“‘One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”  – Matthew 4:4 In this first Sunday of Lent, we are offered two stories to reflect on. In both stories, we are challenged to recall our radical dependence on God, our Creator. In the creation story, we hear of God creating human beings out of the earth, recalling our intimate relationship with the earth and our Creator. We also […]

In this season of Lent, we are invited to step back and closely examine our lives and our hearts. It is not an invitation to a mere moment of reflection, but to a deep, challenging, and rewarding journey of repentance and renewal. At the end of this six-week journey is the joy of Easter – but before it lies re-conversion and recommitment to loving God and our neighbor with our whole hearts. This Lent, we invite you to […]

“Jesus cried out in a loud voice again, and gave up his spirit.” – Matthew 27: 50 On this last Sunday of Lent, we hear two gospel passages with contrasting tones and images. The first is the joyous procession of Jesus into Jerusalem, where he is hailed by a large crowd. The second is the painful narrative of Jesus’s betrayal and crucifixion. In this final week, we are invited to sit in the tension between the Kingdom of […]

“Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’”  – John 11:33-34 In this week’s gospel reading, we hear the powerful story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. In the middle of the gospel narrative, one line in particular jumps out: “And Jesus wept.” What does it mean for us that Jesus, God incarnate, wept over the death of his friend? What does it mean in light of the call to […]

“So they said to him, “‘How were your eyes opened?’” – John 9:10 The readings this week play on the themes of light and darkness, blindness and sight. In the second reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians, we are told to expose the hidden, “fruitless works of darkness” and instead “live as children of light.”  In the gospel, Jesus heals a blind man, and in giving the man the gift of sight, also reveals himself as the […]

“Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.” – John 4:14 In this third week of Lent, the readings offer us the imagery of thirst and of water, inviting us to reflect on our deepest needs and desires, both spiritual and physical. In the gospel story, Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman at a well, initially asking for a drink of water. Jesus names the woman’s broken relationships and speaks to her of the living water […]

“And [Jesus] was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” – Matthew 17: 2 In this season of Lent, we are invited to step back and closely examine our lives and our hearts. It is not an invitation to a mere moment of reflection, but to a deep, challenging, and rewarding journey of repentance and renewal. At the end of this six-week journey is the joy of Easter – […]