Mary M. McGlone

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?"

In today's message, John challenges us to see how miracles come about — how the hunger of the world can be assuaged. 

Scripture for Life: Jesus felt so deeply with the hungry people that he had to respond to them. In contrast to their woeful shepherds, he helped them get in touch with what their hearts desired.

In today's reading, the only task Jesus defined for the disciples was to drive out unclean spirits. Like them, our baptism commissions us to help others know the presence of God — in spite of situations and attitudes that obscure our vision of what God wants for our world.

Scripture for Life: Today's Liturgy of the Word is a not-so-subtle call to live as a new creation. Instead of cowering in the storm, we can be people of the Resurrection — and discover how whirlwinds can blow us into deeper faith.

Scripture for Life: As people of the resurrection, we can hear Jesus' images as an assurance that God's reigning is here and there and everywhere, and that it will be the future of everything.

Scripture for Life: In Jesus' vision of God's reign, the measure of every action and relationship rests simply on how it fosters or impedes love and human thriving.

Scripture for Life: With each communion, we repeat our own "I do," to the invitation to strengthen our blood bond with one another and with God, to the invitation to share in the very life of God. 

Scripture for Life: A community that lives mission will be an ever-growing and changing image of God in our world.