GROW AS A DISCIPLE “It is so good to be poor, to have nothing, to await all from God!” These sentiments of the humble French religious sister St. Jeanne Jugan sum up the spirit of Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel.    Jesus praises poverty, hunger, sadness, and rejection, but certainly not as ends in themselves; God…

GROW AS A DISCIPLE “Woe is me; I am doomed!” “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle.” “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Do you notice a theme today? Each of these lines – taken from our readings – reveals the humbling reality that…

GROW AS A DISCIPLE Mary and Joseph bring their 40-day-old infant Jesus to the temple in order to fulfill the Mosaic law. There, they are met by Simeon and Anna, the faithful prophets who have spent their lives waiting for the coming of the King of Glory. These many years of waiting were like the…

GROW AS A DISCIPLE Late 19th-century English author G.K. Chesterton famously wrote, “Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls, but they are the walls of a playground.” We can think of God’s commandments serving as rules governing primary school recess: by providing us with a structure in which we can explore, play, stumble, and get…

GROW AS A DISCIPLE Pop quiz: What was the name of the bride and groom at the wedding in today’s Gospel? If you’re unsure, you’re not alone; the bridegroom is mentioned only in passing and the names of the newlyweds are not recorded at all in Scripture. Instead, the most prominent man in the account…

GROW AS A DISCIPLE In many renditions of the Baptism of Jesus, artists connect the scene at the Jordan River with Jesus’ death. A withered tree, for example, reminds us of the cross, or a mountain points to Mount Calvary. These connections show a real relationship between Jesus’ baptism and his passion: his baptism marks…