“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?
![The Treasures’s Location (Hebrews 11:1-19; Lk. 12:32-48)](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2016/02/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 29, 2021 | Formation, Reflections | 4 Comments
This thread of “Stop, Look and Go” winds through the words and actions of this Feast of Epiphany.
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 15, 2021 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
What the teacher had done was prepare him to see. She had given him a way to notice more of what was there.
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 1, 2021 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
More than most any other, the feast of Christ the King immerses us in this swirling dilemma of negotiating worlds.
by Tom McKenna, CM | November 17, 2021 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
When you hear that someone is “acting out” it usually isn’t heard as a compliment.
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?
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.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jul 13, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
The years-ago world of sacramentals — as you might remember, these were the scapulars and medals and holy cards and statues you’d find in a Catholic home.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 26, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
“Sent Out” (Isaiah 61:1-2) There was a documentary on TV about the Renaissance, that period of awakening in the history of Europe when a fresh energy flooded into the culture and triggered off a whole new view of the world. The reason for it, as the show presented,...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 12, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
A Life Time of Answering (Mark 8:27-30) People have wondered about the surprising, almost jarring response Jesus makes to Peter right after this apostle gives the exact right answer to the question, “Who do you say I am?” His reply, “You are the Christ.” But Jesus...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Aug 29, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
The Grace of Visibility (James 2: 1-5) America Magazine (8/06/18) recently featured an article entitled “Becoming Invisible.” The author observes how in both the early and ending years of life, a person is less visible to the surrounding world. A newly born looking...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Aug 15, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
The Planted Word (James 1: 17-27) Early in the last century, a boy came home from school to tell his mother how he had thrown snow balls at a homeless man lying drunk in the winter street. Taking him aside, she drove home reasons why he should never demean...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Aug 1, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Swept Up Into (Amos 7: 15-15; Ephesians 1: 10-14; Mark 6:7-9) Years ago I was part of a raft trip down a river that was mostly tranquil but which every once in a while would hit rapids. Then what was a calm, sit-back-and-enjoy-the-scenery stream turned into...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jul 18, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Up on Your Feet! (Ez 2:2 Mark 6:1-6) If you were to paint a picture of the prophet Ezekiel as he first appears in the Bible, you might have him sitting back in a recliner, at peace with himself and confident that the way he saw his world was the way the world truly...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jul 4, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Acting For Equality -- in Faith (2 Corinthians 8:13; Mk 5: 25-34) If you’re looking for a topical subject in the Scriptures, you wouldn’t have to go much further than the one Paul brings up in a request to the Corinthians. He’s asking them to help their poorer...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jun 20, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Embrace What God is Doing (Rom 5:1-2) To appreciate the revolutionary thrust of Paul’s message, I think of the story of a young man whose inner voice kept repeating, “You’re not good enough.” Responding to this, he felt he had to keep demonstrating that he had...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jun 6, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Trinitarian Nearness (Rom. 8; Mt. 28) A woman once told me a lesson she had learned during the last days of her husband’s life. He had all the medical attention possible with hospice workers around the clock. But in those last days, she said, all he really wanted was...