Expect the Unexpected My husband, three kids, and I have been serving as Maryknoll lay missioners in Tanzania, East Africa for the past two years. I work as a nurse and help coordinate healthcare for children with disabilities. The children and families I work with on a weekly basis live very much on the margins…
Once, when I was very small, my mom washed my mouth out with soap. Those of you who remember more traditional forms of child-rearing will recall this custom. To others, I must explain: she had caught me using a ‘bad word’ and washing mouths with soap was the traditional remedy. I do not remember the…
Some years ago, I was browsing through a clothes rack in a department store when a woman suddenly darted by me in great distress, looking here, there, and at no one in particular. “My little girl, have you seen my little girl? Where is, she was, where?” Mouthing monosyllables in her frenzy, she darted off…
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” LUKE 1:43 Sometimes an encounter with a person fills me with wonder and gratitude and opens my heart to a long-lasting friendship. It…
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. ISAIAH 12:2 What should we do? A people “filled with expectation” pose this question to John the Baptist. How often do our own hearts burn with the same question? Look…
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight God’s paths… Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one crying out in the desert… What is the prophet Isaiah trying to say to his…
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads, because your redemption is at hand. LUKE 21:28 The first scripture readings for the Season of Advent tell of difficult times ahead. In the gospel reading from…
In the midst of a history of suffering, Saint Oscar Romero lived and shared with the poor his unshakeable faith in the Lord of Life, the hope of seeing in El Salvador the Christian reality of new heavens and a new earth, and a charity not simply announced, but embodied in the fate of the…
The first reading from Daniel reminds me of one of the most impactful mission experiences of my life from my time living and working in Kenya. Our team of Maryknoll Sisters focused on building bridges across deep divides within communities, among individuals, and within families torn apart by violent conflicts. Mothers lost children, children lost…
This reflection was previously published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books. Today’s readings present us with several people from whom there are lessons to be learned. First, we encounter Elijah, a towering figure in the history of Israel, a prophet so revered that he was…
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ (Mark 12:28b) It is hard to say for sure what the scribe intended as we read in today’s Gospel. So often, when scribes or Pharisees pose a question to Jesus, they have something in mind; they are…
There are several key themes in today’s Gospel that speak to the “signs of our times” and give us, in Jesus, an example of how we are to respond. Mark tells us of the crowd that was traveling with Jesus, and that Jesus “stood still” at the cry of Bartimaeus, a blind man. The scriptures…
Fr. James Kroeger, MM, who served in the Philippines, wrote the following reflection which was published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books. The young mother’s face beamed as she held her week-old baby in her arms. It was clear that this was the joy of her life….
The Belgian theologian, Joseph Comblin, in his book, The Meaning of Mission, wrote, and I’m paraphrasing here, “If the Gospels do not cause raised eyebrows, then chances are the Gospels are being compromised.” Is there a Gospel text more uncomfortable, more eyebrow-raising, than today’s Gospel from Mark? Especially for Christians living in a rich country…
Come and see justice growing, illuminating, and expanding. Come, God’s dominion is in our reach! I remember eagerly awaiting our mother’s return from the market as a child, hoping for a treat. She consistently brought back goods like doughnuts, nuts, or sweets, which were suitable gifts because of their rarity and their lessons in sharing….
Fr. Joseph Veneroso, MM wrote the following reflection which was published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books. I had the good fortune to study Scripture with Rabbi Asher Finkel. What made his lectures intriguing was that his specialty was the New Testament, specifically the teachings of Jesus….
Today we have a powerful gospel full of contrasts. We find Jesus taking advantage of being alone with the disciples as they travel through Galilee to share with them where things are heading. Jesus is aware that the powers that be are not accepting his message, and he sees clearly where things are leading. Yet…
Maryknoll Father Joe Towle draws on two mission experiences that deepened his understanding of nonviolence.
