Author Archives: stmichaelssurrey

Sunday’s Reflection: Preachers try to explain this Gospel by saying that Jesus convinced the people to share their food with each other. Their open-heartedness and mutuality were the true miracles. This is a fine lesson, but there is something deeper here … Continue reading →

Sunday’s Reflection: These verses of Mark’s gospel serve as a bookend for a “bread miracle” in which Jesus feeds five thousand people (vv. 35-44) and the episode that immediately follows in which Jesus walks on the sea (vv. 47-52). Taken together, … Continue reading →

Sunday’s Reflection: Here we see Jesus both ministering in his hometown and sending out the disciples two by two to undertake their own ministry. Both encounter some forms of unbelief. Jesus’ hometown cannot accept his teaching because he is too familiar … Continue reading →

Sunday’s Reflection: Brian B. Pinter wrote, “Ministry often happens in the interruptions! We might have our plans and agendas, but life will interrupt, calling us to put those aside. The most meaningful, impactful moments come as interruptions, surprises, unexpected moments that become … Continue reading →

Parables are powerful teaching tools. They purify wisdom from our everyday experience, wisdom we often overlook. Parables are also multivalent, that is, they can be interpreted in several ways. Above all, parables invite us to draw our own conclusions. A … Continue reading →

Of Faith in the Holy Trinity: There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of … Continue reading →

The Day of Pentecost: Pentecost is the moment when God’s physical presence on earth shifts from the earthly body of Christ to the global Body of Christ. That moment was ten whole days long. Until today, many churches still have Jesus … Continue reading →

Sunday’s Reflection:  Abide in my love. In today’s gospel, these verses are a continuation of the idea of ‘abiding in Jesus’ which we have read in verses 1 to 8. The passage indicates the idea that “everything begins with the Father in … Continue reading →

Sunday’s Reflection:  I am the vine, you are the branches. This verse is an allegory. It represents another thing and symbolically expresses a deeper meaning. And so, Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. When Jesus identifies himself as the … Continue reading →