60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
Servant Leadership
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Today’s first reading from Sirach 36 is a beautiful prayer. In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10:35-45, James and John ask to sit at Jesus right and left when He comes into His Kingdom. Jesus summons the Twelve and lets them know the score. Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will […]
Giving Up Everything
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Are you being generous to your church and to the poor? These actions are pleasing to God and have great benefit. We read about it in today’s first reading from Sirach 35. This is affirmed in the Gospel reading from Mark 10. Peter says to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus […]
A Grateful Heart
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A bit of a deviation 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 you to read them. There is, as always, much richness. I want to take a moment to ruminate on the holiday that we celebrate in the […]
The Spirit’s Gifts
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Today is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church. Happy Birthday! We see this reflected in the readings, especially in the first reading from Acts. I’d like to concentrate on the second reading today from 1 Corinthians 12. St. Paul talks about different spiritual gifts, all given by the one Spirit. I’m real big on […]
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 reading from John 21, Peter sees John coming toward him and Jesus and asks Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus’ reply is interesting. Jesus tells […]
Unlimited Mulligans
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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 declines, knowing that God is sending him to Rome. So Paul appeals his case to the Emperor. Our Gospel reading is from John 21, one […]
The Other Lord’s Prayer
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In our first reading today from Acts, Paul puts himself squarely in the middle of a dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Paul, a Pharisee by birth and training, spoke of the resurrection of the dead. This was not something the Sadducees bought into. So a big old fight breaks out and Paul has […]
Truth Perverters
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St. Paul finishes up his farewell speech to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus in today’s first reading from Acts 20. After he is done, there were many tears, for they knew that they would never see him again. In the Gospel reading from John 17, Jesus asks the father to “consecrate them (the […]
The Important Stuff
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Sometimes we can get our priorities a bit out of whack, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure there was a time in St. Paul’s life when that was true. But in today’s first reading from Acts 20, he talks about what is really important. More on that in a moment. For the Gospel today, we’re back […]
Arguing for God
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As someone who talks for a living, I have the utmost admiration for St. Paul. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading today from John 16, Jesus once again warns His disciples that life would not be a bed of roses. “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I […]
Jesus’ Unity Prayer
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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 thought of today’s Gospel reading from John 17 as The Lord’s Prayer. This is Jesus’ great prayer to the Father for unity among believers. “Father, […]
Whatever You Ask
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We hear more of Jesus’ words to the Apostles at the Last Supper from John 16 today. He tells them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” That’s quite a promise, wouldn’t you say. So let me ask you something: If you could ask […]
Silent No More
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You may think that baldness is a recent fad. If that is the case, then St. Paul would fit right in! We see in today’s first reading from Acts 18 that, because of a vow he took, he had his head shaved. In the Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus equates the grief that His […]
The Ascension of the Lord
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Today the Church celebrates Ascension Thursday. In most dioceses around the country, this feast will be celebrated this Sunday. Some dioceses and archdioceses still celebrate the feast. If you are in one of those, then today is a Holy Day of obligation for you. You get to go to Mass today! If not, today is the Feast […]
Guide to Truth
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In the first reading today from Acts 17, St. Paul finds himself at the Areopagus in Athens. He gives an impassioned speech to the people there (who were pantheistic) about the one true God. He says, “…indeed he is not far from any one of us.” In the Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus continues […]
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 are amazing! Be sure to check it out. For our Gospel reading, we’re back in John 16, as Jesus speaks more about the Advocate, the […]
Pay Attention!
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In the Gospel reading today from John 15 and 16, Jesus talks about the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. He also tells the disciples that “the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.” My, that’s a comforting thought, huh? In our first reading from Acts 16, […]
You are Chosen
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In the Gospel reading today from John 15, we hear Jesus tell the disciples, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” Have you ever heard the phrase, “The Chosen One?” Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars had that title. A few egotistical sports personalities have given themselves the name. This distinction […]
On Being Hated
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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, but very specifically. He tells the disciples, “Because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” The Christian […]
True Love
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Back in Acts 15 today, we continue to see this picture of the early Church being the Catholic Church. There was a central authority, Peter in communion with the Apostles. Today we see them sending out men to lead some of the outlying churches (bishops). In these first years, the Church was “based” is Jerusalem. […]
Happiness and Joy
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In today’s first reading from Acts 15, we see that the early Church was hierarchical. There was a dispute about whether the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic laws in order to be saved. Paul and Barnabas knew that this was not a matter that could be settled on a local level. […]
The Pain of Pruning
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The early Church had lots of controversy. One of the hot topics of the day was circumcision. Did believers need to be circumcised like the Jews? In the first reading today from Acts 15, that question comes up and is taken to the Apostles for a decision. In the Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus […]
No Troubled Hearts
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Hardships are a fact of life. Whether we want them or not, they come our way. In today’s first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas tell the people, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” The question is, how do we let those hardships affect us? […]
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
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A very interesting story today in Acts 14 for our first reading. After healing a man who had been crippled from birth, Paul and Barnabas are worshipped as gods. This does not sit too well with them and they tell the people that they are just men; flesh and bone like them. Funny…I know some […]
The Vine and the Branches
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 15, we hear Jesus say, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”This gives us a good opportunity to meditate a bit today on botany, and how well this saying of Jesus relates to us. Have you ever tended plants, particularly vines? They are interesting. You can hack away […]
Ask Anything
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More action and adventure from Acts today. Paul and Barnabas get booted out of Antioch by some Jews who didn’t agree with their preaching. So the pair “shook the dust from their feet in protest against them.” In the Gospel from John 14, Jesus says to the disciples, “Whatever you ask in my name, I […]
The Way, The Truth, The Life
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Our Gospel reading today is from John 14. Over the last few days in the daily liturgy, we have gone over this chapter of John’s Gospel in parts. We hear Jesus tell Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is good […]
Exhortation
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Paul is in the synagogue in Antioch in today’s first reading. The synagogue officials ask if he has a word of exhortation for the people. In the Gospel from John 13, we hear Jesus saying, “Whoever receives the one I send receives me.” I was intrigued by the invitation given to Paul in today’s reading […]
Darkness
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Barnabas and Paul were well-traveled men. God kept them very busy. In today’s first reading from Acts 12-13, the Holy Spirit says, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” And off they went. St. John was big on writing about light and darkness. Today he recounts […]
Salvation
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Today in Acts, we see more and more people coming to believe through the preaching and teaching of Barnabas and Saul. We also see the first use of the word “Christians.” In the Gospel from John, we hear Jesus continue to talk about His sheep. One of the things that has divided Christians since the […]
Life – More Abundantly
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Another awesome day in the Scriptures! In the first reading from Acts 11, Peter has a vision. He is then visited by some men who were sent to him by the Holy Spirit. It is then that Peter realizes that salvation is for the Gentiles, too. This was major stuff. Peter says something that we […]
Following the Shepherd
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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, if not the vast majority, have never really had any experience with sheep. So we may have a bit of a hard time following these […]
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.” The Gospel reading is from Mark 16 and contains Mark’s version of the great commission. Mark is not believed to have been the biological son […]
Putting Together the Pieces
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The first reading today is the story of the conversion of St. Paul. Saul has a close encounter with Jesus, and it rocks his world. Many of us have had radical conversion experiences. But God calls us to conversion daily, and most often uses much more subtle means. Let’s pray that we’ll see them all. […]
Of Bread and Flesh
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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 eunuch. After this, the eunuch says, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” Philip baptizes him, then disappears. This passage always […]
Raised Up
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In the first reading from Acts 8 today, we read about Saul persecuting the Church. Because of the persecution happening in Jerusalem, all but the Apostles left there. We read about the bold preaching and healing ministry of Philip. We’re back in John 6 for the Gospel reading today. Jesus says, “Everyone who sees the […]
The New Manna
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Stephen was the first martyr; he was the first person in recorded history to shed his blood and die for the sake of his faith in Jesus. In the first reading today from Acts 7, we read about how that happened. Be sure to note the last words from the lips of St. Stephen. In […]
Will Work for Jesus
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Today in Acts 6, we begin reading about St. Stephen. This was a very bold guy who was about to find himself in some real trouble. But even in the face of adversity, St. Stephen’s face “was like the face of an angel.” Tomorrow we will read about the martyrdom of this bold and holy […]
Peace be with You
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 24, Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection. Two disciples had just told the others how they encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. “Peace be with you.” Jesus knew how troubled they all […]
Our First Deacons
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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 is strolling on the Sea of Galilee. Yes, walking on the water. The disciples, having never seen this done before, are frightened. But Jesus reassures […]
Rejoicing in Humiliation
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Another uber-cool reading from Acts of the Apostles today. Be sure to read what Gamaliel, a famous rabbi, says about this new “Jesus movement.” (My words, not the Scripture.) We also see a very interesting attitude from the Apostles today. More on that in a moment. Today in the Gospel reading, we begin reading John […]
Obedience to God or Men?
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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 from John 3 we read, “Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life.” Peter and the Apostles are dragged before the Sanhedrin, the high court […]
God So Loved
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In today’s first reading from Acts 5, we see the first of numerous jail breaks in the Acts of the Apostles. Seems that the authorities wanted to keep the Apostles silent, to stop them from preaching Jesus. So they kept throwing them in the pokey. But God would have none of it. So He sent […]
Born of the Spirit
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Jesus prayed for unity at the Last Supper. In today’s first reading we see an example of that unity in the first community of believers. They were “of one heart and mind” and “they had everything in common.” In the Gospel reading today from John 3, we hear the rest of the conversation between Jesus […]
Born Again Christians
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Another awesome first reading today from Acts 4. After Peter and John were released, the disciples all got together and prayed, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness.” The Scripture says “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak […]
Divine Mercy Sunday
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Today, the second Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. So, rather than do a reflection on the daily Scriptures (I’ll trust you to do that on your own!), I thought we could take just a moment to reflect on God’s mercy. If you do a search of the Scriptures, you will find hundreds of […]
Proclaiming 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 speak of the name of Jesus. Uh…not so much. Peter responds with, “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen […]
In Jesus’ Name
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 21, we read about Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples after the resurrection. It’s really an interesting story. The disciples had been out fishing all night. They had no luck at all. At dawn, they saw Jesus standing on the shore, but they did not realize it was Him. […]
Witness
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The word “witness” is a noun and a verb. We are the first, we must do the other. Peter and the Apostles were perfect examples of this, as we see again in the first reading today from Acts 3. Peter says, “…of this we are witnesses.” That can be taken in both contexts. In the […]
Burning Hearts
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Many of us wish we had more, so that we could be more generous. But generosity really has nothing to do with money. St. Peter speaks to this very well in today’s first reading from Acts 3. He says to a crippled man, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I […]