McKenna

“Something More” (Exodus 3:1-15)

by Tom McKenna, CM | March 23, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments

Through the ages, the episode of Moses and the burning bush has figured into the religious experience of many.

Storing Up (Luke 6:42-45)

by Tom McKenna, CM | March 9, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 3 Comments

In a Lukan parable, Jesus uses the image of “storing,” accumulating and building up a certain quality inside one’s heart.

Moving Ahead (Jeremiah 1:17-19)

by Tom McKenna, CM | February 23, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment

“Call,” a notion that figures prominently in the Scriptures, God summoning people to change direction. Heading nowhere in particular, someone senses an inner prod to take some new course.

One More (Luke 5:1-11)

by Tom McKenna, CM | February 9, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 4 Comments

I can imagine Peter’s consternation when Jesus challenges him to head out one more time. Likely shaking his head, Peter nonetheless gives his “ok, one more!”

65th Anniversary of Vincentian Brother Alfred Smith’s Service

by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 19, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

To keep God’s people safe and alive in their battle against Amalek, Moses has to hold his arms high in the air for a very long while.

Stand Up and Go! (2 Kings, 5:14-17; Lk 17:11-19)

by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 5, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

For all of us who have been through the pandemic, we know first-hand how disease and sickness have a way of separating us, how they can isolate and cut us off from the rest of life.

Acceptance — And Ingenuity (Luke 16:1-13)

by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 21, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

Scripture Scholars tell us that the meaning behind the word “parable” is curve, as in throwing a curve.

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.

The Kingdom Interpretation

by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 21, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

The Kingdom Interpretation (Mk 12:44-48) To profess myself a Christian is to profess a desire – and that desire is to follow behind the Lord, Jesus Christ. Perhaps “follow behind” doesn’t quite get to the heart of it. It’s more accurately a “stepping into his...

Testifying

by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 7, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

Testifying (Luke 9:1-2) Reading Luke’s account of the disciples being sent out, I put myself in the shoes of one of those 70 individuals directed to go forth and proclaim the Good News that in Jesus, God’s forgiving compassion is drawing near. How would I feel...