One of Jesus’ more intriguing images is that of the gate, the entranceway into his Father’s Kingdom. Entrance depends in large part on the practical steps we take to build the kind of unity, accord and cooperation that reflects his Father’s world.
McKenna
The Shining Gaze (Ps 4:7a; Lk 24:36-80)
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 1, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
A favorite verse, Psalm 4, reads: “Lord, let your face shine upon us.” It summons up a very warm and private kind of experience that each of us in our own way can recognize.
Solidarity – in Life, Death, and New Life (Mark 14:1-15:47)
by Tom McKenna, CM | April 17, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment
A remark I once overheard: “I don’t mind suffering when nobody knows about it – as long as somebody knows about it!”
John 3:16 – Read It!
by Tom McKenna, CM | April 3, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
If you’ve watched any sports events over the last decades, you’ve seen banners held high, calling attention to a famous passage in John’s Gospel.
A Closer Walk (John 2:13-25)
by Tom McKenna, CM | March 20, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Early in St. John’s gospel, we see Jesus resolutely striding into the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple, a space bordering on what the Jewish people acknowledged to be God’s own Dwelling place.
The Treasures’s Location (Hebrews 11:1-19; Lk. 12:32-48)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Aug 10, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Lk 12:34)These words of Jesus shine a light on what it is that a given society values — what it treasures most, what tops its list of things most sought after?
Understand & Listen (Genesis 18: Luke 10: 38-42)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jul 27, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Recently I came across an intriguing quote from the 18th century author, Henri David Thoreau, which touched on a theme prominent in the scriptures.
Feet in Two Worlds
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 13, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
Now a citizen of two worlds, each one operating from different instincts and expectations, he was pulled.
Landing the Kingdom
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 27, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
To convey the irresistibility of his Father’s Kingdom, Jesus images the hidden seed sprouting under the ground.
Along The Way
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 13, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
St. Paul proclaims he came upon this “Way” through personal encounter with the light and the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Stretching Toward The Kingdom
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 30, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
A key theme in a recent workshop on intercultural living was stretching – the oftentimes painful effort needed to expand our perspectives and widen our view of what true and valuable.
Landing and Soaking In
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 16, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
That double action of the light, landing and then sinking in, provides an underlying clue to the whole direction of Jesus’ ministry.
“Honor” The Hidden Life
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 2, 2019 | Formation, Reflections
Those years between Jesus’ adolescence and public ministry there’s only silence, only the anonymity of what writers have termed The Hidden Life.
Christmas Meditation on Humility
by .famvin | Dec 23, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Consider what a wonderful blessing it is that God became a human being just like you.
Light Through Darkness
by Tom McKenna, CM | Dec 19, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
The Christmas truth is that God’s light suffuses the dimness of those times and in the end beats back the encroaching darkness.
The Future Pulls The Present
by Tom McKenna, CM | Dec 5, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Advent (Ad: toward; Vent: coming), lays out the direction of the season. It doesn’t just celebrate the future but what of that future is being poured into the present.