Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for Your Word and all that It carries with It.

Pope Francis on Reading the Bible Vis-à-vis Checking Our Cell Phones

"On the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis said if we want to fight against the temptation of sin, we must be familiar with the Word of God – treating the Bible more like how we treat our cellphone.

"'During the forty days of Lent, as Christians we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and address the spiritual battle against evil with the power of the Word of God,' he said March 5. 'For this you have to become familiar with the Bible, read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it.'

"'Someone said: what would happen if we treated the Bible like we treat our cell phone? If we always carried it with us; or at least the small pocket-sized Gospel, what would happen?'

"Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims before leading the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, drawing a stark comparison between the attention we give our cellphones and the attention we give Scripture, for example, always taking it with us, and going back if we forget it at home."

A recent Catholic News Agency article reported on the reflection Pope Francis offered to the pilgrims present during this event.

To access the complete Catholic News Agency report, please visit:

Catholic News Agency: Do you read the Bible as often as you check your phone? Francis asks (5 MAR 17)

Reflection Starter from Isaiah

Today's first reading (Tuesday of the First Week of Lent) is as follows: "Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for Your invitation - "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (as noted in Matthew 11:28).

Br. Frassati Davis, O.P., on Bringing Our Baggage to Jesus

"I love flying on airplanes. As if traveling to a new destination were not exciting enough, my extroverted personality delights in being in the company of complete strangers, packed front to back in a Boeing 787. A cocktail of ginger ale and light conversation typically helps pass the travel time, and being thousands of miles up in the air allows me to relax and detach myself from any concerns I have left behind on the ground. Nonetheless, as many times as I have traveled by airplane and as much as I prefer this method of travel, I still find the routine of packing a bag and stowing the luggage in the overhead compartment to be a major source of stress.

"I have made it my goal to pack as light as possible when traveling, because who wants to carry around extra baggage? As a result, the carry-on I bring into the cabin of the airplane is typically an old backpack, bursting at the zippers with all necessary gear. Even though the bag itself meets the size guidelines, the awkward girth of the carry-on is an embarrassing concern of mine. What if the bag doesn't fit in the overhead compartment? What if it does not even fit underneath the seat in front of me? Would they make me deplane and check the bag at the gate and then reboard? I should have packed lighter…

"While airlines will often penalize travelers for their extra baggage, those traveling towards eternity need not fret about the baggage we bring into prayer. How can God alleviate the embarrassments and ills contained in our baggage if we keep these things from him? The prospect of being barked at for a bulgy backpack is terrifying to me, but Jesus is not a flight attendant. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Brother Frassati Davis, O.P., reflected on the importance of daily bringing our "baggage" to Jesus, whether it be our :insecurities, habitual sinfulness, or anything else that bogs us down."

To access Br. Frassati's complete post, please visit:

Dominicana: Jesus Wants Your Baggage (6 MAR 17)

Reflection Starter from Robert Louis Stevenson

"Saints are sinners who kept on going." - Robert Louis Stevenson

A Book from Dad/Mom Ministry Helps Prisoners Connect with Their Children

"Tough male inmates who take Diana Barbero's parenting courses at Boston's Suffolk County House of Correction can't help feeling a crack in their armor when in her cheerful classroom crammed with parenting magazines, colorful children's posters, and a baby doll to practice holding.

"Ms. Barbero's prized possessions in this prison oasis are the brand-new children's books supplied by A Book From Dad, a program that distributes donated books to incarcerated fathers to give as gifts to their children.

"In turn, those books often become a prized family possession - a tangible connection between a parent and child who have limited or no personal contact."

A recent Christian Science Monitor article profiled the A Book from Dad/Mom ministry of Jane and Elizabeth Handel (of Needham, MA).

To access the complete Christian Science Monitor report, please visit:

Christian Science Monitor: Making a Difference: How a mother-daughter duo has helped inmates read with their kids (2 MAR 17)

"Forty Days and Forty Nights"

As our Sunday celebration continues, I offer this version of "Forty Days and Forty Nights":

First Sunday of Lent

Today the Church celebrates the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; and Luke Matthew 4:1-11. The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 51 (Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17).

For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:

YouTube: Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 51 "Prayer of Repentance - The Miserere" 

The Gospel reading is as follows:

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.

The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."

He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'"

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."

At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.'"

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Reflections on these readings:

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Mass Resources: First Sunday of Lent (March 5, 2017)

Community in Mission: Triumph in Temptation - A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent (4 MAR 17)

Aleteia: Deacon Greg Kandra: The ultimate ‘Undercover Boss’: Homily for 1st Sunday of Lent (4 MAR 17)

The Sacred Page: Jesus the New Adam: Readings for the 1st Sunday of Lent (1 MAR 17)

The Sacred Page: The Three Temptations of Jesus (The Mass Readings Explained) (27 FEB 17)

Word on Fire: Three Shortcuts from the Cross (5 MAR 17)

Catholic World Report: The Dispatch: Through the Desert, Back to the Tree of Life (4 MAR 17) 

Spirituality of the Readings: Unscrambling (1st Sunday of Lent A)

In Exile: Our Three Temptations (1st Sunday of Lent A)

The Word Engaged: Unmasking the Great Deception (1st Sunday of Lent A)

Historical Cultural Context: Spirits (1st Sunday of Lent A)

Thoughts from the Early Church: Commentary by Gregory Nazianzen (1st Sunday of Lent A)

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings and graces You are offering us during this holy season of Lent.

Msgr. Pope on the Consequences of Choices

"The themes of early Lent are pretty basic. The ashes of Ash Wednesday announce the simple truth that we are going to die and subsequently face judgment. Hence we need to repent and come to believe the good news that only Jesus can save us.

"The reading for Thursday after Ash Wednesday features Moses laying out the basic reality that all of us have a choice to make:

Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom …

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse (Dt 30:15, 20).

"So there is our choice: life or death, prosperity or doom. There is a Latin expression, Tertium non datur (No third way is given). We often like to think that we can take some middle path, but in the matter of the last things, there is no middle path, no third way. Either we choose God and His kingdom, and then reflect that choice in all of our smaller decisions, or we do not."

In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on how choices, even small daily choices, have the "cumulative effect of moving us in one direction or the other, toward God or away."

To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:

Community in Mission: Choices Have Consequences (1 MAR 17)

Reflection Starter from Pope Francis

"God is always faithful and never stops for a moment loving us, following our steps, and running after us when we have strayed from him." - Pope Francis