Thoughts and Reflections

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13/ Ps 23(22)/ Ephesians 5:8-14/ John 9:1-41 There is an old saying, ‘there are none so blind as those who will not see’. That saying could be the thread that runs through the readings of this Fourth Sunday of Lent. God said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." In those few words, w

Exodus 17:3-7/ Ps 95(94)/ Romans 5:1-2, 5-8/ John 4:5-42 In the first reading today, we find the Israelites in the desert. They have escaped slavery, seen miracles, watched the sea part before them. Now they are thirsty, weary and frightened, and they turn on Moses for leading them out into the desert to die. This is not a complaint from a faithless people, it is the cry of a people who are exhausted, who expected the journey to be easier, who were wondering why God felt so f

Genesis 12:1-4a/ Ps 33(32)/ 2 Timothy 1:8b-10/ Matthew 17:1-9 What would you do if you got a call from someone you love and trust, a best friend, parent, brother, or sister, asking you to do something without explaining fully what it is, or why it needs to be done? All they say is that they need you to trust them. Knowing and trusting them you say of course you will do whatever they ask. They then tell you to leave your job, sell the house, and move to an unfamiliar place. Th

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7/ Ps 51(50)/ Romans 5:12, 17-19/ Matthew 4:1-11 We are now in the season of Lent, we join Jesus in the desert, not a physical desert of sand and stone, but a spiritual desert, forty days that stretch before us like a holy invitation. A time when we walk alongside Jesus into a place of testing, a place of hunger, a place where the devil prowls. Why do we do this? Why would Jesus submit Himself to such hardship? Because Jesus loves us. Though He was fully di

Sirach 15:15-20/ Ps 119(118)/ 1 Corinthians 2:6-10/ Matthew 5:17-37 When we go on a journey to somewhere unfamiliar, we might use a GPS. We enter the destination, the device calculates the route, and off we go. What happens if we ignore the directions? What happens when we think we know better and take a shortcut that turns out not to be a short cut after all? We end up lost, frustrated, and wasting time going in circles. God's commandments are like a GPS system for our lives