Scripture Reflections

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Third Sunday of Easter

Maryknoll Lay Missioner Gabe Hurrish reflects on Jesus joining the disciples on the road to Emmaus

Second Sunday of Easter

Second Sunday of Easter

Maryknoll Sr. Dee Smith reflects on the disciples’ fear, doubt, and guilt after Jesus’ death, emphasizing that their struggles mirror our own moments of uncertainty in living out our faith, and God’s mercy prevails over all. How many of us today can identify with one or another of the disciples hidden away in the upper…

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Maryknoll Fr. Frank Breen highlights how the disciples come to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, overcoming fear as they encounter the empty tomb and the risen Christ. This message calls believers to embrace new life and actively protect God’s creation, recognizing that all life is sacred and interconnected. The gospel today on Easter morning is about…

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

Maryknoll Fr. Dennis Moorman reflects on Jesus’s triumphal entry and the call to seek true peace within ourselves and the world. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week in the liturgical calendar for Christians around the world! On this day, we commemorate Jesus triumphantly entering into Jerusalem before his torture and death, culminating in…

Fifth Sunday Of Lent

Fifth Sunday Of Lent

Maryknoll Lay Missioner Sarah Bueter reflects on striving to create God’s peace on Earth, here and now. Ask what violence looks like in our world, and we have myriad examples. In El Salvador, structural violence and interpersonal violence are visible: structurally, the poor majority fight for basic protections against an authoritarian regime, and interpersonally, in…

Fourth Sunday Of Lent

Fourth Sunday Of Lent

Maryknoll Sr. Kathleen Reiley reflects on Christ as the light of the world. “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” In the midst of so much heartbreaking news these days, how uplifting to realize that Christ is the light of the world and…

Third Sunday Of Lent

Third Sunday Of Lent

Maryknoll Lay Missioner Gabe Hurrish reflects on Jesus’s radical love and seeing Jesus in others, especially the marginalized. What was that woman doing collecting water at noon? I have lived in Africa for decades, and everyone knows that you collect water in the early morning and early evening. It is cooler, and that is when…

Second Sunday Of Lent

Second Sunday Of Lent

Maryknoll Sr. Teresa Hougnon reflects on embracing a courageous, honest peace. Our Lenten journey is a time to take a long, loving look at why we follow Christ. With prayer, scripture and reflection time, we go into the deepest part of ourselves where we connect with God. It is in this place where we find…

First Sunday Of Lent

First Sunday Of Lent

Maryknoll lay missioner Joanne Blaney in Brazil reflects on power and transformation. As Lent begins, may we renew our commitment to prayer and individual and social transformation. We listen to the cry and moans of our brothers, sisters and planet, sometimes feeling impotent to create change. I believe that today’s Scripture readings speak to our…

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

As we begin the Season of Lent, Maryknoll Affiliate Marie Dennis explores Jesus’ journey to the cross as a radical commitment to nonviolence. In the coming weeks we will re-enact some of the most powerful moments of Jesus’ journey. His private retreat to the desert led to his entry into Jerusalem, a public liturgy loaded…

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Maryknoll Fr. Mike Snyder explores the concept of free will and our calling to choose righteousness, sharing in God’s divinity by living and speaking holy wisdom. When presiding at Mass, the priest mixes water with wine while enunciating these words: “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the…

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Eric Searcy remarks on each of today’s Scripture readings. Through Isaiah 58:7-10, he ponders human difference, its implications for how we treat each other, and God’s grace and love for all. He reflects upon Biblical leadership and God-given strength with Corinthians 2:1-5, and the meaning of being the “salt of the earth” and the “light…

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Maryknoll Lay Missioner Louise Locke reflects on encountering Jesus in the poor and vulnerable. “If we recognize [Jesus] under the appearance of bread, we will have no difficulty recognizing him in the disguise of the suffering poor”. — Saint Teresa of Calcutta In my 5th year as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner missioned to Bolivia, I…

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sr. Genie Natividad, M.M., reflects on Jesus’s example of outreach to the margins. What strikes me most about the readings for this Sunday’s liturgy — the gospel from Matthew in particular — is the way mission is to be carried out following the example of Jesus. He begins his OUTREACH to the people on the…

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Leo Shea, M.M., connects the proclamation of Jesus as the Lamb of God with the deep, enduring faith of the Venezuelan people and their suffering under unjust structures. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. These prophetic words of John the Baptist ring so loud and strong in…

Jordan River

Baptism of the Lord

Maryknoll Fr. Lo Dam reflects on Epiphany as the start of Jesus’ mission in the world and a call for us to follow in his footsteps. Liturgically speaking, the Christmas season ends with the Epiphany, and the New Year’s Ordinary time starts with this feast of Baptism of Our Lord, since today is also the…

Star

Epiphany

Returned Lay Missioner Debbie Northern reflects the meaning of epiphanies for the Magi and in our lives of faith today. After following a large star for several months, expecting the portentous sight of a newborn King, the Magi discover a recently born child and his parents huddled in a stable surrounded by shepherds and animals….

Refugees Welcome Sign

Feast of the Holy Family 

Susan Gunn, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Director, explores the Christmas story’s implications in our lives and treatment of migrants and refugees.  The journey of Christmas continues in the readings today. The family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph must escape an evil ruler and live as refugees in Egypt for a few years.  The Gospel of Matthew tells us the…