The Extra Meisl

Water and the Spirit in Samaria

Water is a basic human need. When we lack water, we can experience a thirst that can be painful at times. In Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5-42), the image of thirst is used to explain how we all have deeper longings in our heart that Christ satisfies with His gift of the living water.

Mini-transfigurations

Just before His journey to Calvary, the Transfiguration of Jesus gave hope to his followers by giving them a preview to the end of Christ's story: the Resurrection (Mt 17:1-9). In our lives, God gives us mini-transfiguration moments which give us hope in the midst of our challenges

Sirens, Orpheus, Temptations, and Christ

1 Sunday Lent, Matthew 4:1-11

Similar to how the song of Orpheus conquered the Siren's song, so Christ points us towards our true good and away from temptations which can never fulfil us.

Ash Wednesday -understanding the assignment

"Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return". "Repent and believe in the Gospel". The two invocations we use while imposing ashes remind us that God has given us an assignment - to follow the Gospel - and that this assignment has a due date.

Frenemies

When we think of someone who we may consider an enemy, Jesus teaching to love that person can seem impossible (Mt 5:38-48). Part of the problem can be that we misunderstand what Jesus means by "love". Ultimately Jesus teaches us that non-violent resistance and forgiveness is the path that brings lasting peace.

Does Jesus make our lives more difficult?

In the Gospel this Sunday (Matthew 5:17-37), Jesus tells us that He came to fulfill and not abolish the Law or the prophets. What does this mean? From the examples Jesus gives, we learn that He emphasizes our interior motivations for following the commandments. Jesus wants us to follow the commandments of course, but our living relationship with God is what is most important. As Benedict XVI wrote in Deus Caritas Est,

“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

This little light of mine

In the Gospel today Jesus (Mt 5:13-16), Jesus teaches us a lesson we all probably learned in Kindergarten: we are called to transform those around us by being salt and light. We do this by letting the light of Christ, which we received at our baptism, shine through us to those around us.

Would Jesus go viral?

Social media if full of influencers who try offering advice to people, telling them what it means to live a good life. Those who create this content want to get the maximum number of people watching them - they want to go viral. If Jesus had a social media platform in which he offered His teaching, would He go viral? When we hear the Beatitudes in today's Gospel (Mt 5:1-12), it seems that such teaching would not gain traction online because it does not seem logical. How can those who mourn or are persecuted by "blessed"? Who would want that? The truth of the Beatitudes, however, is realized only when we live them out.

We all get chosen for Jesus’ team

In the Gospel today, Jesus choses his initial followers, the first members of His team (Mt 4:12-23). Sometimes we might fear we don't have what it takes to be chosen by Christ. In reality, He calls all of us. We are all necessary and important members of the community.

Being a commercial for Christ

John the Baptist was like a commercial for Christ. By his words and actions he drew people to Jesus (Jn 1:29-34). In our baptism, we are called to imitate John the Baptist, being signposts directing people to the goodness of Jesus.