Today is March 31st Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent. This is Fr George with some simple words on the Word of God. In today’s gospel we see Jesus in an encounter with the Pharisees as time rapidly approaches the events we know as Holy Week. [Note: not my normal start, but this is the draft of a daily reflection video made for our parishioners. I thought: “why not post it?”]
This morning I want to direct your attention to the life of goodness that surrounds you in family, friends, and fellowship – still there even in these days of loss and isolation. Can you see it?
When Jesus says to Pharisees, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM”, he is not only pointing to the divine nature displayed in all his works, his miracles, his teaching, but he is pointing ahead to the Cross when their choice for life will be through the death of one man. But the Pharisees just can’t see it. And if they can’t see it now, what will they believe when they see the contradiction of the cross. It is and will be a “fish or cut bait” moment for the Pharisees. Continue reading
…in the early morning when the house is still, the day has not yet begun, and for many in this time of pandemic, even when the day begins it will may only move a few steps from room to room. And that may trace out the whole of the day in quarantine, self-isolation, stay-at-home, and all the other phrases that have become part of the lexicon of our times. 
Next Sunday is the 
Perhaps you’ve heard one of Jesus’ well-known teachings about trusting in God’s generosity: “Look at the ravens, they don’t sow seed… or have barns, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are to God than birds”! Some people hear these words and feel comfort in God’s love. Others think immediately of the dead bird they saw the other day on the side of the road and wonder how that fits into Jesus’ picture of divine generosity! 
Here in Tampa, our city and county program is called “
#AloneTogether. #SocialDistancing. #StayAtHome – these are just some of the many “hashtags” being used online in the various text messaging applications currently in vogue. It is the year 2020 and here on the 5th Sunday in Lent much of the world is “sheltering in place” in order to slow the spread of a coronavirus, Covid-19. On Thursday morning there were 471,802 cases worldwide – but then that is a count of test-confirmed cases. A day later the count surpassed 500,000.
Arising early on Sunday morning, I prayed the Divine Office, sat for a bit in the church before the Real Presence of my Lord and Savior (there are advantages of living in a friary attached to the church), shaved (hadn’t done that in a few days, although you’d barely notice), and sat down to read the Tampa Bay Times, our local newspaper (digital version). 
In 
Mary Flannery O’Connor (March 25, 1925 – August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and thirty-two short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often wrote in what is known as a Southern Gothic style. Her writing reflected her Roman Catholic faith and frequently examined questions of faith, morality and ethics. In a letter to her friend Elizabeth Hester she wrote:
The following is an article from Bishop Robert Barron (March 17, 2020)
friarmusings 