Category: Daily Reflections

“He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble.” –2 Corinthians 1:4 Mass Readings: June 12 First: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7; Resp: Psalm 34:2-9; Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12 Listen to the Mass Readings Jesus came to earth, suffered for us, and consoled us. It was “our sufferings that He endured” (Is 53:4). Because Jesus suffered, He is able to help others who suffer (Heb 2:18). Jesus had an extraordinary public ministry of healing, teaching, and deliverance. However, it was not by His victories but rather by His wounds and His sufferings that we...

“Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.” –Exodus 34:8 A bishop was examining the candidates for Confirmation at a certain parish. He asked the young people to tell him what the Holy Trinity was. A boy answered: “It’s one-in-three, and three-in-one.” The bishop, gently probing to determine if the boy truly prepared for the sacrament, said: “That’s good, but I don’t understand.” The youth immediately responded: “You’re not supposed to!” We can’t ever grasp the how of the Holy Trinity, but we can know the Who. This is because God continually reveals Himself to us. “Yes, God...

“Do not be slack in praising Him.” –Tobit 12:6 Mass Readings: June 10 First: Tobit 12:1,5-15,20; Resp: Tobit 13:2,6-8; Gospel: Mark 12:38-44 Listen to the Mass Readings Tobit and Tobiah had a visitor from heaven, the angel Raphael. The angel had spent his existence praising God in the glory of heaven. No wonder Raphael’s vocabulary is composed primarily of praise; that’s what he always has done in heaven. Raphael spoke from the abundance of his heart (Lk 6:45), and that abundance was the everlasting praise of God. Raphael couldn’t help but praise God, saying: “Thank God! Give Him the praise...

“Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father: ‘I am certain that his eyes will be opened. Smear the fish gall on them.’ ” –Tobit 11:7-8 Mass Readings: June 9 First: Tobit 11:5-17;Resp: Psalm 146:1-2,6-10;Gospel: Mark 12:35-37 Listen to the Mass Readings The Lord healed Tobit of blindness through: the archangel Raphael, the medicine of fish gall, his son, Tobiah, and his son’s homecoming. Family members and the home are often the main people and places the Lord chooses to heal. We use the expression: “When you get home from the hospital, you’ll feel better.” Thus, we intimate that...

“I have given her in marriage to seven men, all of whom were kinsmen of ours, and all died on the very night they approached her.” –Tobit 7:11 Mass Readings: June 8 First: Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1,9-17; 8:4-9; Resp: Psalm 128:1-5; Gospel: Mark 12:28-34 Listen to the Mass Readings If you were marrying someone whose previous husbands all died on their wedding nights, what would you do? You’d think you’d pray, but obviously none of the dead husbands thought of that. You’d think we’d pray at the time of death. However, this is an unprecedented time of death, when millions of...