Jesus lays down his life for us, and he does it all with love. Rob Lorenz, SJ, reflects on how Jesus and the Father desire the same thing: to be in a relationship with us. Based on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Like Father, like Son, like…”sheep”? Hi, I’m Rob and this is my one-minute reflection. At the end of today’s Gospel about the Good Shepherd, Jesus makes two claims that might seem contradictory: First, that he lays down his life for the sheep “on his own,” and then immediately afterward says “This command I have received from my Father.” So is he caring and sacrificing ..read more

After Jesus’s resurrection, he appears to the disciples doing simple things like eating a piece of baked fish. Carlos Martínez-Vela reflects on how Jesus teaches us to be human. Based on readings for the Third Sunday of Easter. Jesus was human, not superhuman. Hi, I am Carlos Martínez-Vela, and this is my one-minute reflection. In today’s Gospel, we encounter Jesus in his body. When he appears to the disciples, they think he is a ghost. In response, Jesus says “touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”  He shows them his wounds. He is hungry ..read more

Jesus gave Doubting Thomas exactly what he needed to move from doubt to belief. Angelo Canta, SJ, reflects on the importance of giving the Lord everything in prayer. Readings can be found here. Doubt is not the opposite of belief.  Hi, I’m Angelo Canta, and this is my one-minute reflection.  I really like Doubting Thomas, and I think people often misunderstand his doubt. Think about the week he just had. He saw the same crowd that welcomed Jesus with shouts of joy turn against him and call for his crucifixion. What’s worse is that he turned his back on Jesus and left him in his hour ..read more

Often in life, we find ourselves in periods of waiting. While enduring a difficult situation or holding out hope, sometimes all we can do is wait. When these times come, we want to tell ourselves that the waiting will be worth it in the end – but it’s so difficult when that payoff hasn’t come yet. The reality is that waiting can be painful. Until it’s over, it can seem senseless. Our prayers are sometimes met with silence. Holy Saturday is one such time of waiting. We have fasted with the Lord in the desert through Lent and have followed him all the way to the cross. But the meaning of this j ..read more

I probably reached the peak of my career working part-time with Adidas in 2008. I was still in college, working weekends and some holidays. While most of my job meant setting up a new install or display or rearranging stock on the floor or in the back of a store, this was not the case in the days leading up to Patriot’s Day, the day of the Boston Marathon. At the Convention and Exposition Center, the registered marathon runners picked up their bibs and visited hundreds of vendors offering nutrition products, clothes, and, of course, footwear. My job was to provide gait analysis for these elit ..read more

Can we just skip this part? Noah Banasiewicz, SJ invites us to reflect on how Jesus suffered because of his love for us. You can read Palm Sunday here. Can we just skip this part? Hi, I’m Noah Banasiewicz, and this is my One-Minute Reflection. Growing up as kid, I hated playing the game “Cops and Robbers.” Sure, it was fun to play the good guy and pretend to be a hero. But other times, pretending to be evil just felt weird. The truth is, nobody likes playing the bad guy. I can’t help but feel this same tension in our readings for Palm Sunday. At the beginning of Mass we’re invited join the cr ..read more

“What have you given up for Lent?” is a common question among the faithful this time of the year. As Catholics, besides abstaining from meat on Fridays, we are not obligated to fast from anything else. We are free to choose our fasts based on what will help us grow closer to God. Traditionally, meat is a common abstinence during the whole of Lent. However, given the horrific realities of the meat industry, I wonder whether abstinence from meat is something we should do for 40 days or for life. The cruelties of the meat industry, especially its factory farming methods, are widely known. Today ..read more

Do you ever feel stuck? Carlos Martinez-Vela, S.J. reflects on how Jesus invites us to let go of our habits. The readings for this Sunday can be found here. Do you ever feel stuck? Hi, I am Carlos Martinez-Vela and this is my one minute reflection. We all know how it feels to be stuck. We are creatures of habit. Both good and bad ones. But habits are not just the things we do again and again. Habits are also feelings and ideas. In today’s gospel, Jesus is asking us to stop clinging to old ways of thinking, feeling and doing. Jesus wants to help us, to help us remove the rocks that keep the gr ..read more

Spoiler Alert! Lent will come to an end. Angelo Canta, S.J. reflects on how the Laetare Sunday reminds us that sin doesn’t have the last word, salvation does. The readings for this Sunday can be found here. Spoiler alert: Lent will come to an end, and the Resurrection is already here.  Hi I’m Angelo Canta, and this is my one-minute reflection.  Today is Laetare Sunday, when the first words of the Mass are “Laetare,” “Rejoice.” You might hear more upbeat music. You might see the priest putting on rose-colored vestments. You might see flowers on the altar. But, for those doing the mat ..read more

Some hospital realities have a pointed way of needling my nerves. The relentless beeping of medication pumps calling for a nurse permeates like tinnitus. That ringing in my ear is why I initially looked in on this particular patient, a woman in the burn unit’s hospice. The first thing I noticed when I entered the patient’s room was a little blue box floating on the black background of the television, which played soft classical music.  Like the blue box on the TV, I was “floating.” That is what we call it in nursing when supervisors pull you from your usual unit to some other understaffe ..read more