vincentian spirituality
The Light That Beckons (Mt 2: 1-12)
by Tom McKenna, CM | January 10, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
Stories can bring delight. And if there ever was a story that has sparked delight among believers, it’s the one about those three travelers from the East…
Sending (Isaiah, 61; 1 Thessalonians, 5)
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 27, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 3 Comments
Have you ever been “sent on a Mission?” – picked out and entrusted with something to say or do?
Active Waiting (Mark 1:1-8)
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 13, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
The Advent message? Not only to welcome the Lord’s arrival, but also to take the kinds of steps which ease His birthing among us.
Already and Not Yet (Mt 25: 14-30)
by Tom McKenna, CM | November 29, 2023 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
A phrase often on Jesus’ lips: “The Kingdom of God” — or in another iteration, “the Reign of God, His Father.”
![The Collaborative Instinct](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2022/10/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
The Collaborative Instinct
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 21, 2024 | Formation, Reflections
There have been times in both the history of the Jewish people and in our own Church when there was a wide dividing line between the clergy and the rest of the believing people.
![The Collaborative Instinct](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2022/10/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Inside Authority (Mark 1: 21-28)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 7, 2024 | Formation, Reflections
There is a phase to describe what often happens when somebody who is believable begins to talk: “When he or she stands up to speak, everybody listens!”
![The Collaborative Instinct](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2022/10/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Gospel Readiness (1 Samuel 3:3-10)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 24, 2024 | Formation, Reflections
Am I more often alert to the sounds of God’s presence? Or do I not pay much attention to the ways God is directing me?
Struggles at a Well (John 4:5-42)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 22, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
Some of the traits which come out in the Samaritan woman as she interacts with Jesus at the noonday well could paint her as a hard-hearted and difficult lady.
Higher (Matthew 5:38-48)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 8, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
There’s a phrase from the sports world, “setting a high bar.” It means raising the height of the jump just beyond the mark the athlete think he can clear.
A Divine Bias? (Ps 146; I Cor 1:27-30)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 25, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
The word “bias” doesn’t have an especially pleasing connotation. It usually means an unfair leaning toward one group and a blindness toward its opposite.
Outbreaks of Glory (Isaiah 49:3)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 11, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
Every once in a while when reading the Scriptures, something lights up, jumps out into the present time and place.
God Up Close (Mt. 11:2-11)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Dec 14, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Something with which most every believer can struggle is the felt nearness of God: how close up do I sense the Divine presence?
Advent Receptivity (Matthew 3:1-12)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 30, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
One way to hear the Advent Gospel message is to put ourselves in the shoes of all those people walking out to that desert to listen to John the Baptist.
“Practicing” The Faith (Malachi 3:19-20)
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.
Looking Out and Looking Up (Luke 19:1-10)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 2, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Luke’s 19th chapter begins with a story of “two people looking.”
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.