A band of mountain climbers were scaling the height of a towering mountain. When the trek became so steep, the majority of the members decided to abort the venture. They would rather stay behind, sit down on the grasses, and be content with the sights at ground level. A handful of mountaineers, however, persisted until [...]

Matthew 16: 21 - 27

21
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

22
And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This [...]

Matthew 15: 21 - 28

21
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.”

23
But he did not answer her a [...]

Gospel Reflections (Twentieth Sunday in ordinary time)
Dried Fish
Can Be Delicious
Matthew 15: 21-28

Naaman was a mighty general of the king of Damascus (cf. 2 Kg. 5: 1-19). Naaman, as a man of influence, was well- respected, rich and famous; but he had one fatal weakness: he had been inflicted with the dreaded disease known as [...]

Gospel Reflections ( Nineteenth Sunday in ordinary time)
Reaching The
Distant Shores
Matthew 14: 22-23

Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands, has a good motto. Most of this region is below sea level and must constantly cope with the ocean that periodically floods the area, Nevertheless, Zeeland boasts on its coat of arms the triumphant words: Luctor et emergo: [...]

Matthew 14: 22 - 33

22
Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

23
And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

24
but the boat by this [...]

Gospel Reflections (Eighteenth Sunday in ordinary time)
The Mass Is
Open-Ended
Matthew 14: 13-21

An elderly woman liked in one-half of a duplex apartment. Arthur Tonne narrates that the woman was extremely poor, but she was a woman of great faith. In the other half of the duplex lived a man who had no faith, no prayer, [...]