PRI Reflections on Scripture | Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Friday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: July 26, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 13:18-23 Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Reflection We learn something about human nature here, that the work of becoming who God calls us to be, to be authentic, to be who we really are, is not an easy thing. And It takes work and takes time. But it seems that if we believe it, if we believe that the things he's asking us to do or to understand, if we know that that's true, then there's going to be a capacity to do this work of receiving the truth in a way that will not be destroyed by our human weaknesses. Jesus said, it’s the one who hears the word and understands it. That's the key. Closing Prayer Father, you reveal yourself as a God that is a Trinity. God the father, the creator. God the son, the Redeemer. Then you have this mysterious Holy Spirit, which is the one who is there with you to help you understand, to help you to see. That's the purpose of the Holy Spirit, to be that catalyst in us that opens our eyes to see what is true. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Thursday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: July 24, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 13:10-17 The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them. "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Reflection A parable is a puzzle. A way of using a metaphor to explain something that is hidden. And found in this reading is the fact that grace, that mysterious power of God flowing through us, in us, is a gift to be able to interpret and understand the meaning of a parable. And so it takes a gift. The gift of being able to see really what is going on. To hear really what God is saying through Jesus. To see, to hear, to understand. That's the work of the Kingdom of God. And the more we engage in our questioning, or our longing for the answer, the closer the kingdom comes. Closing Prayer Father, curiosity and imagination are such important parts of our understanding who God is in us and through us. Give us a longing to know and to see and to understand. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Original Post Date: July 22, 2024 === Gospel John 20:1-2, 11-18 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her. Reflection Many people look at this passage and saying that Jesus gave great dignity to women. And the disciples, I think especially Peter, was confused as to why Jesus would reveal that he rose from the dead to a woman. But what we see in this story also is something about the nature of what it means to be a believer. And Mary Magdalene had a deep, deep conviction in who Jesus was, and it was because she understood him. Because women have this side to them is so beautiful. They have empathy, they have care, they have a nurturing side. Men have it also, but it's much more developed in women. And so when you see Mary and Jesus together, you know that there was something about them that's so similar. She had a lot of love to give to him and to the others. That's why you see so many women engage more in spirituality. I give a lecture in as more women in the room, I go to church, there's more women in the room. And that's not a bad thing at all, it just means that men are still in the process, and we all are, of finding the balance. We're all masculine. We're all feminine, and we see that happening more and more today in our world. Closing Prayer Father, at the heart of everything you teach is a simple statement. Love. Love yourself. Love God. Love your neighbor. And love doesn't mean liking everyone, it doesn't mean being friends with everyone, it means you want the best for every person because you see them as God sees them. Beautiful, eternal creatures, sometimes damaged, sometimes not. But they have a dignity that God has given them that we must pay attention to. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Tuesday of the 16th Week of Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: July 23, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Reflection It's interesting how Jesus deals with an interruption. His mother, his brothers and sisters, those are relatives are all outside looking for him. We know that at times they all thought he was crazy. But what he does, he uses this interruption to make a point, and the point is that yes, family is a unity that we are, in a way obliged to take care of each other. But the real obligation at the heart of the mystery of who Jesus is and what he's teaching, is all he wants is for us to attune our will to God's will, to want what he wants for his people. To be who we need to be for one another, so that we can be awakened to this kingdom of God. It's a powerful, clear statement that the most essential relationship we have in our faith is with God. And when we want what God wants, we are forming the kingdom. Closing Prayer Father, the obligation that we have to one another is truly to be respectful and to honor someone's dignity. But really what we are called to do, more than just be friends with everyone or be friendly or nice, we're asked to manifest something that's powerful. You, God, live in each of us, and when we manifest you to another, that is the time that we are creating the Kingdom of God. Help us to be engaged in that essential work, seeing the world as God sees it, wanting it to be as God created it. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Monday of the 16th Week of Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: July 24, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 12:38-42 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.” Reflection Jesus’ response to the Pharisees who ask for a sign is an indication of the disposition of the Pharisees. They didn't want to see what God really wanted to show them through Jesus, because it was too frightening to them. Because what Jesus is revealing is the power that he has is the transformation that he can affect within human beings. The transformation, say, of Jonah and that work of Jesus is the greatest of the miracles. Closing Prayer Father, there's a way in which we can expect a miracle in our life, where all of a sudden the thing that we can't do, is given to us the power to accomplish things. It's not that simple. We're not here to be powerful human beings, but to be ministers to one another and to be transformed into service, and not positions of authority. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]