2023 archive of Reflections
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Holy Family of Jesus Mary & Joseph, Yr B, December 31, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 12/29/23
When in the late seventies and early eighties, the program: “The American Family: An Endangered Species?” aired on NBC, one in four American families had the traditional family structure, “only” 40% of marriages ended in divorce, and there were six million single parent families. Think that was bad? You’ll ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Yr B, December 24, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 12/22/23
A four-year old boy has heard many references to our Blessed Mother as the Virgin Mary and on their way from Mass he asks his mom, “Mom, what is a virgin?” Stunned by the question the mother struggles to find an appropriate answer for her boy: “A virgin is, ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent, Yr B, December 15, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 12/15/23
Some years ago, I received a subpoena from the DA’s office in Tulsa. Needless to say that it made me very uncomfortable to think that I should stand before a jury and judge to testify about someone’s life. I fought the subpoena with my attorney; and twice it was ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent, Yr B, December 8, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 12/08/23
John the Baptist’s calling was to be the intersection between the old and the new covenant—ending one and introducing the other. Remember in Mathematics, the theory of intersection where two sets A and B meet. The intersection contains all the elements of A that also belong to B but ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the First Sunday of Advent, Yr B, December 1, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 12/01/23
You may have forgotten how many predictions of the end of the world we’ve had in recent times. Still fresh in my mind was a prediction by David Meade, a self-acclaimed scientist who was convinced from his scientific readings that an unknown planet Nibiru, would appear and destroy the ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Yr A, November 26, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 11/25/23
The idea of Christ as king doesn’t sit well with people formed in Western democracies that regard kings, queens and princes as people unduly privileged. We detest such privileges counting them at odds with modern age’s radical equality so sacrosanct that it has become a winning formula for any ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr A, November 19, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 11/17/23
Some people claim they’re mad at God. For one lady, it was because God hasn’t heard her prayer to win the state lottery—even though she hasn’t for once purchased the lottery ticket. You see, you can’t just wish for stuff to happen and it happens. God isn’t going to ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr A, November 12, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 11/10/23
As the liturgical year winds down, the Church uses the imagery of a wedding feast to teach about the kingdom of God. The Jewish marriage setting very closely mirrors the Wedding Feast of the Lamb that is to come at the end. The setting seems pretty familiar to me. ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr A, November 5, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 11/03/23
For the past several weeks, the evangelist, Matthew has focused on several run-ins that Jesus had with the Pharisees, Scribes, Herodians, and scholars of the law. Today, he shows that he has had enough of their calumny and goes on a vigorous attack of their perfidy. In very strong ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr A, October 29, 2023
Posted by John Wolf on 10/27/23
You can criticize leadership that’s not performing well; only let your criticism be constructive rather than make you sound disingenuous. About one past president, someone was quoted as saying: “The president could find a cure for cancer and his adversaries would say that he’s putting doctors and pharmacists out ... Read More »