An Unlikely Prophet
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Amos was an unlikely prophet. Take a look at the first reading today and you’ll see what I mean. He was, like most all the prophets, quite unpopular, too. More...
Taking On Demons
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What a great message the Lord gives to the people through the prophet Amos in our first reading today from Amos 5: “Seek good and not evil, that you may...
There was Great Calm
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 8, Jesus and His disciples take a little cruise on the Sea of Galilee. While they’re out, Jesus is taking a nap. (I suspect Jesus...
Giants of the Faith
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Today the Church celebrates two giants of the faith. It is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Interesting, isn’t it? You would think that, given the importance of each,...
Losing your Life
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus finishes His instructions to the Apostles as He sends them out. Among other things, He says, “Whoever finds his life will lose...
Subject to Authority
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8 contains a line that every Catholic should be familiar with. They are the words of a centurion who asked Jesus to heal a servant...
Into Exile
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In today's first reading from 2 Kings 25, we see one of the saddest moments in the history of God's chosen people - the beginning of the Babylonian exile. For...
Words are Not Enough
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In the first reading today from 2 Kings, we see a story of evil, sin, defeat and surrender. The Babylonians took over Jerusalem. It was yet another blow to God’s...
The Last Prophet
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Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist. In the first reading today from Isaiah 49, we see the messianic prophesies, all of which certainly could be attributed...
The Path of Least Resistance
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Our God is a big God. He can handle anything, even things that we might think are too big for even God! We see an awesome example of this in...
Of Splinters and Beams
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Today’s first reading shows us the beginning of the diaspora, where the tribes of Israel are scattered, leaving only the tribe of Judah. God allowed them to be tossed out...
Whom to Fear
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus says, "Fear no one...And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid...
The Heart of Our Mother
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yesterday was the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is appropriate that we celebrate the heart...
The Very Heart of God
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus speaks of His heart in the Gospel reading from Matthew 11: “Come to me, all you...
The Surrender Prayer
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Over the past few days we have been reading the story of Elijah and Elisha. Today’s first reading is from Sirach 48. It is something of a recap of the...
Double the Blessing
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Today’s first reading is one that has stuck with me since the first time I ever heard it. Elijah is about to hand the office of prophet over to Elisha....
We're All People
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Today’s first reading is an interesting conclusion to the story of Ahab and Jezebel. God sends Elijah to tell them of how He was going to punish them because of...
Evil Woman
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Today's first reading from 1 Kings 21 is the story of an evil woman; perhaps the most evil woman in Scripture - Jezebel. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5,...
Corpus Christi
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of The Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi. All of the readings today point to the Eucharist, the source and summit of...
The No-Spin Zone
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus talks about swearing oaths. In fact, He says we should not swear oaths at all. Why? Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’...
The Still, Small Voice
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Our first reading from 1 Kings 19 is so poignant for us in today’s world. We read the story of Elijah hearing the voice of God…though not in the way...
The Encourager
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. There are two optional Gospel readings for today. The reading for the feast day is from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends out...
God vs. gods
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More from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel reading today. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have...
A City on a Mountain
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A city on a hill is pretty common imagery. But do you know where that comes from? It’s in the Bible, and part of today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 5....
Beatitude Questions
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In today’s Gospel reading, we begin Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount, from Matthew 5. He begins with the beatitudes. I’d like to go through a quick exercise today where...
Trinity Sunday
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity; three Persons, one God. We see this idea fleshed out at the end of the second reading from 2 Corinthians...
An Inconvenient Faith
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More great exhortations from St. Paul to Timothy today in our first reading from 2 Timothy 4. All things that we should take to heart. In Mark 12 today, we...
Scripture
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Jesus got thrown trick questions and conundrums often by the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees and others. In the Gospel reading today from Mark 12, Jesus throws out a tricky...
The Truth Without Deviation
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In 2 Timothy 2 today, St. Paul continues to exhort Timothy, reminding him to preach and teach in a way befitting the office he has accepted. In today’s Gospel, Jesus...
God of the Living
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In the first reading today from 2 Timothy 1, St. Paul says “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control....
Caesar's or God's
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In the Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus is asked by some Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes. They try to trip Him up by asking, “Is it lawful to...
Mary, Mother of the Church
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Today, the day after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a brand new memorial, instituted by Pope Francis in...
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
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Today is Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the birthday of the Church. We see this event in the first reading from Acts 2. At...
You Follow Me
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In Acts 28 today, we see Paul continuing in his ministry, even while in custody. Oh, that we could all have the evangelistic spirit of St. Paul! In the Gospel...
Jesus' Question to You
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In the first reading today from Acts 25, Paul is in Caesarea awaiting trial. He is asked if he wants to go to Jerusalem to have his case heard. Paul...
Christ In Us
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In today's first reading from Acts, Paul starts a dispute between the Pharisees and Saducees that turned so serious that Paul had to be extricated from the proceedings for fear...
In, Not Of
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Today we hear the last half of Paul’s moving farewell address to the Church in Ephesus. There is so much for us to take out of this reading! Read it...
Finish the Job
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What’s the greatest thing that we can achieve in life? To amass a fortune? Certainly not. To raise good kids? Be a good husband/wife/father/mother? To do lots of good works?...
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
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I’m going to deviate a bit from our normal format today. I’ve still got the link for today’s readings at the bottom of this post. And, of course, I encourage...
Correcting Error
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, we meet Apollos. He was "an eloquent speaker" and "an authority on the Scriptures." But he wasn't fully informed on the faith. Because...
Ascension Thursday
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. While this is normally a Holy Day of Obligation in some places, remember that, due to coronavirus, everyone is dispensed from the...
Finding God
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Today in our first reading from Acts 17, we see Paul giving one of his great speeches, this time to the Greeks in the Areopagus. More on his message in...
Convicted?
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Another jailbreak in our first reading today from Acts 16. Today God uses a mighty earthquake to break the chains of Paul and Silas. And the happenings after the jailbreak...
An Upside Down World
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We live in a rapidly changing world, don’t we? Ever feel like things are completely topsy-turvy, upside down? More on that in a moment. In our first reading today from...
Always Be Ready
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As Christians, we need to be like Boy Scouts. Be prepared. It’s the theme of Advent. Stay awake! Be ready! We see a very good reminder of that theme in...
The World Hates You
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A comforting headline today, huh? Jesus spoke often about love. It’s kind of what He was all about. But today we hear Him speak of hate. And not just generically,...
Chosen
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In our first reading today, we hear the statement of the Apostles that came from the Council of Jerusalem. Today's Gospel reading from John 15 is filled with things we...
The History of Apostolic Succession
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias. The Gospel is from John 15, where Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you...
The Holy Pruning
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Today in Acts, we see more discussion about whether new believers needed to be circumcised and obey the Mosaic law. We also see Paul and Barnabas reporting in Jerusalem what...
The Necessity of Hardships
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In the first reading today from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas tell the faithful, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God." Wait...this...