The Musical Priest

Readings for March 31: Thursday of the Third Week of Lent - Maciej Rejniak, '11 Today's Gospel, I think, is quite problematic in the history of the Church. Jesus tells the crowd “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ” Harsh words indeed. Words, that if interpreted in the wrong way, could serve as justification for violence, prejudice, and hatred. One only has to think of the Crusades, the Reformation, the various religious wars, and even today's upheavals to see evidence of this. If you aren't a believer in Jesus, a Christian, a Roman Catholic, then you are an enemy, someone who must be fought and destroyed, to make the world pure. This sounds almost Nazi-like. It also originates from the same man who preached to love thy neighbor as thyself. How can Jesus give us such contradictory messages? How can we believe him? What I think needs to be determined is: if you aren't with Jesus, then who are you with? If Jesus i...

Readings for March 29th: Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent - Matt Kowalski, '11 Many people note the stark contrast between God in the Old Testament and God in the New Testament. The former imposes strict commandments upon His people, offering little forgiveness or mercy. Individuals either follow the law to the letter or forsake themselves to hell. On the other hand, Jesus in the New Testament brings the idea that God is love, and no matter how many sins one commits, God will continue to love. He brings forgiveness to the world, offering a second chance to sinners. Despite these differences, in today’s Gospel, Jesus unifies these two snapshots of God, saying “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” To me, this statement seemed strange and ridiculous at first. Did Jesus not break Jewish law on multiple occasions and when confronted by the rabbi, scoff at the outlandish nature of their traditions? How ...

Readings March 29th: Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent - Patrick Sier, '11 Today’s Gospel is one that has likely led many people to atheism. Now that I have your attention I would like to explain why. Think about it, in our daily lives it’s easy to get caught up in numbers. Luckily for me, I dropped all my math classes this year. Beyond the easier course load, this is also a blessing for my relationship with God. In today’s Gospel, Peter is fishing for a number of times that one must forgive a transgressor. Jesus replies to his repeated inquiries that we must forgive them “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Readings for March 28th: Monday of the Third Week of Lent -Maciej Rejniak, '11 In today's Gospel, Jesus tells those listening to him “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”, a statement that the Jews did not take kindly. Weren't they the Chosen People, the ones who God has picked from all other races of the world? Weren't they the ones who have lived according to God's law, even though it is difficult and unnatural to do so? Weren't they the ones who fought for years in bloody wars for the Promised Land that God has given them? A Jew listening to Jesus at the synagogue, I imagine, must have thought something like this: “With what impudence this man speaks! We are the Chosen People, the ones who will bring all nations before the one Lord. We obey the laws and the prophets, we do the Lord's will. This man has no right to accuse us of such dealings, he is wrong, and we must get rid of him before he poisons the minds of the ...

Readings for March 27th: The Third Sunday of Lent - Matthew LoPrete, '13 In today's Gospel, Jesus talks to a Samaritan about  matters of life and death, concrete and abstract.  It is odd for Jesus, a Jew, to be talking with a Samaritan in the first place, and the skeptical woman is quick to point this out.  When Jesus says he can give her "living water," she asks if He is "greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” The conversation continues, and Jesus tells the woman that not only the Jews will recognize the Messiah and achieve Salvation, but the Samaritans, though they are not the Chosen People, will too. She sees Jesus as a prophet until He corrects her, announcing he is the Messiah. The disciples return, begging Jesus to eat, but He will not.  He responds:    “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.  Do you not say, ‘In...

I was asked to give the invocation at this year's U of D Jesuit Mothers' Club Fashion Show. Due to several requests, I post the text below: I would like to begin this morning with a brief reflection written by Saint Augustine of Hippo: And what is the object of my love? I asked the earth and it said: ‘It is not I.” I asked all the things on the earth, and they all made the same confession. I asked the sea, I scoured its depths, I asked the living creatures that creep, and they all responded: ‘We are not your God, look beyond us.’ I asked heaven, sun, moon and star; they said: ‘Nor are we the God whom you seek.’ And I said to all these things around me: ‘Tell me of my God who you are not, tell me something about him.’ And with a great voice they cried out: ‘He made us’. My question was the attention I gave to them and their response was their beauty. Heavenly Father, it is beauty that has brought us together. Please bless all of those gathered here today: th...

Readings for March 26th: Third Sunday of Lent - Ryan G. Duns, SJ As many of you know, I am in my second year of teaching at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy . As I read today's readings - each one rich with meaning - I recalled a somewhat trivial event that, when examined, indicates what I think is so special about our school. As moderator of the Student Senate, I have a pretty cool office on the "garden level" of the school, right off of the Student Commons. Depending on the day, I can have anywhere from between five and twenty students taking up space on the couches, chairs, rockers, and even the floor. I rather enjoy the company and I always marvel at the cross-section of students who seem to stop by: I recently described the typical scene as being that of the "Mos Eisley Cantina" (Star Wars reference) as guys from all over the universe seem to gather there! A few weeks ago, a group of students were in my office, including several...