The Unforgiveable Sin
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No one is beyond God's mercy, right? Then what is Jesus talking about in today's Gospel reading from Luke 12 about a sin that will not be forgiven? Jesus said,...
Now That's Love
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The old existential question persists – Why are we here? Actually, St. Paul gives the answer to that question in our first reading from Ephesians 1. “…so that we might...
Lavished Grace
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The scribes and Pharisees were, for the most part, no fans of Jesus. Small wonder after the tongue-lashing they got from Him. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, we...
The Fruit of the Spirit
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Jesus was never one to mince words. We see this again today in the Gospel reading from Luke 11, where He is pronouncing woes on the Pharisees. When a scholar...
Spirit Repair Work
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God doesn’t care about anyone’s background. You don’t have to have any kind of “pedigree” to give your life to Christ. St. Paul puts it like this in today’s first...
Freedom and Slavery
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus says, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of...
All are Invited
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable to the chief priests and elders of the people about a king who has a wedding feast. The first...
"Wearing" Christ
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In today’s first reading from Galatians 3, St. Paul says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Did you realize that’s what happened...
Being Fully Armed
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul. He then talks about how a kingdom divided against itself cannot...
Stupid
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Today's first reading from Galatians 3 starts with a bang. "O stupid Galatians!" And shortly thereafter, "Are you so stupid?" In our Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus tells us...
Our Lady of the Rosary
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Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In light of that, I'd like to reflect on the beautiful prayer that is the Rosary. For many years, I...
Hurry Up and Wait
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St. Paul was a convert to the faith, called by Christ Jesus. In today's first reading from Galatians 1, we hear an interesting part of his story. Paul spent three...
Being a People Pleaser
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In the first reading today, we begin a journey through St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians. The Gospel reading from Luke 10 is a story that I hope is familiar...
The Cornerstone
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a parable to the chief priests and elders about a landowner who owned a vineyard. When the time came to harvest,...
Faithfulness's Reward
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This week we have read from the Book of Job for our first readings. Today we hear the end of the story. Throughout all his trials, which were more than...
An Angel Just for You
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Did you know that you have your very own angel? You do! Today the Church celebrates the Feast of The Holy Guardian Angels. In the first reading from Exodus 23,...
Peace to this Household
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to go in pairs and visit every town He intended to visit. He gives them instructions on what...
Hand to the Plow
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9, we hear what can be a rather disconcerting saying of Jesus. A guy says he will follow Jesus, but first he wants to...
Be An Angel
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael – the Archangels. We truly celebrate all of the Holy Angels. Our readings reflect that. We have two options...
The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Taketh Away
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For our first reading today, we’re in the first chapter of the book of Job, Job 1:6-22. Job is the most faith-filled man on the earth. In fact, the Lord...
Changing Your Mind
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a story about a man who had two sons. He asked both to go work in the vineyard. The first said,...
Youth is Fleeting
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 9, the disciples do not understand something that Jesus says. Even though they didn’t get it, they were afraid to ask Him about...
This, Too, Shall Pass
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Today’s first reading is from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every thing under the heavens.” If you’re a baby boomer like me,...
Vanity of Vanities
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In the first reading today, we begin the book of Ecclesiastes. The book is something of a study in the futility of life here on earth. More in a moment....
Two Things I Ask
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If you could ask God for just two things, what would they be? Solomon does just that today in our first reading from Proverbs 30. And in the Gospel from...
Proverbs
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Today's first reading is from Proverbs 21. The Gospel reading is from Luke 8, where Jesus describes who His mother and brothers are. "My mother and my brothers are those...
He Got the Right Guy
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew. Matthew penned the first Gospel. His Jewish name was Levi. (We find this in the Gospels of Mark and Luke.) He is...
His Ways are not Our Ways
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If you're not a fan of the liturgy, you should be. Here's what I mean (in just a small part). The Sunday readings are always connected, especially the first reading...
Sowing the Word
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Today's Gospel is from Luke 8, the parable of the sower. A sower goes out to sow some seed and it falls in many different places. Some falls on the...
Women Following Jesus
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1 Corinthians 15 is St. Paul’s treatise on the resurrection of the body. We read some of this today in our first reading. “If there is no resurrection of the...
The End of an Era
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Good Morning, Child of God! No matter what time of day you’re reading this, I stand by that statement that started every one of my Seize the Day morning shows...
The Grace of God
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Today's Gospel reading is the story of a sinful woman who comes to do homage to Jesus in the home of a Pharisee. Jesus says, "So I tell you, her...
What Love Is, And Isn't
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Our first reading today is 1 Corinthians 13. This is often referred to as “The Love Chapter.” If you’ve ever been to a wedding, chances are you have heard this...
She Knows
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. How appropriate that this feast day follows the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Church gives parishes an option...
Your Cross(es)
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Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the first reading today from Numbers 21, we see a bit of typology. God told Moses to make...
Forgive and Forget?
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times he has to forgive a brother who sins against him. “As many as seven times?” Hopefully you...
Good and Rotten
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Today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 10 starts with this exhortation, "Avoid idolatry." While it may be easy for us to dismiss this concerning ourselves, it always behooves us to...
Run So As To Win
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For many, sports is their religion. Interestingly, St. Paul used sports analogies when talking about religion. More in a moment. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus talks about...
How You (are) Measure(d)
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Is it better to be smart, or to love? I think we all know the answer to that, right? In the opening verse of our first reading today from 1...
Blessings in our Woes
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Life is fleeting. In today’s first reading from 1 Corinthians 7, St. Paul gives some advice to his readers about how to conduct their lives. He then writes, “For the...
Happy Birthday, Mom!
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary…Mary’s birthday! Now, we don’t really know the exact day, date or year that Mary was born....
Immoral and Proud
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. It doesn't sit well with the scribes and Pharisees. In the first...
A Community of Prayer
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 18, Jesus gives the Twelve the ability to bind and loose. Ancient rabbinic literature tells us that this notion of binding and loosing...
Be Scum
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus is called on the carpet by some Pharisees for picking grain on the sabbath. It was unlawful to “work” on the sabbath....
"The Old is Good"
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus talks about the old and the new. He talks about cloaks and wine. Jesus said, "New wine must be poured into fresh...
Overcoming Unworthiness
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In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 3, St. Paul speaks again of foolishness and wisdom. “If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a...
Understanding Spiritual Realities
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In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 2, St. Paul juxtaposes "the natural man" with "the one who is spiritual." This reading is a reminder that there is much more...
A Demonstration of Faith
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After having gone through much of the Gospel of Matthew in Ordinary Time, today we transition to the Gospel of Luke and read about the beginning of Jesus' public ministry....
Self Denial
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16 is a continuation of the story from last Sunday. After Jesus praises Peter and gives him the keys to the Kingdom, He then scolds...
Head on a Platter
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Today is the Feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel reading from Mark 6 recounts the story. John was thrown into prison by Herod because he...