“Ephphatha” There is a little ritual in the new rite of Baptism whose name and form are taken from today’s Gospel: “The Ephphatha.” The celebrant touches the ears and then the lips of the one to be baptized saying: “The Lord Jesus who made the deaf hear and the mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive His word with your…

Greetings to you all. Hopefully your week was filled with God and His Grace. At the beginning of my reflection for this weekend I’d like to ask: have you ever heard about a canned heart? A canned heart is a closed heart where no one goes in and no love goes out. It doesn’t get hurt. It is a well–preserved heart with…

Hopefully your weekend was filled with God’s Grace. After the last weekend’s glorious celebration of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother we come back to the teaching of Jesus about the Bread of Life. Jesus in today’s Gospel challenges his Jewish audience, and later His apostles, to make their choice: to accept Him as the true Bread from Heaven Who gives them…

HAPPY ASSUMPTION FEAST TO YOU! On this Mary’s Feast we have been given the Gospel passage that describes the Visitation. Mary has just been told that she is to be the Mother of God. And rather than keeping this news to herself or wondering how she will cope, she sets out on a journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Not only does…

Hopefully, your week was blessed. In the Gospel Reading for this Sunday, we see that Jesus went over to the other shore of the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd of people followed him on foot from their towns. When he arrived, Our Lord was surprised to see the great multitude of people who were anxiously looking forward to hearing his words.…

Hopefully you had a blessed week. On this 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time the Evangelist Mark tells us of a time when Jesus was confronted with a choice. He and the apostles needed a rest. Their lives had become quite hectic, as Mark describes, ”There were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time to eat.” They had decided…

Welcome to the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary time. Today’s readings remind us of our Divine adoption as God’s children and of our call to preach the Good News of Jesus by bearing witness to God’s love, mercy, and salvation. In today’s Gospel, the evangelist tells the story of Jesus’ commissioning of the twelve apostles to preach the “Good News” of repentance, forgiveness…