New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote an article about a lifelong friend who died by suicide. In describing his friend and his descent into a suicidal illness, Brooks sheds some needed light on how we still have a long ways to go in our understanding of suicide. (New York Times, February 9, 2023)…
Last Sunday we had the story of Jesus sitting with the woman at the well, offering her the living water of friendship and mercy. It is a story about the grace of Baptism. Today we have a second baptismal story from John’s Gospel, the miracle of sight for the blind. In the early centuries of…
The night before he died, Jesus struggled mightily to accept his Father’s will. The Gospels describe him in the Garden of Gethsemane, prostrate on the ground, “sweating blood”, and begging his Father to save him from the brutal death that awaited him. Then, after he finally surrenders his will to his Father, an angel comes…
The highlight of the liturgical year is the renewal of our baptismal commitment to Christ at the celebration of Easter. Today’s Gospel (John 4: 5-42), the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well, is the first of three stories in John’s Gospel which throw light on the graces of Baptism. This is…
Several weeks ago my older brother George died. His death was somewhat of a shock since he had been in relatively good health until a week before he died. His story is worth telling. No community, Mircea Eliade once said, should botch its deaths. Although highly intelligent and motivated, George never got the chance for…
Last Sunday we were with Jesus on the Mount of Temptation. Today we see him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-9). It’s such a contrast of experiences, from temptation to the vision of divine glory. He took with him Peter, John and James and went up a high mountain where they could be alone.…
The biblical story of Saul is one of the great tragedies in all of literature. Saul’s story makes Hamlet look like a Disney character. Hamlet, at least, had good reasons for the bitterness that beset him. Saul, given what he started with, should have fared better, much better. His story begins with the announcement that,…
The Sunday Gospel On the first Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is about the temptations of Jesus before he commences his public ministry. “Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1). We will reflect initially on the nature of temptation, then on the…
The Wisdom of Pope Francis Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten journey of 40 days, which will lead us to the Easter Triduum, the memorial of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection and the heart of the mystery of our salvation. Lent prepares us for this most important moment; therefore, it is a…
More than a half century ago, Flannery O’Connor wrote a short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. One of the main characters in the story is an elderly woman who is a difficult, stubborn, and not a particularly happy person. Traveling to Florida with her family, she is constantly whining and complaining. Then,…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser