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God is Present – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, October 19
God is Present There’s a sort of divine irony in Pope Francis selecting the theme of “hope” for this Jubilee Year, when, for many, hope itself seems further away than ever. As Pope Leo XIV…
Authentic Compassionate Service – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, October 12
Authentic Compassionate Service An obvious parallel exists between today’s first reading and the Gospel: the curing of victims of leprosy. Naaman the Syrian is mentioned by name in today’s first reading which gives the story…
Generator or triple A Battery? – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, October 5
Generator or Triple A Battery? Faith, hope and love: the three greatest virtues. We can see glimpses of these three virtues in this Sunday’s readings, but clearly the virtue of faith is most predominant. The…
Compassion: The Heart of Mission – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, September 28
Compassion: The Heart of Mission Our faith reflection on scripture is often rooted in our personal experiences; this fact proves true again and again. Permit me to begin with a poignant story from my mission…
A Critical Opportunity – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, September 21
A Critical Opportunity During the government of President Salvador Allende (1970-1973) in Chile, the government tried to ensure a more just distribution of the food and land of the nation. This produced complaints from the…
Living into the Paschal Mystery – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, September 14
Living into the Paschal Mystery Today’s feast of the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” is special, replacing the regular Sunday liturgy. It calls us to reflect upon a profound truth at the center of our…
What More Must I Give Up? – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, September 7
What more must I give up? I found this Sunday’s readings to be rich in challenging me in so many ways. I felt like I was on a retreat and hearing the voice of the…
Walk Humbly with Your God – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, August 31
Walk Humbly with Your God Today’s first reading and Gospel focus our reflection on humility. They also remind us of that popular biblical passage from the prophet Micah (6:8): “This is what Yahweh asks of…
Discipleship Costs – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, August 24
Discipleship Costs Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel passage from Luke can be very disturbing; they confront us and question the quality of our discipleship, our genuine following of Jesus. We must strive to enter through the “narrow…
Offensive Oratory – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, August 17, 2025
Offensive Oratory A middle-aged couple came up to me after Mass one day, recently. “You should avoid terms like ‘concentration camps’, ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and ‘Gestapo tactics,’” they said. I didn’t argue with them, but merely…
Becoming Credible Servants – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, August 10, 2025
Becoming Credible Servants Today’s Gospel mentions various forms of the word “servant” over a dozen times; we cannot fail to see the emphasis that Luke the Evangelist places on this aspect of Christ’s mission. Pope Francis, speaking…
Authentic and Humble Prayer – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, October 26
Readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 23 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14
Authentic and Humble Prayer In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the Publican tax collector; both went up to the temple to pray. Pharisees belonged to a Jewish sect that rigidly…