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. Today is the Feast of...
Pentecost
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Today we celebrate Pentecost. Happy Birthday, Church! Rather than give you my own reflection today, I want to share the sequence that you will hear at today’s Mass. (Why try...
Whataboutism
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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...
Undoing Our Denials
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Today's Gospel reading from John 21 is, I think, one of the the most moving scenes in the New Testament. After the resurrection, Jesus and Simon Peter are on the beach....
Jesus' Prayer for Unity
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We call the “Our Father” The Lord’s Prayer. And rightly so, since it is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. But down through the ages, theologians have also...
If You Were on Trial...
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The Gospel reading today is from John 17. It is part of Jesus’ lengthy soliloquy at the Last Supper. Speaking to the Father, Jesus says, “Consecrate them in the truth…I...
Finish Well
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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?...
Jesus Wins!
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In today’s first reading from Acts, Paul runs into a group of believers who have not yet received the Holy Spirit. In fact, they hadn’t even heard of a Holy...
In and Into the World
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Today will be a different liturgy for folks in different parts of the US. For most it will be the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. For others, it...
Answered Prayer
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More great action in the first reading from Acts 18. Today we meet a Scripture expert named Apollos. After studying the Scriptures, “he established from the Scriptures that the Christ...
Grief Becomes Joy
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, the Lord comes to Paul in a vision and tells him, "Go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you."...
Ascension Thursday
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. In most dioceses around the country, today is not a Holy Day of obligation. For most, this feast will be celebrated...
"An Unknown God"
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In today's first reading from Acts 17, Paul addresses some Greeks at the Areopagus. In the Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus tells His Apostles of "the Spirit of truth,...
Suicide Interrupted
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I'm going to talk about a very touchy subject in today's reflection: suicide. The reason is that we see a man about to commit suicide in our first reading from...
Our Topsy-Turvy 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...
Haters Gonna Hate
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More action and adventure today in the first reading from Acts 16. Paul has a vision in which a Macedonian says to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”...
Dying to Self
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For the Gospel reading today, we’re back in John 15, where Jesus says, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than...
The First Synod
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How is your joy? As Christians, we are supposed to be a joyful people. Read what Jesus says about joy in today's Gospel reading from John 15. Today's first reading...
Of Vines and Branches and Hell
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In today's Gospel reading from John 15, we get a bit of a horticulture lesson from Jesus. He says, "I am the vine, you are the branches." He talks of...
Necessary 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...
The Cult of Personality
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In the Gospel reading today from John 14, Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and...
Troubled Hearts
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In the Gospel reading today, we’re in John 14, at the Last Supper. Jesus tells the Apostles, “Where I am going, you know the way.” Confused, Thomas says, “Master, we...
You Still Do Not Know Me?
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In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Philip has a request for Jesus. "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus' reply must have stung...
Your Mansion
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In today's first reading from Acts 13, we hear more of Paul's speech at the synagogue in Antioch. In the Gospel reading from John 14, at the Last Supper, Jesus...
Sing the Lord's Goodness
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In today's first reading from Acts 13, Paul gives the people in the synagogue in Antioch a little history lesson. The Gospel reading from John 13 are the words of...
Saints Philip and James, Apostles
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Today is the Feast of Saints Philip and James. They share a feast day because they shared the patronage of an ancient Roman basilica, known today as the Church of...
Seeing God's Grace
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In the first reading today from Acts 11, we read about the rapid spread of the faith. In the Gospel reading from John 10, the Jews become impatient with Jesus,...
Be A Good Sheep
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” He continues with the analogy of referring to his followers as sheep. Many of us today,...
Recognizing the Voice of the Shepherd
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In the Gospel reading from John 10, we hear Jesus speaking again about sheep and shepherds. He says, "When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of...
Convinced
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In today's first reading from Acts 9, Peter raises a woman from the dead. It's reminiscent of the scene from Jairus' daughter's room. Powerful! In John 6, we finish the...
Not Just a Symbol
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Today’s Gospel reading is John 6:52-59. While much of the Bread of Life discourse up to now has sounded somewhat metaphoric, Jesus gets to the meat of the matter today....
Listening and Learning
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A very interesting story in our first reading today from Acts 8. The Holy Spirit sends Philip, one of the newly ordained deacons, to interpret the Scriptures for an Ethiopian...
Never Hunger
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The early Christians were badly persecuted. We read about that in today's first reading from Acts 8. We also see that "Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church..." In...
St. Mark
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Today is the Feast of St. Mark, the author of one of the Gospel accounts. The first reading is from 1 Peter 5, where St. Peter mentions “Mark, my son.”...
What Can I Do?
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Today's first reading from Acts 6 is the first part of the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, considered to be the first martyr for the name of Jesus....
Understanding the Scriptures
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 24, Jesus appears to the disciples and “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” St. Jerome said ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ....
Called to Serve
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In today’s first reading from Acts 6, we read about the ordination of our first deacons. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus...
If It Is of God...
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For the next week, our Gospel readings will be from John 6. It starts off today with Jesus feeding 5000 with just five loaves and two fish. In the first...
Obedience and Disobedience
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There is a theme today in the readings: obedience. We hear Peter and the Apostles talk about it in the first reading from Acts 5. And in the Gospel reading...
Drawn to Darkness, or Light
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What a cool story today from Acts 5. The Apostles once again get thrown into the hoosegow when, in the middle of the night, an angel comes and opens the...
The Church of Socialism?
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I'll start today's reflection with a warning. Some folks may find this reflection "political." I'm going to reflect on socialism, because some use today's first reading to imply that the...
Holy Boldness
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In today's first reading from Acts 4, we read that the Apostles "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Our...
Divine Mercy and Confession
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Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, is also Divine Mercy Sunday. There's a neat connection in the Gospel reading today from John 20. While many may focus on Thomas in...
Proclaim the Gospel
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Today in Acts 4, the Sanhedrin comes to the conclusion that something astonishing happened through Peter and John. But just to be safe, they tell them not to ever again...
A Fishy Number
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In today’s reading from Acts 4, Peter and John spend the night in the clink and the next day they proclaim Jesus to the powers that be. The Scripture tells...
A Time of Refreshment
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In the first reading today from Acts 3, Peter tells the people that it was not they (Peter and his companions) who had healed the crippled man, but the power...
In the Breaking of the Bread
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 24, we read the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They have an encounter with the risen Jesus, but don’t recognize...
Jesus in the Gardener
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We’re back in Acts 2 for our first reading today, hearing more of Peter’s great speech at Pentecost. The people ask Peter what they must do to be saved. Peter...
Do Not Be Afraid
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Happy Easter Monday! Today we begin a journey (an apt phrase) through the Acts of the Apostles for our first readings. In this Octave of Easter we'll be reading the...