St. Luke
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke. St. Luke is the author of two books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles....
A Ransom for Many
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10, James and John come to Jesus and ask that they be able to sit at His right and His left in His...
The Unforgivable 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,...
Priceless
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Have you ever felt worthless? I suspect we all struggle with those feelings from time to time. Nothing could be further from the truth. We see this in today’s Gospel...
Works vs. Works of the Law
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scholars of the law. These are some pretty scathing remarks. “Woe to you, scholars of...
Doing What We Condemn
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Both of the readings for today are a bit harsh. In the first reading from Romans 2, St. Paul says, “The standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,...
Ashamed of the Gospel?
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One of the things that I admire most about St. Paul (there are many) is his boldness. And the first line of today’s first reading really sums things up. “I...
The Grace of Apostleship
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People are always seeking a sign. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus addresses this. While the people were insisting on a sign, Jesus told them that they...
Camels and Needles and Riches, Oh My!
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Our Gospel reading today is from Mark 10. It is about Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man. Today we hear those famous words of Jesus, “It is easier for...
All May be Blessed
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We have a very short Gospel passage today, only two short verses from Luke 11. A woman cries out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the...
A Divided Kingdom
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus’ response talks about how a house divided...
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The readings today are for Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time. I’ve only recently become a rosary guy....
Perspective
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Most folks can pray the Our Father from memory. Today we hear Jesus teaching His disciples to pray from Luke's Gospel. The wording is a bit different from Matthew's Gospel,...
Actions and Consequences
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 10 is the famous story of Mary and Martha. We're back in Jonah for our first reading. The story of Jonah has so many important...
Fleeing from God
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The story of the good Samaritan is the Gospel reading today from Luke 10. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They couldn’t possibly have a decent bone in their...
Pray for Marriages
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus talks about marriage. “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his...
An Angel Just for You
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is...
The Signs and the Message
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Acknowledging our sinfulness is never easy. In the first reading today from Baruch 1, the exiles do just that. They come clean and admit that “we did not heed the...
Bringing Peace
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God's word can bring conviction, and conviction can lead to joy. I believe this is what we read about in today's first reading from Nehemiah 8. In the Gospel reading...
Spiritual Warfare
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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...
An Attractive Faith
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Have you ever wanted God to rain down fire and brimstone on someone? Maybe someone who was perpetuating evil? Or maybe someone who did you wrong? If so, you're not...
God to the Rescue
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When God's people were in exile and the temple in Jerusalem was razed, they probably thought they would never see prosperous times again. It's easy, even for us, to fall...
Drastic Measures
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Scathing words to the rich today from James 5. Funny thing about wealth, isn’t it? We work so hard to accumulate it here on earth, to the point where it...
He Dwells Among Us
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Our first reading today is from the Prophet Zechariah. Zechariah has an encounter with an angel. More in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Luke 9 is short. Jesus...
The Payoff
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In today's first reading from Haggai 2, the LORD once again addresses the people regarding the building of the temple in Jerusalem. "And take courage, all you people of the...
Adding Value to God's House
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Our first reading today is from the Prophet Haggai. The Lord had opened the doors for the rebuilding of his temple in Jerusalem. The exiles had returned. God opened the...
Depend on God
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus sends out the Twelve and gives them their marching orders. “Take nothing for the journey.” Why would Jesus send out the Apostles...
No Hesitation
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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...
Closet Skeletons Revealed
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There are some who question why some churches are big and ornate. It is because we believe that a church is the House of the Lord. In today’s first reading...
The Greatest
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In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, the disciples of Jesus were arguing amongst each other and Jesus asked them what they were arguing about. I'm sure they were embarrassed...
Path, Rock, Thorns, Rich Soil
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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...
Our Attitude Toward Money
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St. Paul gives some very sound advice to Timothy in today’s first reading from 1 Timothy 6. More on that in a moment. Our Gospel reading today is short, but...
Great Sinners Make Great Christians
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St. Timothy must have been a fairly young man. Perhaps he was taking some heat for his lack of years. St. Paul exhorts him in today’s first reading from 1...
Stabat Mater
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. If you attend Mass today, you may sing or chant the Stabat Mater, a beautiful reflection of the sorrows...
Our 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...
Mediation
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The Gospel reading today from Luke 7 features a centurion who says something that every Catholic will find very familiar. “Lord…I am not worthy to have you enter under my...
Satan?
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Today’s Gospel reading from Mark 8 is the story of Jesus asking the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replies, "You are the Christ." Peter then rebukes...
Of Hearts and Fruit
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You probably think you’re a pretty big sinner. I know I do. I mean, I think I’m a pretty big sinner, not you! St. Paul knew that he was a...
Give Yourself a Break
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus talks about removing the beam from your own eye before addressing the splinter in your brother’s eye. For our first reading, we...
All for Jesus
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The Gospel of Christ can be tough to live by. I would say impossible without God’s grace. Take today’s Gospel reading, for example. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good...
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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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....
An Empty, Seductive Philosophy
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St. Paul was very big on making sure that Christians stayed true to the faith. Here one way he put it today's first reading from Colossians 2: "See to it...
Happy Labor Day
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Happy Labor Day! I hope you are taking a day of R&R today. Instead of reflection on today's Scriptures, I'd like to offer a brief Labor Day meditation. In these difficult...
Be Opened!
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In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowds. "He put his finger into...
Lord of the Sabbath - And Everything Else
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We get a wonderful word about persevering in the faith in our first reading today from Colossians 1. St. Paul says that we will be presented “holy, without blemish, and...
Change is Hard
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St. Paul's letter to the Colossians is filled with Christology. We begin to see that in our first reading today. In the Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus talks about...
Perhaps Jesus Knows
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There's a great story in today's Gospel reading from Luke 5. Jesus is teaching from Simon Peter's boat. After He finishes, He tells Simon to "Put out into deep water...
Don't Keep Jesus to Yourself
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Today we begin a trip through St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians. As in many of his letters, St. Paul begins with an affirmation. He tells them of his prayers...
Not of the Darkness
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We hear more about Jesus’ return in our first reading today from 1 Thessalonians 5. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 4, we see Jesus casting...
Hero to Zero
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Eventually, this life is going to end. It may be through death, or it may be when the Lord returns. St. Paul covers this in our first reading from 1...