The following reflections are from my time in Meditative or Imaginative prayer.  I share them with you in the hope that they will be helpful in your own Spiritual Journey and to encourage you to spend time sitting and praying with the Scripture, actively listening to what the Lord wants to say to you through them.

Most of my daily reflections on based on the Daily Gospel Readings available through the USCCB website. Before opening any Scripture verse, I ask our Holy Mother, Mary, to request on my behalf that her Son, Jesus, would send the Holy Spirit to aid me in my selection of the verse or words to focus on, guide me in my reflection, help me in understanding what He is saying, and in recognizing how what I learn applies in my life or the lives of others. I encourage to come up with your own prayer for this purpose.

April 28th, 2026

Reflection on the gospel of John 10: 22-30

“The works I do in my father's name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.”

We see this same thing playing out in the world today. Good works continue to be done in Jesus’ name that testify to the truth of who He is; but people do not believe in Him because they are not among His sheep. To be among His sheep is to hear and know His voice. We must ask God for this grace. It is the grace of faith: to know and love Him as He knows and loves us. “Seek and you shall find.”

There's another way to think about the phrase “among my sheep,” and that is as a call to surround ourselves with people who believe, who are members of the flock. By observing them and listening to them, specifically those who sincerely live their faith, our own ability to recognize, hear His voice and follow Him is improved. Where are we most likely to find his flock? It is in the church. That is one of many good reasons to attend and actively participate in a parish community. By definition, a flock is a group, a crowd of people gathered together. He calls us to gather there with Him. 

April 19, 2026

Reflection on the readings from the 3rd Sunday of Easter - "Opening the Scriptures"

“He foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ.” (Acts 2:14, 22-33)

“And opened the scriptures to us.” (Luke 24:13-35)

The first verse comes from today's opening reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is standing in front of the gathered crowd, teaching them the true meaning of David's Psalm. It is a meaning that he himself was ignorant of until after the resurrection of Jesus. Even then, he could not speak about it until the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This links it to the second verse taken from today's Gospel of Luke and the encounter of the two men walking on the road to Emmaus with Jesus. No doubt these men were familiar with the Psalms and had heard them read and possibly recited them hundreds or thousands of times without grasping their meaning or significance. In that sense they are not much different than those modern Catholics or Christians who have never had the scriptures “opened” to them, despite reading and hearing them recited many times over the course of their lives. It is only through Jesus and the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament about Him that their true meaning is revealed. Yet, without the aid of the Holy Spirit, even now, we do not fully grasp all that was written of the Word. We need to fervently pray and ask for that understanding through the Holy Spirit, so that whether it is Jesus, Himself, or someone he sends to help us, we can better grasp His Word and its application to our life.

March 31, 2026 Tuesday of Holy Week 2026 (John 13:21-33, 36-38)

Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."

In our communal reflection, Tuesday evening on this Gospel, one of the participants noted that Peter’s fall came after he had lost his support group. I think that this is an important concept to reflect on. We know that Peter was no coward. He drew his sword and struck the High Priest’s servant to defend Jesus from the mob. He did this knowing that they were outnumbered and “outgunned” as it were. But he also did it knowing that he had Jesus at his side along with the other disciples. Supported by their presence, Peter had no fear.

But when he is tested in the courtyard, he is alone. The disciples have scattered and Jesus is no longer at his side. He is confused and troubled by what is happening and undoubtedly his confidence has been shaken. It is then that the enemy makes his move, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” (John 18:25) Isolated and apprehensive, he responds, “I am not” and the enemy’s effort has been effective.

There are lessons here for us. First is to recognize that we are most vulnerable when we are isolated, insecure, anxious, or apprehensive.  Like a wolf with sheep, it is the enemy’s desire to separate us from our spiritual support group. He attacks us when we feel alone. We will fall like Peter, if we attempt to respond in these situations without God’s help, guidance, or support.

So, anticipating the devil’s tactics, let us surround ourselves with good spiritual companions, mentors, or guides, and lean on them for support in times of difficulty. Let us keep Jesus always at our side and seek His help at the first sign of fear. But when we fall as Peter did, let us approach the Confessional with confidence and humbly respond, to Jesus, when He says, “Do you love me?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

March 10- 2026

The following reflection comes from the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35, but is based on the final verse in that Gospel, “unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

I was struck by the fact that “each” of us, no exceptions to this, must forgive from our heart. I reflected that to forgive from the heart is a different level of forgiveness. We typically forgive someone mentally, or try to, because we know it is the right thing to do. In such cases, we may find ourselves trying to forgive the same person repeatedly for the same thing because our forgiveness doesn't stick. Perhaps doing it because it is the “right thing to do” isn’t a strong enough motive for lasting forgiveness.

On the other hand, to forgive from the heart requires humility. It requires recognition of our own weakness as sinners and a recollection of the many times we have hurt others in similar ways. It is an acknowledgement of the mercy and forgiveness that we have received from God, completely unmerited. It is also an act of love as we recognize that the person we are forgiving is a beloved child of God, just as we are. We are called to forgive them for that reason alone.

(It is important to note here that “to forgive” does not mean we must forget. God does not ask us to suddenly trust someone who has been untrustworthy.)

When we forgive someone from the heart as described above, we are better able to let go of the anger and hurt that we feel. This anger and hurt does nothing to the source of that hurt, the person who brought it about. Rather it is a poison in our own hearts that can do us much harm as it will spread and affect other areas of our lives.

When we forgive our brother from our heart, we purge ourselves of this poison. We are healed; we are free. We are more capable of loving others as God loves us. This is one possible reason why Jesus encourages us to “forgive your brother from your heart.”

Easter Reflection – April 20, 2025

It is Matthew’s Gospel of the Resurrection. The women, having found the tomb empty, are following the instructions of the angel and running to tell the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. “⁹ And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.” (Matt 28:9 NABRE)

I had just finished this verse when a question popped into my head that I could not ignore: “Jesus, what is it about Your feet?” I recalled John the Baptist, when he said, “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs on His sandals.” Then there was the repentant woman who bathed his feet with her tears. Afterwards, Mary anointed his feet with perfumed oil. Then Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to demonstrate how to serve others and now these women were clasping tightly to those same feet.

Jesus, what is it about Your feet? I reflected for several minutes without success and was about to move on when this answer came to me: The feet are the lowest, and in those days, the dirtiest part of the body. In the Body of Christ, they are symbolic of those who are destitute, the poor, the lowly (and those feeling low) who walk into our lives.

And this call rose in my heart:  That, like the Baptist, we should stoop in humility before them knowing that we are not worthy to help anyone, bathe them with our tears, anoint them with the oil of gladness, and help Jesus as He washes them clean. Let us embrace them like the women did and say to them, “Come up my friend to a better place” and take your seat with me.

Let us embrace the feet of Jesus as He walks through the door today.