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by Dan Loch All three readings for this Sunday speak of life and creation. Isaiah draws an image of the earth being watered and becoming fruitful. Paul speaks of creation groaning in giving birth. And Jesus uses the image of sowing seeds as a way of speaking about his mission. Isaiah’s rain of God’s Word, Paul’s groaning of creation in rebirth, and Jesus’ farmer casting seed everywhere are images of the prodigious generosity of God. The people of biblical times knew well the revelation of …

Continue reading “15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – July 16, 2017”

by Dan Loch Sunday is the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. The long Lent-Easter-Pentecost liturgical season closes with a feast that invites us to reflect on the very nature of God. As a young boy, I had the Trin- ity figured out: Three Persons in One God . . . It was like a three-leaf clover. Got it! Then I heard how learned St. Augustine, as the story goes, was walking at the seashore and pondering the Trinity, when he encountered a little boy. …

Continue reading “Most Holy Trinity – June 11, 2017”

by Dan Loch Sunday’s Gospel from John is packed! A bonanza for investigation and inspiration: The appearance of the Risen Lord. Peace be to you (Do not be afraid)! Sending the disciples. The giving of the Holy Spirit. The forgiveness of sins. Blessed are we who have not seen and have believed. Why John wrote his Gospel. And, most prominently and dramatically enduring, the disciple Thomas. But first, the First Reading from Acts. It puts the cart before the horse. This idealized picture of the …

Continue reading “2nd Sunday of Easter – April 23, 2017”

by Dan Loch In Sunday’s First Reading Israel, the servant of the Lord, has the mission to bring the people back to the Lord. But wait! There’s more: “It is too little, the Lord says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob& I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Not only is the “Servant of the Lord” to restore and gather the Jewish survivors from their …

Continue reading “2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 15, 2017”

by Dan Loch One year at the REACH Children’s Mass Fr. Mike asked the children, “Who knows what a leper is?” A hand shot up. The boy ventured, “It’s like a tiger.” Undaunted, Fr. Mike continued, “Only one cured leper came back to say thank you to Jesus. What did Jesus say?” Another hand shot up. The girl confidently answered, “You’re welcome.” We think of the 10 Lepers Gospel as the “Thank you” Gospel. But disease, healing, and salvation are just as much what the …

Continue reading “28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 9, 2016”

by Dan Loch Here we go again, more “hard sayings” of Jesus which Luke yokes together in his Gospel: “I have come to set the earth on fire” and “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Fathers fighting sons, daughters fighting mothers, everybody fighting the in-laws. Where’s the “peace on earth to men of good will”? Where did this angry guy come from? Another angry guy is the prophet Jeremiah in the …

Continue reading “20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Aug 14, 2016”

by Dan Loch In the backstory to Stephen’s martyrdom in the First Reading today, he is taken before the Sanhedrin for blasphemy (Acts 6:8-15 to 7:1-54). He preaches all of salvation history and then calls the Sanhedrin stiff-necked, uncircumcised, murderers, and disobedient to the Law. Ouch! Cover your ears! Then we hear of the glorious death of Stephen, the first martyr. “Glorious”? How so? Told this story by Sister Mary Armbuster when I was in grade school, my young mind saw only the glory of …

Continue reading “7th Sunday of Easter – May 8th, 2016”

Pope Francis has declared this liturgical year as a Jubilee Year of Mercy in which we are to reflect on the great mercy God extends to us and to perform appropriate acts of mercy whether they be in deed, word, or prayer. I’m sure we are all familiar with the opening words of the 118th Psalm: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” God’s mercy is beyond measure and we must have trust in it. Near the middle …

Continue reading “Some Aspects of Divine Mercy by John DiDomizio”

by Dan Loch This Sunday’s first two readings set the stage for the Gospel. First, Jeremiah declares his call from God was his destiny even before he was born: to proclaim the word of the LORD. Not easy, but God will fortify him; not deliver him, but make him crush-proof. Second, Paul’s praise of love, one of the best known Biblical passages, tells us that we can say all the right words about loving God and each other, but if we do not show it …

Continue reading “4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 31, 2016”

by Dan Loch Sunday’s Gospel from Luke is a grim one on first reading. We confront an unsympathetic and uncompromising Jesus who speaks “hard sayings”: “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head,” “Let the dead bury their dead,” and “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” Harsh! It jars with our image of the compassionate Jesus. But let’s start at the beginning. Luke uses the symbol …

Continue reading “13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – June 26, 2016”