Monday of the Fifth Week

Reflection

My mother has a saying, “there but for the grace of God go I.” It was often invoked when she listened to one of her children critiquing someone else’s behavior. This phrase came to mind as I was reading John’s Gospel where the woman who has sinned is brought before Jesus. Her shortcomings are publicly proclaimed by the standard bearers of her time and she is to be condemned for them. Perhaps we have been the “scribes and Pharisees”- quick to point out other’s faults and mistakes while cloaking ourselves in righteousness; forgetting that tomorrow we might well find ourselves on the other side of the line in need of grace? Perhaps we, like the woman, know what it is to have our worst mistakes widely broadcast; standing exposed and braced for the judgement of others while struggling with our conscience?

 

Jesus’ response to the woman’s situation is powerful in two ways I think. First, when He refrains from condemning her and challenges her accusers instead to “let the one among you who is without sin throw the first stone at her,” He reminds us that we all will sin and be in need of grace during our journeys. Christians must act with compassion. To be shown mercy we must extend mercy. Second, Jesus reminds us that, like the woman, when we sin it does not have to define or trap us forever. We can choose to turn from sin and when we do the “grace of God” will bring us a fresh start. God will always show us compassion.

Prayer

O Lord, may there always be compassion, grace and mercy for others in my heart, in my words and in my actions. Help me to extend my empathy for others and refrain from being judgmental. Amen.

Amy Rock-Wardwell, ’96
Member of the Worshipping Community

Scripture

First Reading: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62

Psalm 23:1-6

Gospel: John 8:1-11

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reflection

This Sunday we are invited to ponder and pray with the theme of resurrection and the divinity of Christ. In the Ezekiel reading we are told that God said, “you shall know I am the Lord when I open your graves and have you rise from them.” So, as we read in John’s Gospel that Jesus asks that Lazarus’ grave be opened and invites him to come out, Jesus is letting all present know that yes, he is the Lord, the Christ.

Clearly Jesus has a plan as he hears that Lazarus has died. He doesn’t go quickly but waits a number of days and says to his disciples “I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe.” Clearly after 4 days in the tomb Lazarus is dead, so what happens once Jesus gets there has to be believed that it comes from God. Martha brings forth the Resurrection mes-sage when she and Jesus meet and have their discussion about Lazarus rising and Jesus is assured that she believes in the resurrection on the last day. Her response “Yes Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God...”

However, through this dialogue and when Mary arrives, we also read that as Jesus allows his friends and others to express that they believe he is the Christ, he also shows his very human side and “gets perturbed and weeps” at times. Much to ponder in these readings as we prepare for the Resurrection.

Prayer

May I find quiet moments this week to have my own dialogue with Jesus and pray for the Spirit of God to be more and more present in my daily life. Amen. 

Lindora Cabral, RSM

Scripture

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalm 130:1-8
Second Reading: Romans 8:8-11
Gospel: John 11:1-45

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Saturday of the Fourth Week

Reflection

The confusion, speculation, and division among the people in today’s Gospel comes just after Jesus said “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink…as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’”

The people were divided. Was Jesus a prophet to be heard? The Messiah to be followed? A blasphemer to be seized? Guards who heard Jesus’ words directly declined to arrest him, despite the authorities and Pharisees not believing in Jesus.

Within the Gospel, Nicodemus offers a question relevant to our time and our faith – “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” Indeed, do we or our legal system judge or seize others simply based on their origin or their relation to authority figures? Or, as Nicodemus intimates, do we look deeper to hear their words and see their actions and then make informed decisions? The latter is a practical extension of Jesus’ directive to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In times of confusion, speculation, and division, let us turn to the source, hear and see for ourselves, and make just decisions. We must see to it that our legal system does the same, as Nicodemus’ question begs. In our own journeys of faith, let us go to the source for firsthand connection. Let us hear Jesus’ words and consider his actions. We believe they give us what we need in order to know and believe that Jesus is the Living Water.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, especially as we reflect on our actions and responses during this time of Lent, let us turn to your words of Love and Living Water to discern the right path forward.

Jonathan ’87 & Marilyn Billings ’87, P’10

Scripture

First Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20

Psalm 7:2-3; 9b-12

Gospel: John 7:40-53

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Friday of the Fourth Week

Reflection

I was there when they tried to arrest him, and I was secretly happy that he slipped away. Could this Jesus really be the Christ?

I want to ask those around me what they think. I want to ask if they also wonder whether he may be the one. But I’m afraid. Powerful people revile him and are eager to condemn him. I’m not terribly surprised, since Jesus is clearly not afraid to speak truth to power. I silently cheer him on! We all know they’re corrupt, but rare is the person who will stand up to them.

During the Feast of Tabernacles, it is our tradition to extend hospitality, to celebrate the fruits of the harvest, to give thanks for all we have been given and to give back to God in return. If only I’d had the courage to speak up and to invite him to join me and my,family for a meal. Perhaps we would now know for sure.

Prayer

Lord, we welcome you to our table and into our hearts, with gratitude for all we have been given. Grant that we may generously give back by loving our neighbors and give us the courage to speak your truth each day.

Rick Coté, ’89
Saint Michael’s College Board of Trustees

Scripture

First Reading: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22
Psalm 34:17-21, 23
Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Thursday of the Fourth Week

Feast of Saint Joseph

Reflection

When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you…and I will make his kingdom firm. (2 Samuel 7: 12) In Europe there are royal families in several nations such as the UK, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Monaco, and more. These “kingdoms” are given the name of a “house,” such as the House of Windsor (UK), House of Bourbon (Spain), or House of Grimaldi (Monaco), as examples.

 

Today’s first reading recounts how God speaks to Nathan, who as King David’s advisor, needs to make David aware that God will be building a “house,” a kingdom, based on an heir of David. Lost in the discontinuous verses of today’s Samuel reading is a detail regarding God refusing David’s offer to build a temple in Jerusalem. Nathan has the undesirable task of telling the king this is not what God wants. The “house” and “kingdom” will not be of David’s making but of God’s doing through an heir, a human-divine descendant of David. I (God) will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. (2 Samuel 7:14)

 

The first line of our Gospel reading reads: Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Jacob is another name for Israel, which in the Bible often refers to the nation descended from him. Jacob is of David’s stock, and though one might be a skeptic of David because of past conduct, in Joseph, “righteous man” and, “the husband of Mary,” God raises up an heir after David; of him will arise a royal house/kingdom of a whole new order.

 

When I was asked to prepare the reflection for the Feast of St. Joseph, I thought back to Pope Francis’ decision to insert Joseph in the Eucharistic prayers of the Mass. A google search resulted in a statement that: “This move highlights Joseph as a model of quiet strength, humility, and protection, encouraging Catholics to seek his intercession in times of crisis.” I dare add that Joseph is one more example or place holder of our spiritual parentage in God’s Love…that divine grace is our heritage in Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Gracious God, send us your Holy Spirit of faithfulness, so that the offering of our heart, mind, and person may be “a bowing down in your presence” to your commandment to love you above all else and our neighbor as ourselves. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, your Son, our risen Lord. Amen.

Marcel Rainville, S.S.E. ’67 
Edmundite Campus Ministry

Scripture

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
Second Reading: Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Wednesday of the Fourth Week

Reflection

In the garden, on a gorgeous day in July, when the plants are cranking out flowers and fruit and the insects are humming and the smell is divine, we could forget the garden emerges out of all of these individual elements coming together as one.

And while we can’t take full credit for it, we can take some–were it not for us, these garden beds wouldn’t have been prepared in April. Were it not for us, these individual seeds would not have been planted, and later, they would not have been cared for.

But if we become too attached to ourselves as the sole actor, the only ego worth caring for in our daily rounds, the garden will suffer. If we only tend to our desires for instant gratification, we couldn’t do the work on those cold days in May that will lead to flowers in June. We need to tend to the Wholeness if we want any success.

The 20th Century mystic Thomas Merton wrote of a “hidden wholeness”; that binds all creation. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “The Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing.”

We could imagine extending the popular phrase to be “What Would Jesus Do… in the Garden?” I think we could expect him to experience himself not as controlling and dominating the garden for his own selfish desires, but instead participating in the garden as part of a divine dance between Himself and the elements. 

Prayer

May I recall that life is not about me–I am about life.
May I recall that I’m not who I think I am–I’m much more.
May I rejoice in the opportunity to serve others in the One Great Garden.

Trevien Stanger, ’05, M.S.
Ecological Restoration Program Manager,
The Patrick ’61 and Marcelle Leahy Institute

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 49:8-15
Psalm 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
Gospel: John 5:17-30

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Tuesday of the Fourth Week

Reflection

Ezekiel, the Prophet of the Babylonian exile, speaks to the Israelites longing for their return to Jerusalem. The vision of water flowing from the Temple to the sea portrays a life-giving river that makes the Great Salt Sea fresh. Ezekiel urges the Israelites to seek God’s forgiveness and deepen their faith and understanding of God’s loving presence while dreaming of a return to their homeland.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus, embodying the life-giving waters of Ezekiel’s vision, heals the cripple who sits at the pool of Bethesda. Through a simple command, Jesus cures the cripple who then proceeds to announce his ‘good news’ throughout the city. Both of these readings invite us to imagine the flow of water as a channel that flows in us as our faith deepens and our dreams are realized. 

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped from Britain by Irish pirates, brought to Ireland, sold into slavery, and remained there for six years before escaping and returning to his family. Though not an active Christian, Patrick had a dream about the people of Ireland pleading with him to bring Christianity to them. After studies and ordination as a priest and then bishop, he set sail to Christianize the Emerald Isle. As in Ezekiel and John, water can also be identified as a metaphor for Patrick’s life-long spiritual growth in faith. May we contemplate these readings as we allow the Water of Life to grow in us each day.

Prayer

Loving God, I pray that this Lent may be a time for me to travel each day with an awareness of your presence in all that I experience as I seek to deep-en my own faith in you.

Liz Mahoney, ’97, M’01, P’92

Scripture

First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Gospel: John 5:1-16

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website