The Chapel of Richartz House (16)

Dear brothers in Christ,

We are a people who remember—not just with our minds, but with our whole lives. In today’s reading from Leviticus, we hear of the festivals God gave His people—not just rules, but rhythms. Sacred days that helped them remember who they were, where …

Happy Feast day of our Founder, St Ignatius of Loyola, to you all.

There’s a story many of us have heard—a Jesuit near the end of his life was asked quietly, “Are you afraid to meet Jesus?” And he answered, “Jesus? No, not at all. But Ignatius… that’s another matter.” It …

Dear brothers,

Some light is hard to look at. In today’s first reading, Moses comes down the mountain with his face shining. It’s not sweat or sunburn—it’s the light of someone who’s been close to God. He went up to plead for mercy after the people turned away. And when he …

Dear friends in Christ,

Sometimes, the holiest ground is not the mountain, but the middle of the mess—the chaos of mourning, the tension of unanswered prayers, the grief that stiffens the voice and silences the soul. Today, we find Martha standing in that place—between …

Dear brothers,

It’s not always the big battles that wear us down. Often, it’s the waiting. The long, quiet stretches where nothing seems to happen. When prayers feel like they bounce off the ceiling. When God seems silent.

But silence doesn’t mean absence. It doesn’t mean …

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Given that today is July 27, 2025, the 5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, established by Pope Francis, we are especially called to reflect on the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV: “Blessed are those who have not lost …

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

God’s most important work often happens in the quiet places—around kitchen tables, in small family homes, in long, ordinary days filled with love and waiting. Today, as we remember Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed …

My brothers,

Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Saint James, Apostle and Martyr, our readings invite us to reflect on the true nature of greatness in God’s kingdom, a greatness found not in worldly ambition, but in humble service and the willingness to embrace …

Dear brothers in Christ,

We return today to the foot of Mount Sinai—a place filled with cloud, fire, and trembling. It’s not an easy scene. God does not arrive gently. There is thunder, smoke, and a voice that shakes the earth. And yet, this is not about fear. It is about …

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The people of Israel were tired. Tired of walking, tired of waiting, tired of hunger. In the first reading from the Book of Exodus (Exodus 16:1–15), they had been set free from slavery in Egypt, but not from the fear that comes when …

Dear brothers in Christ,

Before dawn had broken, she was already walking. Mary Magdalene, Saint of the Church, apostle to the apostles, disciple of deep, enduring love. She walks through the hush of morning toward the tomb—not with certainty, but with devotion. Not to find …

Dear brothers in Christ,

Sometimes the road to freedom feels more frightening than the chains we’ve grown used to. In our first reading from the Book of Exodus, the Israelites, freshly released from generations of slavery, find themselves in a terrifying place—trapped …

Dear brothers in Christ,

Some years ago, I visited an elderly Jesuit who was mostly blind, hard of hearing, and no longer able to write. But each morning, he would sit in his chair and pray over the day’s readings with a battered breviary and a silence that seemed full. “I …

Dear brothers in Christ,

In the stillness of the night, the people of Israel began their journey. They didn’t march out proudly—they walked quietly, carrying bread baked in haste and hearts filled with longing. Our first reading from the Book of Exodus tells us it was a …

Dear brothers in Christ,

The story from Exodus is heavy with finality. Nine plagues have passed. Pharaoh has resisted, relented, and hardened again. But now the tenth is coming. The Lord will act. Not to humiliate Egypt, but to save a people. To begin again. The night of …

Dear friends in Christ,

This morning’s readings are about burden and deliverance—about the weight we carry, and the God who carries us.

Our first reading, from the Book of Exodus, takes us to the desert, where Moses, a fugitive turned shepherd, stands barefoot before a bush …