implies that all of our human responsibilities are subject to our responsibilities as disciples.
> Because we live in the “in-between” times, in a world partly redeemed and partly not, we are challenged to live-into the Kingdom as best we can under the circumstances -- that means trying to fulfill our many responsibilities in this world in a way which is as consistent as possible with God's will.
> The Eucharist is a constant reminder of the “in-between” times -- a God who offers Godself to the world, but is not yet fully appreciated or accepted by the world.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you decide what is the good thing to do?
> Question for Youth: Young adults live on the edge between the past and the future; where and how do you feel the conflict between your faith and other needs or responsibilities?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How and when do we sacrifice our values or responsibilities as disciples to pursue certain other needs or responsibilities?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101820.cfm
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here:
https://learnctu.wpengine.com/category/sunday-scripture-reflection/
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel:
https://liturgy.slu.edu/29OrdA101820/theword_cultural.html
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here:
https://njheartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/corn-maze.jpg
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDqPpHzcRzo• • •
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 11, 2020
Focus
A king dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. ...[H]e said to his servants, The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike.
One Minute Homily
> From time to time things happen that shatter our perfect little world. A friend betrays us ... an accident or illness imperils our health ... events reveal that we do not have the perfect marriage or the perfect family we wanted people to think we had.
> In today's Gospel, the king's friends betray him by refusing to come to the wedding feast for his son. His perfect little world collapses; he is forced to turn to the imperfect -- anyone who was willing to accept the invitation, "bad and good alike."
> The parable reminds us that the price of admission to God's kingdom is not perfection. It is the willingness to accept God’s invitation, which means forsaking our own perfect little worlds, acknowledging our own imperfections, and accepting those of others. The truth is, the Body of Christ on earth is not perfect.
> "Gather us in," a familiar hymn goes, "the lost and forsaken," "the rich and the haughty," "the blind and the lame," "the proud and the strong" -- Eucharist is the banquet for anyone willing to accept the invitation.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
> For Children -- Do you ever pretend that you are perfect, or at least better than anyone else?
> For young adults -- How do you cope with all of the pressure to be special, perfect, or the best? What can you learn from this Gospel about dealing with that pressure?
> For Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we pretending to live in a perfect little world? Do our families and parishes look more like the king's perfect little world or the banquet of folks found on the street, bad and good alike?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?' Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
One-Minute-Homily
> Has someone ever offered you something – a different job, an investment opportunity, a relationship – which seemed to be too good to be true or too risky to accept? We reject new opportunities because they would require too much change in how we are accustomed to thinking or acting.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns his listeners that if they do not accept what he is offering – in this case, the experience of God’s mercy and love – God will offer it to someone else, and we know that many did reject the offer.
> The challenge to us as disciples is to realize that salvation is a gift, an opportunity, which God offers to anyone and everyone who is willing to accept it, but it requires a change in how we think and act – and it may seem too good to be true, or too risky.> We sometimes confuse the Eucharist with being all about what we are offering to God; it's really all about what God is offering to us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a gift someone gave you which you didn't like or didn't take good care of?
> Question for Youth: These years are filled with opportunities; do you ever reject some of them because they seem too risky or too much outside your comfort zone?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we leave people with the impression that salvation is an opportunity freely shared by God with all, or something offered only to the "chosen few"--like us?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 27, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "…A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?"
One-Minute-Homily
> Sometimes we promise to do something we have no intention of doing--it’s a polite way of (not) saying “no.” And we often avoid saying “yes” outright because we’re afraid of the commitment or responsibility it entails. A simple “yes” or “no” feels awfully definitive.
> Who knows what motivated the two sons in today’s Gospel, but Jesus’ point is pretty clear: what we do is, in the end, more important than what we say. It is what we do that changes things, not empty promises.
> For Christians, the challenge is always to be what we claim to be – to “walk the talk,” as they say in recovery -- and in the end it’s the walk that counts most because that’s what makes the difference (which might be a consolation to parents who worry because their children don’t claim to be Catholic, but act like it anyway.)
> All the pious and sacred words in the world won’t make Eucharist really real if the people gathered there don’t act like Christ is present in their midst.For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever say you will do something but then don’t do it? What do you think Jesus thinks about that?
> Question for Youth: Do you ever feel like you say no, (or say yes and don’t mean it) as a way of testing authority or proving your emerging independence?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: We say a lot about who we are as Catholic Christians; in what ways do we fail to act in a way which is consistent with our words?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
• • •Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 20, 2020
Focus…[W]hen the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled,…saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said…, '…Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go…. Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
One-Minute-Homily
> From early on, children learn to notice what is “fair” and “unfair”. As adults, we are often acutely aware of people who are treated better or receive more than we think they deserve, which is usually based on what we think they have earned.
> Today’s parable shows us that God judges what is fair and unfair differently from us. Each worker received what the landowner thought they deserved – based not on what they earned, but on what they needed.
> The challenge for us, as individuals and societies, is to realize that the other name for generosity is justice –and, as Pope Francis insists, the other name for justice is mercy. Every person deserves what they need to be the fully human person God intends them to be.> “The last will be first and the first will be last”—the Eucharist reminds us that in God’s eyes the difference is not reversed but eliminated.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of examples of things that are unfair? What do you think God thinks about that?
> Question for Youth: Are you a person who has more than you deserve or less than you deserve, based on how God decides what people deserve?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How much does the conventional attitude about what people deserve (what they have earned) shape how we think and act as Christian individuals or communities?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Discover the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
• • •Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 13, 2020
FocusPeter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
One-Minute-Homily
> Most of us get tired of forgiving someone for the same thing, over and over. After a certain point, we decide that enough is enough because the person obviously is not sorry or does not intend to change.
> "Seventy-seven times" is the Gospel's way of saying that the kind of forgiveness which mirrors God's forgiveness has no limit, and it does not depend on whether the person is sorry or is able to change. It is always a gift, freely chosen and freely given, without conditions.
> We can think of a lot of excuses not to forgive, but in the end the question for us is whether we choose to forgive or not. The choice is entirely up to us; it does not depend on certain conditions or the disposition of the other person. We cannot forgive “if”…> The Eucharist is God's way of saying to us, "I forgave you your entire debt…. Should you not have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when someone forgave you for something you did even though you didn't deserve to be forgiven?
> Question for Youth: Do you experience forgiveness as a gift freely given? Do you have making forgiveness a gift freely given to others?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What conditions do we or our faith communities place on forgiveness? What is the point at which we are tempted to say enough is enough?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 6, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church…. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
One-Minute-Homily
> In every human relationship and every human community, there are some behaviors which are intolerable. In such cases, the wellbeing (or perhaps the safety) of the individuals or community requires that something be done to stop the behavior or remove the offender for the sake of the common good.
> This is a decision, Jesus says in today’s Gospel, that must be taken reluctantly, cautiously, and only with the cooperation of others and the consent of the community. One cannot rely only on one’s own opinion.
> We are sometimes quick to accuse and condemn others, but our personal judgment—even the judgment of like-minded people on social media--is always subject to the wider consent of others who may be more objective, fair, or forgiving than we are under the circumstances.
> The Eucharist reminds us that Jesus was slow to condemn, ready to forgive, and eager to reconcile.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why is it easy to blame others and hard to forgive them?
> Question for Youth: Groups can be quick to blame and condemn, too. Are you able to resist peer pressure when it is unfair or misplaced?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we and our faith communities slow to condemn, ready to forgive, and eager to reconcile? What is the evidence that we are?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 30, 2020
Focus
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”
One-Minute-Homily
> Important things take effort and sacrifice. Nowhere is this more obvious than in relationships, where we must often sacrifice our comfort, our pleasure, our priorities, sometimes life itself, for the sake of others.
> It’s not just Jesus’s passion and death which model Divine self-giving. The very act of creation itself and the mystery of the Incarnation are evidence of God sacrificing God’s splendid isolation and glory to enter into relationship with us – imperfect and wayward creatures.
> The paradox of the Paschal Mystery--the Mystery of Life--is that taking up the cross transforms us into the people we are meant to be, people who are completed only in relationship with others and with God—relationships which require mutual sacrifice and self-giving.> The Eucharist is a living sign of God’s self-giving; it nurtures and nourishes us to “become who we are,” people living in relationships which demand self-sacrifice for the sake of self-fulfillment.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What things do you enjoy doing which take a lot of work and effort?
> Question for Youth: Adolescence is often a person’s first (and sometimes painful) experience of how relationships require sacrifice; how have you experienced this in your own life?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Most of us have learned to sacrifice our comfort, pleasure or priorities for others; the question is, how broad and encompassing is our definition of “others”?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 23, 2020
Focus
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. …I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it...."
One-Minute-Homily
> Titles presume functions; with recognition comes responsibility. As married spouses, as parents, as civic or political leaders, as professional athletes, as ordained persons -- we are expected to fulfill the responsibilities of those positions.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus recognizes Peter as the “rock” around which he will gather the Body of Christ on Earth; to Peter and his successors falls the responsibility to lead and to serve God’s People as Jesus did.
> As disciples of Jesus Christ—as “Christians”--responsibility falls on us as well. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then the responsibility to act like his disciples falls on us too. People will feel loved or unloved, valued or not, depending upon how we treat them.
> The Eucharist reminds us of God’s unconditional love; for us, the decision to accept or reject others is more a challenge than a choice.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you show other people that God loves them?
> Question for Youth: During adolescence our faith is growing and maturing; how is your faith in Jesus changing?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do our actions as individuals or communities show people how Jesus would treat them? Do they experience in us God’s unconditional love?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary TimeAugust 16, 2020
Focus
...[A] Canaanite woman...came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.... It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.
One-Minute-Homily
> Many of us are relatively self-sufficient. We have what we need, if not everything we want. But the torment of a loved one can make us feel helpless—a sick child whose pain we can’t relieve, an elderly parent whose loneliness we can’t fill.
> The Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel is helpless too. She is a foreigner, and her daughter is tormented by demons. Despite his initial rebuke, she begs the Lord for help—not for herself, but for a loved one—and he is moved with compassion.
> The Gospel reminds us that God’s love and mercy are boundless--there is enough even for the stranger and the undeserving. God is always moved by our helplessness. We should never fear of begging for what seems impossible or unlikely.> Here is the Eucharist—the Body of Christ for the People of God, the sufficient and the insufficient, the desperate and the content, saints and sinners all.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What makes you feel helpless like the Canaanite woman?
> Question for Youth: Where or when do you feel like the people who could help you won’t help? What does the Gospel tell you about those situations?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we consciously or unconsciously turn away from those who don’t belong, who don’t deserve, what we have? Do we hoard God’s mercy for ourselves?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 9, 2020
Focus
During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came toward them walking on the sea.... Peter said to him in reply, "Lord,…command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink…. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
One-Minute-Homily
> To accomplish anything important we must risk trying and failing. In fact, to even begin we must first conquer the fear of failing. But in today’s society, where failure is often fatal, we are more likely to avoid risks and play it safe.
> In today’s Gospel, Peter steps out of the relative security of the boat into the stormy sea, but his confidence falters and he begins to sink. The fear of failure overwhelms him – too much doubt, too little faith, Jesus tells him.
> Living as disciples of Jesus entails risks too – the risk that we will try but fall short. In fact, it almost ensures that we will fall short; those are times when our fear of failure overwhelms our faith. The challenge is to try nonetheless, confident that the Lord is there to gently guide us back to safety.> The Eucharist is our place of safety and security in stormy seas. But it also where we hear the Lord saying to us “Come … replace fear with faith and risk failing to follow me.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do you think it is important to try, even if we might fail?
> Question for Youth: The young adult years are a risky time, a time of trial-and-error. How do you experience Jesus reaching out to guide you as he did Peter?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we still willing, as individuals and communities, to take risks? Or are we preoccupied with being safe, secure and comfortable?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here:• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 2, 2020
Focus
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
One-Minute-Homily
> At some point most children discover that hoarding what they have and keeping to themselves is not as much fun as sharing their toys and their selves with others. In children it’s called play, and it’s one of the building blocks of generosity.
> Today’s Gospel is a lesson in generosity, too. At some point, the loaves and fish presumably “belonged” to someone. By relinquishing their “ownership,” they allowed Jesus to demonstrate God’s generosity, thereby providing for thousands of people.
> The challenge for us as disciples is to relinquish our “right” to be safe, secure and privileged so that God can exercise divine generosity through us on the just and the unjust. In children this is called learning to play well; in adults it’s called learning to be merciful.> The Eucharist is a lived experience of God’s generosity, displayed on the cross and incarnate in the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What are some of the good things that can happen when you share?
> Question for Youth: Relationships are all about sharing and sometimes sacrificing what is important to us. What are some of the challenges of sharing you experience as a young adult?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people who are known for their generosity? What privileges have we relinquished in order to be instruments of God’s generosity?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of today’s Gospel here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 26, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
One-Minute-Homily
> As much as we would like to have it all, we know that is not possible. Most of us have to sell one house to buy a new one, stop doing one thing to do another, leave here to go there. These days, wear a mask to stay healthy. Life is full of trade-offs.
> Today’s Gospel is about trade-offs too. The person sells all he has to buy the field where the treasure is buried; the merchant sells everything to buy an expensive pearl. They are like the first disciples of Jesus who left fishing or tax collecting to follow him.
> We are reminded that there are trade-offs to being disciples of Christ. We trade one set of values for another-- despair for hope, justice for mercy, sadness for joy, and in the end, death for life. People will know that we are disciples of Christ by the choices—the trade-offs—that we make.> Eucharist is in its own way a trade-off experience; through Eucharist God replaces separation with communion, hunger with nourishment, absence with presence.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What are some of the choices you have to make between bad things and good things?
> Question for Youth: Do you experience a tension between being yourself and being a disciple? What are some of the trade-offs you are being asked to make?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What are some of the concrete trade-offs people see in us and the way we live? Do these observations encourage or discourage them from being disciples?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of today’s Gospel here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19, 2020
Focus
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat.... When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said,...'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest....'"
One-Minute-Homily
> As a general rule, we like to figure things out and get things settled. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” people say. We get impatient with people who can’t make up their minds, won’t come to the point, or want to wait-and-see how things work out. Re-open the economy. Re-open the schools.
> In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who is cautious and patient. He shows us a God who is willing to let things develop, to wait and see, to give everyone a chance, whose motto seems to be “do no harm.”
> The challenge to us as Christians is to recognize that every individual, every community, is, for the time being, a combination of wheat and weeds—saints and sinners. It is harmful to expect perfection or demand only the best and eliminate the rest. We too must be patient, trust that it will all work out in the end, and in the meantime do no harm.> As we gather for Eucharist, to hear the word and be united in the Lord’s presence, we are reminded that God isn’t finished with us—or anyone else—yet. We’re living in the “in-between” time.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why is it hard to wait?
> Question for Youth: Do you struggle with being “in between” being a child and being a full adult?> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we patient and trusting? Or do we leave the impression that we’ve got it all figured out and only the perfect need apply?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Learn more about the cultural context of the Gospel here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 12, 2020
Focus
Jesus spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.... When the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered.... Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold...."
One-Minute-Homily
> We try hard. We do our best. Some of our efforts succeed but others fail. One of our children does well, another struggles. Our relationships struggle. In some cases, frustrations and failure seem inevitable, no matter how hard we try.
> Perhaps Jesus's first disciples felt the same way. In any case, he told them a parable about a sower who seemed almost careless about where the seed fell -- and still ended up with a bountiful harvest which more than made up for what was lost.
> We often think of ourselves as the soil, but it is possible that Jesus meant us to think of ourselves as the sower. In that class, the challenge is to not get discouraged and to keep trying. To be extravagantly loving, caring, compassionate and merciful -- and to believe that God will, in the end, redeem our shortcomings.
> The Eucharist foreshadows the Eternal Banquet; it reminds us that there is more than enough for everyone; it assures us that God is determined to have a bountiful harvest.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you do when you try something and it doesn't work?
> Question for Youth: The process of maturing involves alot of trial-and-error. Where do you experience failure? Where do you experience success? How do you balance the two?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our failures and stop trying? Do we judge those who do not respond to our efforts, or do we trust that God intends to have a bountiful harvest despite our failures?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings:• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings
• Explore the cultural context of Sunday's Gospel
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary TimeJuly 5, 2020
Focus
"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 little ones.... Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
One-Minute-Homily
> The newborn infant is born free, but totally dependent. As we grow, we gradually assume more responsibility for our lives -- more and more responsibilities. more and more burdens. As adults we often feel overwhelmed by all these demands and burdens.
> In our relationship with Christ, Jesus says in today's gospel, we are always "little ones" – free but totally dependent. Jesus reveals to us a God who is meek and humble, who walks among us, who shares our burdens, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.
> As Christians, we are called into relationship with the Body of Christ on earth. As brothers and sisters, we are called to share one another's burdens and responsibilities; that's what makes the yoke easier and the burden lighter.
> Each week. our presence at Eucharist reminds us--and the people around us--that we are not alone; we all labor and are burdened but we are given encouragement, support and rest by the Lord living among us in the Body of Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Who helps you do hard things in your life?
> Question for Youth: Growing up means assuming more responsibilities for our lives and finding people who can help us bear those burdens. What is your biggest "burden" right now? Who is helping you bear it?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do individuals and the communities where we live – the people we know and the people we don’t know -- experience the Lord's presence within us in ways which lighten their burdens and makes the demands of life easier?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings• Read a commentary on Sunday’s reading
• Learn the cultural context of the readings.
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 28, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his apostles: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives me receives the one who sent me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> Today's world imposes so many demands and offers so many opportunities, it is often difficult to balance all of our responsibilities to a spouse, our children and extended family, our work, our physical wellness, our social and recreational life -- and church.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that our first priority is to him -- which is to say, that our first responsibility is to being disciples who are dedicated to building up the Kingdom of God in every place and circumstance.
> By the miracle of the Incarnation, the Divine Reality permeates the whole of creation. Every aspect of our lives is shaped by that Reality. Our challenge is to see the whole of life as opportunities to foster holy living, not as something separate from or in competition with it
> In the Eucharist, the Divine penetrates the material; the bread becomes the body. It is both the example and the means for living holy lives.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: In what ways can you be like Jesus in everyday life at home, in school, when you are playing with friends?
> Question for Youth: This is a time when you are intentionally shaping the person you will be as an adult--practicing to be an adult. How are you trying to integrate being a disciple into that vision of adulthood?
> Question for Adults, Do people experience us as individuals who have integrated faith and life; do we help people understand that being "holy" is not divorced from the rest of life?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 21, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to the Twelve: "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.... Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.... So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows...."
One-Minute-Homily
> There is maybe nothing more difficult than to know the truth but be unable or afraid to reveal it. But we are right to be cautious, because often it turns out that what we were told was true wasn't--or at least wasn't the whole truth. Truth is complicated, and is usually revealed only over time.
> Jesus assures us that, in the end, the truth he came to reveal will be revealed. We do not need to fear it or those who deny it. But we do need to be cautious because the truth is complicated, and we come to understand it only gradually, over time.
> Today's world is full of people announcing what they believe (or want others to believe) is the truth. People of faith too often assume they know “the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” but we would be wise to be more cautious and more humble, knowing that the truth is complicated.
> The Eucharist reveals to us the fundamental truth about everything: God is a God of love and mercy; we come to appreciate this truth only gradually, over time.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Does it make a difference that God knows and understandings everything that happens?
> Question for Youth: Young people are particularly sensitive to hypocrisy--fake people and fake news. How do you balance confrontation with patience?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: The Gospel shows us a God who both confronts us with forgiveness, who is both truthful and merciful. Do we and our communities reflect this complicated nature of God?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
June 14, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.... Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.... Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> For nine months before birth, and for some time afterward, a young child lives on the sustenance provided by its mother's body; the baby literally feeds on the body of its mother. In nature, premature separation from the body means almost certain death.
> Jesus says he is living bread, the living body, and whoever feeds on this body has eternal life. Perhaps in his view, the whole of creation exists in the womb of the Divine, much as the infant exists in the womb of its mother.
> The Church now is the living Body of Christ ("Corpus Christi") in space and time; its members live in this spiritual womb and feed on the Body of Christ by their participation in the body and celebration of the Eucharist. Separation from the body results in a kind of spiritual death—a sense of being abandoned, orphaned, and lost.
> We recognize this relationship between the Body and its members at every Mass; the minister says "The Body of Christ," and we respond "Amen."
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do parents use food to show us that they love us?
> Question for Youth: Can you think of ways in which being part of a group -- a family, a team, a group of friends -- gives you new life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we think of the church as the Body of Christ? How do we and others experience new life from our participation in this Body?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
June 7, 2020
Focus
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
One-Minute-Homily
> You can almost always tell when two people are “in love”. This is especially true with young lovers or new lovers, because it is so obvious that they are acting differently. To be connected, to be responsible, to love and be loved changes who we are and how we act.
> In today's Gospel, John says God loves the world; in other words, God has entered into a relationship with Creation. To realize that we are immersed in this relationship shapes who we are and how we act, and therein lies what we call salvation.
> The challenge of being Christian is to believe that we--and the people around us--are loved; to believe this will make us more caring, more responsible, more understanding, more forgiving—in other words, it will change how we act, because love always changes how lovers act.
> Eating with others is always a sign of relationship; in the Eucharist eating is a living sign of our relationship with the God-Who-Loves-Us, present in the Body of Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you know that someone loves and cares about you?
> Question for Youth: Human relationships teach us a lot about our relationship to God. What are you learning about relationships?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: We have a tendency to equate relationship to membership, but do we embrace the diversity and differences inherent in all relationships?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •Solemnity of Pentecost
May 31, 2020
Focus
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked where the disciples were...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." ...[H]e showed them his hands and his side.... Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
One-Minute-Homily
> Forgiveness is not a transaction or a “deal”; it is not a contractual agreement based on specified conditions, even sorrow or repentance. It is a gift, freely offered and freely received. I can forgive you even if you are not sorry.
> In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that his disciples are the agents of God's forgiveness--people experience forgiveness if we offer it to them; they don't if we deny it to them. The initiative is in our hands; it depends on us, not on them.
> God offers forgiveness freely to each of us; we are forgiven—that is a given, and it makes a difference if we are able to accept it. The challenge is to accept it and to offer it freely and unconditionally to others, whether they "deserve" it or not, whether they accept it or not.
> "Peace be with you," we say to one another at Mass; it presumes we are willing to freely accept and freely offer forgiveness.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when someone forgave you for something you did?
> Question for Youth: As we grow up, forgiveness becomes more challenging because people assume we are "old enough to know better." Do you find it more difficult to receive and give forgiveness?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What conditions do we or our faith communities place on forgiveness? Do people experience God's peace as forgiveness freely given without conditions?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •Solemnity of the Ascension
May 24, 2020
Focus
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “…Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Although we often deny, repress, or ignore it, doubt is always part-and-parcel of human commitment--and faith. If the truth be told, we are never completely sure; honest doubt is what keeps us from surrendering to fanatical passion or blind obedience.
> In today's Gospel, Matthew notes that at the end the apostles worshiped Jesus but they doubted--from here on they would live by faith, which Paul says is “the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is a response to things we cannot know for sure.
> As Christians we are challenged to act with prudence and humility; faith distinguishes us from radical political and religious movements which become dangerous because their judgments are based on what they claim is absolute certainty. This is the difference between ideology and faith.
> We may teach them what Jesus commanded, but in the end it is the perception that “I am with you” that brings them -- and us -- to the Eucharist.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you do when you are not sure about something?
> Question for Youth: Growing up is filled with uncertainty. Are you comfortable with doubt or does it paralyze you? Does faith help you be humble and prudent?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Can we acknowledge the doubt which goes hand-in-hand with faith? Do our faith communities act with prudence and humility in a way that validates people’s imperfect faith?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "...I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.... ...[Y]ou know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”
One-Minute-Homily
> An orphan is a person who is stranded, disconnected from family or community, alone and unattached. Orphans have no one to protect them or advocate for them--a condition often imposed on children and adults alike by our current social and economic system.
> Jesus assures us that we are not meant to be orphans, alone and unattached. Over and over, Jesus assured that disciples that he would not abandon them. He and the Father continue to be present with us in the Spirit, who is our Advocate, who inspires and protects us.
> Love is the Spirit which unites the Father, Jesus and us, just as it unites parents and children; it is a presence and bond which transcends time and space. We are challenged to love others, to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable—for the orphans who are stranded and disconnected from the community.
> The Eucharist expresses and creates this relationship; gathered around the table, we are connected, attached, united in love--even in times like now when we cannot be physically present to one another.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you know or can you imagine what it would be like not to know and see your parents?
> Question for Youth: During adolescence, our relationship to our parents begins to change much as Jesus' relationship to the disciples changed. How do you experience this changing relationship to parents and family?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How and why do we feel like orphans in the faith community? What attitudes, customs, or rules make others feel like orphans in our families, communities or parishes?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 10, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. ...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me...."
One-Minute-Homily
> Although every individual is unique, each of us also reveals to others something about the family, ethnic group, nationality or religion to which we belong. When people meet us they also meet our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles, our siblings too.
> Jesus says we can know who God is and what God is like by knowing him--Jesus reveals God to us; he and God are one. There is a place for each of us in the Father’s Kingdom because the Father’s love transcends time and space and human limitations or conditions.
> By living as the Body of Christ on earth, each of us--and the families and faith communities to which we belong--can reveal the eternal God to others by imitating Jesus. People can encounter and experience God’s mercy and love in us, if only imperfectly, when we believe and act as Jesus did.
> Eucharist reveals to us a God who desires to share his love and care by gathering the family around the table where we are nourished by word and sacrament.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: When and how do you act like Jesus?
> Question for Youth: When and where are you most challenged to "act like Jesus would"?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we and our faith communities reveal the same God Jesus revealed to us -- or a God shaped more by human values, perceptions, conventions and fears?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2020
Focus
So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
One-Minute-Homily
> When we encounter difficult times or face important decisions, we often confide in a close friend--someone who knows us, who cares about us, and desires the best for us; someone we can trust to be honest but understanding.
> Using the example of a good shepherd, Jesus says he is the good friend and protector we can we can confide in. We can trust that he desires the best for us; we can depend on him to guide and protect us.
> If we listen carefully to God's advice in Scripture, the wisdom expressed in church teaching, and what we have learned from our own experience, we can depend on a well-formed conscience to guide and protect us and those who confide in us for support.
> The Eucharist reveals to us a God and a community who desire the best for us; we can depend on their guidance and protection.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Who cares for you and protects you?
> Question for Youth: Because our relationships are shifting and changing at this age, it is sometimes hard to know whom to trust. Who are the people you can trust? Does your list include the Lord?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we experience the faith community as a place where people care about us? Are we people others can depend on us to be honest and understanding?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •Third Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2020
Focus
[On] the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus. ...[A]nd it happened that while they were conversing...Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.... As they approached the village...they urged him, "Stay with us...." So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him....
One-Minute-Homily
> We don’t normally eat with strangers; we feel uncomfortable about eating with someone we don't know, don't like, or don't trust. Eating together – “breaking bread” is a very personal and intimate sign of a relationship between people who know and love each other.
> Although the disciples were probably impressed with the wisdom Jesus shared along the road to Emmaus, they recognized him in the breaking of the bread--a simple but profound act of sharing among friends.
> Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we know God in the people who befriend us and the people we befriend. It is in our relationships that we come to experience a personal and intimate relationship with the God revealed to us in the breaking of the bread—a God who knows, likes, trusts and loves us.
> This is what we miss most during this time of social isolation when we can only watch the Eucharist—being together, breaking bread,
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Who do you eat food with? How do you feel about the people you eat with?
> Question for Youth: Think about your friendships; in the process of becoming adults, we befriend a lot of strangers in the hope of finding one who can embody God’s love, care for us.
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we growing in our appreciation for how much God knows, likes and loves us? Does our attitude and behavior at and outside of Eucharist reveal God's love and care to others?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •
Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2020
Focus
On the evening of that first day of the week...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.... Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them…. He said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands...and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later...Jesus came...and stood in their midst.... ...[H]e said to Thomas, "…See my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving….” Thomas...said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
One-Minute-Homily
> "Show me." The truth is, we are all a little skeptical about taking anyone at their word these days, especially if we have been deceived or misled by someone--or an institution--we trusted. We are likely to demand evidence that we can accept “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
> So-called “Doubting Thomas” often gets a bad rap because he demanded no more than what had already been given to the rest of the disciples, but he becomes an example for us who demand more proof than faith can provide.
> The things we believe in are not things that can be “proven” in the conventional sense--like God's unexplainable mercy. Our faith is based more on intuition than proof, and on the witness of others who encourage us to believe what we can only hope is possible.
> When we take the Eucharist into our hands, we cannot see Christ; we believe in his presence because we have sensed it, experienced and encountered it, in the Body of Christ around us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you "believe" in that you cannot see?
> Question for Youth: As we grow, we begin to "test" the truths others have told us; what truths are you "testing" right now?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Have we placed our faith in the kind of proof which, in the end, is not convincing because it tries to prove too much? Like human justice instead of God's mercy?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
Find a schedule of live-streaming for Sunday Mass here
• • •
Solemnity of EasterApril 12, 2020
Focus
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb...and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.... So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.... When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in...and he saw and believed.
One-Minute-Homily
> In the midst of tragedy and loss, it is often hard to imagine that things will ever be OK, much less better. And yet our experience shows that often times we look back on difficult situations as times of growth and grace. Sometimes things turn out better than we could hope.
> Confronted with the crucifixion and death of Jesus, surely his followers must have wondered how things could ever be OK. Only gradually did they realize that what came out of his death was resurrection--a new kind of -- and everlasting -- life. That's the nature of what Christians call "the Paschal (Easter) Mystery."
> The challenge to us as followers of Jesus is to imagine -- and believe -- that something better is possible, in spite of the pain and suffering we and our loved ones experience in this life. The “new normal” will be something totally new and far from normal if we are willing to believe and to hope.
> We literally get a taste of this new life -- the Easter Mystery -- every time we participate in the Eucharist.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Can you think of a time when you were surprised by something very good?
> Question for Youth: People say "no pain, no gain." Can you think of ways in which you have experienced that fact in your own life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do people recognize us as persons of hope and trust -- as persons and communities who believe in the Easter Mystery?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• Find a schedule of live-streaming for Easter Masses here• • •
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
March 29, 2020
Focus
The disciples…brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and [Jesus] sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”
One-Minute Homily> We often invest our hopes and dreams in people who turn out to be someone less than we expected. Refusing to see or accept people for whom they really are, we demand that they be the persons we want or need them to be--usually a guarantee that we will be disappointed.
> The crowds who greeted Jesus along the road got the story half right – he was indeed the Messiah they were hoping for, but not the kind of Messiah they expected. Soon enough, disappointed by the truth, they would be shouting “Crucify him!”
> Often enough in this world, we are tempted to sacrifice our integrity in return for acceptance, success, influence or security. Our challenge as disciples is to be the persons we have been called to be, not the persons other people expect us to be.> Week after week, the Eucharist reminds us of our true identity, the persons we are meant to be—the Body of Christ.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever pretend to be someone different than you really are?
> Question for Youth: Adults have a lot of expectations for young people; do you struggle to be the person you really are?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: When and how have we sacrificed our true identity for success, or acceptance, or security?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here.
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• Find a schedule of live-streaming for Holy Week services here
• • •
Fifth Sunday in LentMarch 29, 2020
Focus
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.... Jesus said, "Take away the stone."... So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands.... So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."
One-Minute-Homily
> Most of the time, most of us pretty much take life for granted. Until we are old or get sick, or our lives are threatened by something like a pandemic, we don't think much about death, and we don't think much about what's important and what isn't.
> In this week's Gospel, Lazarus and his sisters have a life-and-death experience. Jesus restores Lazarus to life--a life-and-death experience which no doubt helped Lazarus and his loved ones appreciate what is really important in this life and the life to come.
> The challenge for us as Christians is to recognize the life-and-death experience which the coronavirus pandemic presents to us and our loved ones. This is an opportunity not just to think about what’s important, but to actually do something about it--to make choices like our lives depended on them, because it does.
> In its own way, the Eucharist is a near-death experience--it clarifies the difference between this-life and new-life, between here-and-now, between what's important and what is ultimately-important.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What gives you life and makes you feel safe these days?
> Question for Youth: Growing up entails so many choices; in what ways do you experience some tension or confusion between what's important and what's really important?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we and our communities a source of hope for people during the pandemic? Does our presence help people recognize the difference between what's important and what's really important?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here:
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 22, 2020
Focus
As he passed by Jesus saw a man blind from birth…. [H]e spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam”…. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. …[Jesus said to him], “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe?” Jesus said to him, “…the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe,”…. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Even as young children in school, we are embarrassed to admit we don’t know the answer. The world expects us to know everything; it encourages us to pretend that we have all the answers, and it shames people who admit that there are mysteries they do not understand.
> The blind man in this week's Gospel comes to believe in the Savior, even though he cannot explain what happened to him; by contrast, the religious leaders, who presume that they already know everything, lack the ability to believe in something more.
> Faith should not contradict what we know, but in the end it will always depend more on trust than on knowledge. The challenge for us is to admit that there are important mysteries we cannot completely explain and hopes we cannot justify without faith.
> The Eucharist is perhaps the greatest mystery of all -- an expression of our trust in the Divine really present among us.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when somebody asks you a question and you don't know the answer?
> Question for Youth: What are some of the questions or mysteries in your life? Are you comfortable living with mysteries you can't fully understand?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Think of some of the ways in which we act like the Pharisees--overly confident that we "see" everything and blind to the need for faith in unexplained mysteries.
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2020
Focus
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar.... Jacob's well was there…. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew...who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.... Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst...."
One-Minute-Homily
> We all long for acceptance and love, which is to say we long to be known and accepted and valued. In the absence of love and acceptance we will settle for attention, and we will sometimes cheat, lie and steal to get, but attention never satisfies our desire for love.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus recognizes the Samaritan woman at the well as a real person, in spite of the fact that she is an alien, a woman -- and a sinner. He promises her "living water" -- a symbol of God's unconditional love and acceptance.
> The Gospel challenges us, first, to believe that God knows us and loves us in spite of our human imperfection and sin. Secondly it challenges us to believe that God loves every other human being in the same way, which is how we should value them as well.
> "The Body of Christ"...the Eucharist names and claims us for who we are; it is the living expression of God's unconditional acceptance and love. The challenge, as St. Augustine said, is to become what we are.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever feel like you don't belong? How do people help you feel like you are welcome?
> Question for Youth: Teenagers often feel like they don't "fit in;" how do you help others feel accepted and welcome?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: What's the biggest challenge about accepting others, even those who are different?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a reflection on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
Find a schedule of Lenten services in Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
• • •
Second Sunday in Lent
March 8, 2020
Focus
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. ...[A] bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
One-Minute-Homily
> We all need something to keep us going when times get tough -- something to look forward to and to hope for, a vision of better times. We need to know that beyond the tough times, the pain and suffering, better times are coming.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus reveals himself to the disciples in all of his divine glory and the Father confirms that they can place their trust in him. It was this experience that would sustain them and give them hope in the difficult days which Jesus knew lay ahead.
> Lent reminds us that we are imperfect and sinful people, living in a world where there is much sadness, pain and suffering. The promise of Easter and Resurrection, the promise of the Kingdom and better times – what we call the “Paschal Mystery” is sometimes all we have to give us hope.
> The Eucharist is "food for the journey," but also a living sign of Jesus in all his Resurrected glory.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you hope for when you are sad or afraid?
> Question for Youth: What is your vision for the future? How does your faith help sustain you in tough times?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Where do we find hope in tough times? How do we provide hope for those who are suffering?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
First Sunday in Lent
March 1, 2020
Focus
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert.... The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Jesus said in reply, "...One does not live on bread alone...." Then the devil...made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down...." Jesus answered him, "...You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." Then the devil...showed him all the kingdoms of the world...and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."
One-Minute-Homily
> In our effort to validate individuals and their freedom, we seem to have lost the ability to distinguish between opinions and actual facts--between what is true and what people wish was true. In the realm of “fake news,” you can claim anything as a fact.
> The devil is the master of “fake news.” In this week's Gospel, we see the Evil One tempting Jesus with various untruths about himself and his mission--all of them inviting perhaps, but not true to the Lord's identity or mission.
> The devil tempts us in the same way. We are challenged as disciples of Jesus to distinguish between what is true and what we wish was true -- to recognize the ways in which we are being deceived or are deceiving ourselves and others about what is good and bad, right and wrong, helpful or hurtful.
> Our search for the truth begins with the words of the Creed which we confess at Sunday Mass. This is our antidote to “fake news.”
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do people tell lies? Why do you lie?
> Question for Youth: Becoming an adult means discovering the person that we are, and learning to share it with others. Are you tempted to pretend not to be the person you are?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways, and for what reasons, do we deceive ourselves and others about who we are, what we value, and why we act the way we do?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 23, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.... You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. ...[B]e perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
One-Minute-Homily
> It is hard enough to love people we know, like and trust; it's much harder -- almost impossible sometimes -- to love those we don't know, don't like or don't trust. In fact, it seems perfectly reasonable and natural to dislike those who dislike us.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus urges his disciples to do what seems both unreasonable and impossible -- to be perfect as God is perfect; to love our enemies, to resist the natural desire for retaliation (which we like to call "justice"), and to pray for those who wish us harm.
> To do this we must first recognize "the other" as one of us -- a child of God, and hence a sister or brother, however difficult that may be. Secondly, we must try harder to understand why the person acts in such intolerable ways; this doesn't make love easier, but it may make it less impossible.
> The Eucharist reveals to us, in word and deed, the long history of God's perfectly unreasonable love for humankind, in spite of our impossible and intolerable behavior.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why is it hard to be nice to someone who is not nice to you?
> Question for Youth: Young people do mean things to each other, and it hurts. Have you stopped to think what makes a person be so mean?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways do we think and act as if our love, our understanding, our hospitality is only available to those we know, like and trust?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspectiveFind a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
Find a schedule for Ash Wednesday services here
• • •
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 16, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.... You have heard that it was said...You shall not kill;...But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
One-Minute-Homily
> We can make rules that regulate how people act (when they're being watched), but we can't rely on rules to change how people think, feel, value or desire. We can make a law that people have to marry and stay married, but no law can make them love each other.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus exposes the failure of the law. He says God does not want people who just follow rules and laws; God wants people who have changed what they value and what they desire -- being right with God in our hearts.
> Real conversion happens in the heart. There is always a temptation to be satisfied with following the law and to look like we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, but to be genuine Christians, to be at-right with God, we are always being challenged to desire what God desires.
> The Eucharist is about the personal relationship we experience with Jesus and with each other; personal relationships are rooted in our hearts, not in the law.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you ever ignore a rule if no one is watching?
> Question for Youth: How do you experience the conflict between your desire for freedom and the rules people expect you to follow?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we content to follow and enforce the law? Or do we struggle to change our desires and support others who are struggling to change their desires?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 9, 2020
Focus
Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything.... You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
One-Minute-Homily
> We live in a world that in many ways seems dangerous and threatening. As a result, many of us develop a natural tendency to preserve, protect and defend ourselves and what is "ours". Taken to an extreme, this tendency becomes dangerous to both ourselves and others.
> In this week's Gospel, Jesus uses three examples to stress the point that Christians do not have to save, protect or hide what God has given us. We must share God's gifts freely and openly.
> The challenge to us, as both individuals and as faith communities, is to stop hoarding the love, mercy and grace which God has shared so generously with us. What we have been given is meant to be shared. We can risk being vulnerable because, as they say, God has our back.
> We should experience the Eucharist as a living symbol of God's generosity and vulnerability, not something which has to be preserved, protected or hidden.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Do you have certain things you want to keep for yourself instead of sharing with others?
> Question for Youth: Adolescence is a fragile time; do you have people or things you are protective about and find hard to share with others?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: In what ways are we hoarding, preserving or protecting what God has given us? What makes us afraid to share what we have been given?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
February 2, 2020
Focus
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... [Simeon] took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “…[M]y eyes have seen your salvation,…a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
One-Minute-Homily
> They say there are few atheists in a delivery room because it is hard to doubt the existence of God once you have held a newborn child in your arms. The wonder, the innocence, and the fragility of a young life suggest that this is nothing we humans can manage on our own.
> The Jewish tradition recognized the sacredness of human life and expressed it by “presenting” or dedicating each newborn child to God forty days after birth. The presentation of Jesus at the Temple in today’s Gospel is in its own way the precedent for the Christian sacrament of baptism.
> The challenge for us as disciples of Jesus is to not reserve the wonder and awe for human life to the newborn baby or helpless child. The old, the weak, the sick and the sinful – “the least of these,” as Jesus said -- are no less God’s children than the innocent young child. Who can know what God ultimately has in mind for any of us?
> The Eucharist reminds us that God holds each of us in his arms, and perhaps looks on us as with the wonder and awe that we experience at the birth of a child.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you feel when you see a new baby?
> Question for Youth: In the midst of the busyness and challenges of growing up, have you stopped to imagine the wonder and awe of the new adult person you are in the process of birthing?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Can we imagine each person we encounter with the wonder and awe we have for the newborn child? Can we imagine that God looks on us as newborn children, full of potential and wonder?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here:
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Third Sunday in Ordinary TimeJanuary 26, 2020
Focus
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew.... He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James...and...John.... He called them, and immediately they left their boat...and followed him.
One-Minute-Homily
> There is a difference between an invitation and a command. We appreciate invitations, although we don't always feel obliged to respond to them, but we resent commands because we often feel like we can't decline them.
> In this week's Gospel we hear an invitation that the disciples apparently thought was too good to decline: "Come, follow me," Jesus says, and they do. Chances are, they had no idea of where he would lead them or what following him would entail.
> The question is, are we treating Jesus' call like an invitation or a command? The truth is, discipleship is like parenting--we have only a vague idea of what it may entail, although we can guess that it will require both sacrifice and faith. Do we treat the invitation as an opportunity or a challenge?
> The Eucharist is not a "command performance;" Jesus renews his invitation each week -- an invitation too good to decline.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: How do you feel when someone invites you to do something new and exciting?
> Question for Youth: Adults are frequently issuing commands that could also be seen as invitations. Can you think of something important that sounded like a command but is really an invitation?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: How often do we overlook an invitation to deeper faith because it sounds like a command? In what ways do the invitations we extend to others sound more like commands?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 19, 2020
Focus
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world...." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. ...[T]he one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'”
One-Minute-Homily
> We understand the importance of rules and we expect people to follow the rules, but we are more impressed and scared by people whose spirit empowers them to transcend the rules. People who do more than they have to do—more than is required by the rules – often embarrass us.
> John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God because of the Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus revealed someone who, in the words of Scripture, "fulfilled" the law, someone who was in fact more than the law required or expected.
> As Pope Francis is fond of saying, we are all challenged to grow in our awareness and our desire to follow the Spirit, to live our lives in ways which transcend or transform the law. That means to care more, to share more, to forgive more than is merely required by simple justice.
> The Eucharist should be an encounter with the Spirit of the Living God, which empowers us to live beyond the rules.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: Why do people make rules for children to follow?
> Question for Youth: Young people often experience rules in tension or conflict with a deeper, more important value, a passion to be more and do more than the rules require. Have you experienced that in your own life?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people who are bound by the rules or people who are living beyond the rules? Do we encourage and enable others to grow beyond the rules?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective
• • •
Baptism of the Lord
January 12, 2020
Focus
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now….” After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold,… he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove…. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
One-Minute-Homily
> Even in the age of User IDs and passwords, being named and claimed by someone -- "my daughter," "my husband," "my mother" – tells us who we are and where we are from. It also imposes a commitment which limits our freedom to be and do whatever we want to be and do.
> In this week's Gospel, the Father names and claims Jesus -- "this is my beloved son." It imposes on Jesus the responsibility to be and do what the Son of God was expected to be and do.
> In the sacrament of Baptism the Christian community recognizes us as brothers and sisters. Our challenge then is to allow God to name and claim us as sons and daughters -- to grow in our awareness and response, to be and do what is expected of us as God's children.
> The Eucharist names and claims us as the Body of Christ on earth; it imposes on us the challenge of being and acting like the Body of Christ in our world.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What does your name tell you about yourself?
> Question for Youth: As young adults we are in the process of learning how to be adults in our own right and by our own choice. How are those decisions shaped by those who have claimed and named
us?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Do we recognize people who are different from us as God’s sons and daughters? Can we say of them, as God does, “I am well pleased”?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• • •
Solemnity of the Epiphany
January 5, 2020
FocusWhen Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.... And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. ...On entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
One-Minute-Homily
> People of vision – people of faith and hope -- often lead difficult lives. Their vision of how things could be or should be seems so contrary to common social, political or religious expectations; they are shunned as impractical dreamers or troublemakers.
> The Magi were obviously people of vision. They followed a star toward a reality few other people could imagine; they were not deterred by the long distance, an alien land, the evil king, or how incredible their vision was.
> As Christians, we too are challenged to be people of vision -- a vision of how life can be. We are challenged to be people of hope and faith even in circumstances which make the vision seem so impractical, so far out of reach, and so contrary to "the way things are."
> The Eucharist keeps the vision alive; it also revives the hope and courage we need to keep living toward the vision.
For Reflection or Discussion
> Question for Children: What do you think about or feel when you look at the stars?
> Question for Youth: Sometimes young people have a vision for their lives that seems to conflict with the expectations of adults or peers. What can you learn from the example of the Magi?
> Question for Adults, Families and Faith Communities: Are we people of vision and hope, even when it seems so impossible? How are we coping with the tension between "the way things are" and "the way things could be"?
Learn More
• Read Sunday's readings here
• Read a commentary on Sunday’s readings here
• Reflect on an image for Sunday's Gospel here
• Hear the Gospel from a Third World perspective• Find a schedule of Masses in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls parishes here
[Last Update: 01.16.21]
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