We disciples of Christ profess to follow the Lord Jesus– and this week in particular, we would follow Him to Jerusalem.

by Tom McKenna, CM | May 31, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Rereading Andre Dodin’s biography of Saint Vincent de Paul recently, I was struck with the phrase he used to weave together the various threads of Vincent’s life.
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 17, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
This homily was preached on the occasion of the taking of Final Vows by a Vincentian seminarian, Alex Palacios, in Philadelphia, PA.
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 3, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment
Preparing for this Sunday, which is often called Good Shepherd Sunday, I came across a description of the things a shepherd in Jesus’ time would do to care for his — or her — sheep.
by Tom McKenna, CM | April 19, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
In the Acts of the Apostles, we come across a behavior that is not quite self-explanatory.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 5, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
We disciples of Christ profess to follow the Lord Jesus– and this week in particular, we would follow Him to Jerusalem.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 22, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
One of the heaviest of feelings is the one of being alone. You hear it in the cry of an infant, and more generally you catch it in the forlorn look of any lonely person.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 8, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
How many times have you heard people use the phrase, “I finally woke up?”
by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 16, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
As with all literature, there are many words in the Scriptures that need interpretation, that second look to get at their more underlying meaning.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 2, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Luke’s 19th chapter begins with a story of “two people looking.”
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.
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.
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.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 7, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
There are hardly any words in all the gospels more blunt than the stark ones Jesus proclaims in Luke’s 14th chapter.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Aug 24, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
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.
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.