Mary M. McGlone

Scripture for Life: Jesus' incarnation happened in one moment of history. From the manger to the cross, it was hard to believe in such a simple, humble God. It still is.

Pope Francis teaches that if we want to experience the joy of the Gospel and union with God, we need to begin by sharing God's concern for the poorest among us.

Scripture for Life: This week we will celebrate both the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, feasts that celebrate the human potential to collaborate with God's ongoing offers of grace and thus change history. 

Scripture for Life:  Today's Gospel gives us an apocalyptic vision amazingly applicable to our days. Lest we think we're unique, people throughout the ages have felt the same — and who's to say it's not true?

Scripture for Life: In his reigning among us, Christ offers a share of his glory, a glory that we can begin to comprehend and experience only in faith. It is unintelligible to those who choose to remain outside.

Scripture for Life: We need to listen deeply to Jesus' promise that when things seem to be falling apart and the very forces of nature seem to wreak death, God is near, the reign of God is truly among us. 

Scripture for Life: Jesus makes clear that pretentious religious leaders who take advantage of the lowly unintentionally mock their own arrogance, while people like the widow express their freedom and dignity by caring for the common good, no matter the cost.

Scripture for Life: What might St. Martín tell us today about love of God and neighbor?

Scripture for Life: If Bartimaeus were here, he might beg us to listen deeply for the good news in our fragmented world. He would probably tell us that we really do need to hear and respect viewpoints different from our own.

Scripture for Life: Jesus has always had followers who recognized and still bet their lives on the faith that weakness opens them to grace, that avoiding the traps of fear and control frees them to believe in the power of their baptism.

Scripture for Life: Prayer opens us to God, but it doesn’t give us direct and infallible inspiration. 

Scripture for Life: Adam and Eve might be the perfect patron saints for this moment when our church is moving into the second session of the synod on synodality, or, we could say, the synod on becoming more together.

Scripture for Life: Today when we confront obnoxious self-aggrandizing, bullying, divisive people, these readings challenge us to the core. When we find ourselves provoked and tending toward retaliation, James calls us to tame ourselves. 

Scripture for Life: The Gospel message always aims to alter our perceptions. Discipleship carries no insurance policy. Following Jesus is a risky proposition. 

Scripture for Life: Our world is in desperate need of listeners, of people who can approach the violent with a kiss and who can receive revelation from very different points of view.

Scripture for Life: Finding and following our deepest desires will free us to follow the Lord, who was called insane and a lawbreaker — but was never accused of failing to love. 

For us, addicts to the independence we think of as freedom, this month of meditating on Jesus as the Bread of Life has led us to hear Jesus question us: "Are you all in?"

Scripture for Life: Christ invites us to give him a dwelling place in our heart, mind and psyche. As we do so, we begin to allow all that we are and do to find its source and purpose in him.

Scripture for Life: This week's liturgy warns us that our expectations may be the greatest obstacle keeping us from knowing what God keeps offering us. 

Scripture for Life: Today's liturgy invites us to have the courage to ask Christ, "What are you doing here? What do you want to offer us?"