|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Thoughts on Lazarus
On this fifth Sunday in Lent our Gospel focuses on the raising of Lazarus and the deeper meaning of this action of Jesus. While the tendency might be to focus attention on the “miracle” of Lazarus being brought back to life, there is another part of this beautiful story we might focus on: the love beneath and surrounding this “miracle.” The illness and death of Lazarus brings Jesus to the scene of a reality so familiar to all of us, confronting disease and death, as well as sadness and grief: an essential part of our human condition.
Lazarus and Martha and Mary are dear and beloved friends of Jesus. And amid of the reflections on the power of God to restore life and the meaning of resurrection, what is revealed is the deep love of Jesus in the face of our bereavement, our keen sense of powerlessness, even our sense of the absence of God in those moments. As he gathers at the tomb with his dear friends, he shares their deep grief. And he weeps. What seems to be most obvious to the onlookers and fellow mourners is how much he loved Lazarus, how much he shared the sorrow of Mary and Martha.
Jesus will soon confront the reality of his own death, his own gift of self on the Cross. As we witness his love and his deep feelings for Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, we are invited to deepen our love and trust in the One who has come to bring us life to the full—and to accompany him with our own love and compassion on his journey to Jerusalem.
Len Kraus, S.J.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Thoughts on Saint Patrick
SAINT OF THE DAY for March 17
Patrick
(c. 415? – 493?)
Listen to Saint Patrick’s Story Here
Legends about Saint Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.
Details of his life are uncertain but his popularity has never wavered. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.
After six years Saint Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish.
In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north–where the faith had never been preached–obtained the protection of local kings, and made numerous converts.
Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.
He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.
Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rock-like belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused. He never doubted his direction because he understood that grace could guide him One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.
There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland, long the scene of strife and violence.
Reflection
What distinguishes Saint Patrick is the durability of his efforts. In the face of difficulty or strife, he maintained the faith. When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work, the vast extent of his labors, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been. One of tireless faith and incredible stamina in bringing people to God. The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work.
Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of:
Engineers
Ireland
Nigeria
Franciscan Media, 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA
Friday, March 13, 2026
Thoughts on healing
You may have heard the famous drinking toast, “Here’s mud in your eye,” a wish, perhaps, for good health or prosperity. This Sunday’s Gospel does relate to mud in a person’s eye: the blind man whom Jesus heals and restores. Jesus touches his eyes with a part of himself—his saliva—and earth, part of God’s good creation. Jesus goes directly to the blind man, doesn’t wait for him to ask for healing. (The truth of our lives is that it is Jesus who comes to us, even before we come to Him.)
After the man has washed in the pool called Siloam (“Sent,”) although there follows a debate and argument about who has the authority to heal,( to do a work on the Sabbath), this is a story about light and darkness, about the enlightenment and grace to see clearly who it is that brings us light and life. Jesus says,” As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” It is a story about the work of God in our lives: “This man was healed so that God’s works might be revealed” …. the darkness was not able to overcome the light.”
For us, Lent can be a time to open our eyes to the love and care that Jesus has for us, to acknowledge and follow him as our inseparable friend and center of our lives.
“Through his paschal mystery he accomplished the deed that has freed us from the yoke of sin and death, summoning us to proclaim everywhere his mighty works. We have been called out of darkness into his wonderful light.” …So, here’s mud in your eye!
Len Kraus, S.J.
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Thoughts on demons
Third Week of Lent |
| Luke 11:14–23 |
Friends, in today’s Gospel, we learn of a person possessed by a demon. Jesus meets the man and drives out the demon, but then is immediately accused of being in league with Satan. Some of the witnesses said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Jesus’s response is wonderful in its logic and laconicism: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” The demonic power is always one of scattering. It breaks up communion. But Jesus, as always, is the voice of communio, of one bringing things back together. Think back to Jesus’s feeding of the five thousand. Facing a large, hungry crowd, his disciples beg him to “dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus answers, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” Whatever drives the Church apart is an echo of this “dismiss the crowds” impulse and a reminder of the demonic tendency to divide. In times of trial and threat, this is a very common instinct. We blame, attack, break up, and disperse. But Jesus is right: “There is no need for them to go away.” Bishop Robert Barron |
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Thoughts on mercy
Third Week of Lent |
| Matthew 18:21–35 |
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable that illustrates God’s mercy. The Latin word for mercy is misericordia, which designates the suffering of the heart, or compassion—cum patior (“I suffer with”). Mercy is identical to what the Old Testament authors refer to as God’s hesed, or tender mercy. It is the characteristic of God, for God is love. The love that obtains among the Trinitarian persons spills over into God’s love for the world that he has made. Think of a mother’s love for her children. Could you ever imagine a mother becoming indifferent to one of her offspring? But even should she forget, we read in the prophet Isaiah, God will never forget his own. Consider the fact that nothing would exist were it not willed into being by God. But God has no need of anything; hence, his sustaining of the universe is an act of disinterested love and tender mercy. There is no greater manifestation of the divine mercy than the forgiveness of sins. When G. K. Chesterton was asked why he became a Catholic, he answered, “To have my sins forgiven.” This is the greatest grace the Church can offer: reconciliation, the restoration of the divine friendship, the forgiveness of our sins. Bishop Robert Barron |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)