Search Results for:

The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross Even Jesus needed help, and he wasn’t too proud to accept it. Human beings are social beings-we are called to live in community. By being together, by helping one another, we become the best versions of ourselves. We build a better planet. We enact the kingdom of God. Continue reading →

St. Rose of Lima, patron saint of Latin America (1586–1617) It takes courage to stand up for what you believe, especially when everyone else seems to disagree with you. St. Rose of Lima, born to parents of Spanish heritage in the city of Lima, Peru, did not back down when her friends and family tried to push her from the path she knew God had set for her. Continue reading →

Last Sunday, we reflected on the Transfiguration-when three disciples see Jesus in his future, resurrected form and come to understand his place in salvation history! It’s appropriate that this event takes place on a mountain summit, a place where we can see clearly for miles, looking down at the roads below and seeing where they lead. Continue reading →

In today’s readings, we see individuals and communities grappling with very real, tangible needs-hunger, thirst and shelter. As we reflect on these basic human needs, we think and pray for those who are forced to do without. How many of us have more than we need, too many things? Do we casually waste food or leave the water running? Continue reading →

“If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” -1 John 3:17–18 Continue reading →

The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus It’s tempting for us to remove the humanity from this station, to view it in terms of great marble statues and stained glass. But what Veronica did was hardly clean or simple. Here is a woman who quite literally pushes herself-her own body-into the heart of suffering and struggle, into a rowdy crowd that can hardly guarantee her safety. This is a woman who threw cultural norms and taboos aside and took action. Continue reading →

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus and a Samaritan woman have a conversation that revolves around two kinds of nourishment-the physical and the spiritual. When the woman speaks about water, she speaks about physical thirst and the practical applications of obtaining water, pointing out, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep.” Continue reading →

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls a Second Time There is a great temptation to ignore the poor of our world by assuming that their plight is one of their own creation. Some may reason that poverty comes from laziness, ignorance or a failure to seize opportunities. But this is an easy way out. We assign blame to someone else so as to escape culpability. We distance ourselves from a situation we think is remote from our own. Continue reading →

St. Katharine Drexel, patron saint of philanthropists and racial justice (1858–1955) When we think about caring for the poor, we may imagine ourselves helping at a food pantry or building houses in a foreign country. But how many of us consider giving away all of our money, let alone a fortune? That’s exactly what St. Katharine Drexel did. Continue reading →

The Gospel calls us to work on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our world. In this week’s Story of Hope, we visited the town of Baganga in the Philippines and met people whose homes had been destroyed in a storm. This community offers us a powerful lesson in what it means to serve the poorest among us. Continue reading →