2024 archive of Reflections
Fr. Jo's Reflection for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Yr B, March 24, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 3/22/24
“A victory march that ended in a torture chamber” is a fitting title for today’s celebration. When Roman generals return from war, they’re accorded the greatest honor with a parade from the outskirts of the city to the amphitheater where they’re decorated with deserving honors. The victory march with ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Yr B, March 17, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 3/15/24
“Wrong Way Corrigan” was an expression coined by the media to describe a flight by aviator, Douglas Corrigan, who on July 18, 1938 initiated a flight from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn New York to Long Beach California, but ended up in Dublin, Ireland. Maybe you’re different but I ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Yr B, March 10, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 3/12/24
Lent, like the season of Advent, has a “Rejoice or Rose Sunday” when the rose vestments are worn and the altar could be decorated with flowers in joyful anticipation of Easter. While in Advent it is called Gaudete Sunday, during Lent it’s called Laetare Sunday, taken from the first ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent, Yr B, March 3, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 3/01/24
Years ago, I made a conscious decision to ignore the Stock Market, choosing a purposive ignorance. Why am I not hooked to Wall Street? Studying probabilities in graduate school helped seal my vow to not follow the speculations that surround the Stock Market and the very lucrative casino industry. ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent, Yr B, February 25, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 2/23/24
God’s demand for Abraham to sacrifice his only son would sound disconcerting in contemporary idiom; but it’s a test of Abraham’s fidelity, which preceded a covenantal oath. It was an interface similar to that with Noah in last Sunday’s first reading. They’re both stories of God’s covenant with humanity. ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent, Yr B, February 18, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 2/16/24
Every few years, Lent would fall on Valentine’s Day. Many have asked what to do: Celebrate Valentine on the 13th or mix and match them? We don’t need to do any of that, because there’s Lent in VaLENTine, and St. Valentine would want us to be aware of that. ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr B, February 11, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 2/09/24
Thank God I wasn’t a priest during the time of the Leviticus when priests, more or less, acted as dermatologists and diagnosed who had what skin disease and decided who was to be banished to the leper colony or reinstated to the clean yard. Or maybe, I am—in the ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr B, February 4, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 2/02/24
Jesus delved into the untoward territory of evil and the demonic with the strong arm of a true lord and master; after all, that was why He was sent. Last Sunday, we saw Him strike that domain with the blow of divine power, forcing a man out of the ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr B, January 28, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 1/26/24
Several people have asked “What is happening to the Church?” They perhaps have read or watched a lot of YouTube videos and podcasts by online self-acclaimed theologians and internet apologists who troll them with captions and topics to which they seek clicks that gain them monetary advantage or congratulatory ... Read More »
Fr. Jo's Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr B, January 21, 2024
Posted by John Wolf on 1/19/24
Last Sunday, I attempted to demonstrate that the Ordinary time season is not ordinary, rather “work season.” As you listen to this Sunday’s readings, the picture begins to unfold. Consistent with what the farmer does as he prepares to go to farm or a surgeon preparing to enter the ... Read More »