4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

01-29-2023Weekly Reflection©LPi

In my parents’ bedroom there were on the wall two photos of my mom and dad from their early adulthoods. The photo of my mother entranced me when I was a boy. I loved looking at it, even though I saw her in daily life. Something about that picture captured her perfectly. It was an image of the joy, wisdom, beauty, and strength that enveloped me from the start of my life. It was an icon of the woman who fed, taught, and encouraged me. I felt a deep pride that I came from such beauty. 

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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

01-22-2023Weekly Reflection©LPi

When I was a young seminarian, I asked a wise old priest how to pray better. He said simply, “Don’t lie when you pray.” He helped me to see how much energy I waste in trying to appear acceptable to God when I pray. For me, prayer was showing off for God and hiding what was ugly.

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2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

01-15-2023Weekly Reflection©LPi

When I was a kid, I remember the priest at Mass announcing, “The Lamb of God!” Frankly, it struck me as nonsense. I thought: Why in the world does God have a lamb? And where is this lamb? 

John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him and announces, “Behold the lamb of God.” His Jewish listeners knew what he meant. God’s lamb is the thing that is sacrificed at the Jewish Passover and consumed by the participants. For almost a thousand years, lambs were ritually slaughtered and eaten in Jerusalem at Passover. The lamb meant sacrifice, freedom from sin, and communion with God. The Baptist is saying in effect, “This man will be ritually sacrificed and consumed so that God’s people may be free from sin and united to God.” 

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The Epiphany of the Lord

01-08-2023Weekly Reflection©LPi

A friend of mine is a young priest who teaches high school physics at a Catholic boys’ prep school. Like many today, the boys often think science and religion are enemies. So, he delights in their raised eyebrows when he reminds them his first full-time job as a priest was to be an astrophysicist. He cataloged the size, shape, and matter of distant stars. He tells them, “Science gave me more love for God, not less.” 

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Mary, The Holy Mother of God

01-01-2023Weekly Reflection©LPi

We hide ourselves and our secrets from God because we are afraid. Even Mary can seem too perfect to approach. The shepherds find the strength to speak to Mary and Joseph at the moment they see the child in the manger. They open their hearts and share what they’ve experienced. Saint Luke writes of the shepherds, “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.” 

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