To be a Dominican is to have great love and care for the dead. For 800 years, Dominicans have religiously carried out customs and practices that focus our prayers on those who have died.  No matter how long ago a Sister or Brother died, on the anniversary of their birth into new life, we remember them in prayer by name. In some congregations of Dominican women, short intercessory prayers for the members of their community who have recently died are said for eight days following their funerals.In many priories and houses of Dominican men, the De Profundis, a heartfelt prayer of sorrow for … [Read more...] about Remembering Our Loved Ones (Fr. Bob reflection)

In today’s gospel reading, two things are seen as wealth—material possessions and religious-moral identity. I call it religious-moral identity because for Jewish people, at the time of Jesus, there was no distinction between material possessions, cultural practices, and religious practices. They were combined together into one religious-moral self.  In other words, this is who I am and my wealth verifies who I am.   The passage that we heard is from the 10th Chapter of Mark and what follows the passage is Jesus' announcement that he must go up to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. He must empty … [Read more...] about What Do We Value? (Fr. Bob reflection)

I believe that the scripture readings we hear this Sunday can be used as a self-guided reflection on who we are and who we might become as human beings. In the reading from the Book of Genesis, God first creates a human being and then begins to create other creatures. God asks the human being to give each creature their name. This implies that from the start God does not intend to be the only helper for human beings. God intends for human beings to join with other creatures so that the potential of all creation might be realized. The idea that our helpers must be other creatures and not God … [Read more...] about Without Any Bias and Hesitation! (Fr. Bob reflection)

ABUNDANT THANKS to Mary Leibl, Linda Rivera, and Karen Thompson who co-directed the Church of St. Matthew Fall Festival. BOUNTIFUL THANKS to the members of the Planning Committee who planned and organized the booths.  IMMENSE THANKS to all the generous volunteers who assisted where and whenever needed.  PROFUSE THANKS to the members of the Rosary Society and the Men’s Club whose support is always reliable. PLENTIFUL THANKS to all the men and women chefs, bakers, and float makers who shared their culinary skills. AWESOME THANKS to the teens and their adult co-workers who resurrected and gave … [Read more...] about Many Words of Thanks (Fr. Bob reflection)

Today’s second reading from the letter of James describes two kinds of wisdom—heavenly wisdom from above and earthly wisdom from below. The author of the letter points out some important characteristics of heavenly wisdom.  Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy, and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. At the same time the author criticizes certain human behaviors that sabotage heavenly wisdom and undermines human living, like wars, envy, jealousy, and selfish desires.   At the time the Letter of James was written, Jewish Christians would have … [Read more...] about Heavenly Wisdom (Fr. Bob reflection)

“Adages,” those brief phrases that express wisdom about the reality we all live with, are a part of everyone’s lives. BE PREPARED is the phrase I repeated, shared, and shouted with friends who were working on projects to earn our scout badges. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTis the phrase that encouraged me to spend long hours with Latin books in high school. OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE are the words that pushed me to answer a call to the priesthood at the age of thirty-one. VERITAS (TRUTH) is the word that inspires my study, prayer, ministry, and community life as a vowed member of … [Read more...] about Times They Are a Changing (Fr. Bob reflection)

In this weekend’s Gospel we hear about the Pharisees and in fact all Jews scrupulously washing their hands and asking Jesus why his disciples did not do the same. For the Pharisees there were definite and rigid rules for washing hands before every meal and between each course of a meal. First, the hands had to be shaken to remove any remnants of sand and dirt. Then hands were held with the finger tips pointing upwards. Water was poured over them running at least down to the wrist. The minimum amount of water was one quarter of a log, which is equal to about one and one half egg­shells full of … [Read more...] about The Labor of Washing Our Hands (Fr. Bob reflection)