60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
Hearing Your Name
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In today’s first reading from Acts 2, we hear more of what happened on the day of Pentecost. Peter tells the people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is a […]
Do Not Be Afraid
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Happy Easter! I know, I know…Easter was yesterday. That is so old news. But it isn’t! The Church celebrates Easter for fifty days! Wish someone a Happy Easter today. See what kind of look you get, then explain to them that the celebration didn’t end yesterday. In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 28, we read […]
Alleluia!
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Happy Easter! He is risen! Today we get to add back into the liturgy a word that has been missing for over forty days now. Alleluia! For the reflection today, I’ll simply share the lyrics of a favorite song. Sing along if you know it! (Hint: you probably did sing or will sing it today.) […]
Holy Saturday
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Holy Saturday is an interesting day. It reminds me of waiting in the doctor’s office waiting room after you have had some tests run. You’re kind of in a state of limbo. Hopeful that the results will come back good, but still having that creeping sense of doubt. I suppose this is what Jesus’ disciples […]
You Were There
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Today is the one day of the year when there is no Mass celebrated. The commemoration of Good Friday is the most solemn day of the year. The readings for the Good Friday liturgy are so moving. In the first reading from Isaiah 52, we see prophesied that which Jesus would endure on this day. […]
Washing Feet
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Lent is over today. We begin tonight the Sacred Triduum. It is one long liturgical celebration that encompasses Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. I hope you will make it to church for all of the services. Tonight’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper is one of the most moving liturgies of the Church year. […]
The Judas in Me
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When we think of the brutality that Jesus suffered for us, we can see that this was all foretold in today’s first reading from Isaiah 50. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” He did […]
Peter and Me
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Our first reading today is from Isaiah 49, the second oracle of the Servant of the Lord. “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Our Gospel reading is from John 13. Here we see Peter at his finest, just moments before we would […]
A Gift to the Lord
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Today is Monday of Holy Week. Our first reading today is from Isaiah 42. The first oracle of the Servant of the Lord. “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit.” As we read these words, we recall how they describe […]
The Quick Turn
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Today is Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. It marks the start of Holy Week. Today’s Gospel reading is the longest of the year. Today we hear (and even participate in) the Passion narrative. Palm Sunday marks the day of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The people honored Him as a king. That’s why we get […]
Dying for Many
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As we approach Palm Sunday, the story of the final week of Jesus’ life unfolds. In the first reading from Ezekiel 37, the prophet speaks of the return of the Davidic Kingdom. Of course, Jesus came to fulfill the Davidic Kingdom in a perfect way. In the Gospel reading from John 11, Caiaphas, the high […]
Believe the Works
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In today’s first reading from Jeremiah 20, we hear the people plotting against Jeremiah. But they will not be victorious; they will not have their way. Jeremiah says, “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph…Praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of […]
I AM in Us
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There are only a very few instances of God changing someone’s name in the Scriptures. Today we see the first of these in Genesis 17. Abram gets a new name. “Your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations.” This is pretty groundbreaking stuff, as Abraham and […]
Saying Yes
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. In the first reading we see that famous prophecy from Isaiah…”the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall call him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’ ” Then in the second reading from Hebrews, we hear it recounted that Christ said, “Behold, […]
The Antidote
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Today’s first reading from Numbers 21 tells us the story of God sending saraph serpents among the people of Israel, who had become terrible whiners. God then commands Moses to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. Whenever someone looked up at the serpent, they would be healed and live. In the […]
Sin No More
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In today’s readings, we see the stories of two women who are about to be killed. In the first reading from Daniel, we see the story of Susanna. Two wicked men falsely accuse her of a crime punishable by death. But their falsehoods are revealed by Daniel. It really is a magnificent story, one that […]
Can You Hear Him?
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We’ll be using the readings for Year A again this week. For the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the theme of the readings is being raised from the dead. In the first reading from Ezekiel 37, God says, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from […]
Words Like No Other
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Another ominous reading for our first reading today, this time from Jeremiah 11. As we draw closer to Holy Week and Good Friday, we begin to see the readings get darker. In the Gospel reading from John 7, the people continue to conjecture from where the Christ would come. “The Christ will not come from […]
Persecution
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In today’s first reading from Wisdom 2, we hear from the wicked. They despise “the just one.” They want to “condemn him to a shameful death.” We know, of course, that this is a prophecy of the Christ. In the Gospel reading from John 7, we see that the Jews were trying to kill Jesus. […]
Actions Speak
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Joseph. In our first reading from 2 Samuel, God says that his Son would spring from the line of David. “I will make his royal throne firm forever.” Joseph, though not Jesus’ biological father, was from the line of David. There are two options for a Gospel […]
Seeking God’s Will
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In the first reading today from Isaiah 49, we hear this question: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?” Now, you would think that that is a rhetorical question. Yet it isn’t. We have all heard cases of mothers doing unspeakable things to their children. Here is […]
Prayer of St. Patrick
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m going to go a bit out of the normal today and not do a reflection on the daily readings. In honor of St. Patrick, I want to share with you the beautiful St. Patrick’s Breastplate. Many people may know a small part of this beautiful prayer (specifically the next-to-last stanza), […]
Your Son Will Live
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“Lo, I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth…there shall be rejoicing and happiness in what I create.” These are words of the LORD from today’s first reading from Isaiah 65. Jesus came to bring about this “new heavens and new earth.” Have you been made new during your Lenten journey […]
So We Might See
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Many parishes will use the readings from Year A today. The Gospel reading is the story of the man born blind from John 9. Jesus heals a man who was born blind. It is one of the longest readings of the Church year. When the man born blind returns to Jesus to thank Him for […]
The Trap of Pride
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Another beautiful reading from Hosea today for our first reading. Through the prophet, the Lord says, “For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” In our Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable with two very interesting characters; one a Pharisee and the other […]
Love God, Love Neighbor
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Today’s first reading from Hosea 14 contains some of the most beautiful imagery in Scripture. It shows us God’s loving heart for his people. Even though they had turned away, He will welcome them back, if they just ask for His forgiveness. “I will heal their defection, says the Lord, I will love them freely.” […]
Armed for Battle
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In the first reading today from Jeremiah 7, we read the story of a nation that has abandoned God. God says, “Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned […]
Obey and Teach
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The family is the first school for children. Even if we send them off to a school at some age, we as parents are called to be the primary teachers of our children, especially when it comes to the faith. This is job that never ends. How important do you think this is? See what […]
Forgive, Forgive, Forgive, Forgive…
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Today’s first reading contains one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture. It is the prayer of Azariah from Daniel 3. Azariah and his two companions had been thrown into the fiery furnace by the king, because they prayed to the one true God. While in the furnace, this is the prayer that […]
Be a Prophet!
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What a fascinating story we see in our first reading from 2 Kings 5. Naaman the Syrian, a respected military man, was a leper. He asks the king of Israel to heal him, but he can’t. So the prophet Elisha volunteers to heal him. Naaman doesn’t like what Elisha tells him, but does it anyway, […]
Break Down Those Barriers
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At my parish, we use the readings for Year A at today’s Mass. Our RCIA candidates and catechumens will be undergoing their scrutinies. It’s always very moving. The Gospel reading is from John 4, the story of the woman at the well. Jesus meets up with a Samaritan woman at a well. Two unusual things […]
A Brother, A Son, A Father
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Some beautiful imagery in today’s first reading from Micah 7. We see that God “delights in clemency…will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.” Then Psalm 103 reminds us that “The Lord is kind and merciful.” And speaking of kindness and mercy, our Gospel reading is from Luke 15, the story of […]
Fruit for the Kingdom
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Today’s first reading from Genesis 37 is the story of Joseph being sold out by his brothers. The brothers were jealous of him because he was the favored son of Israel, their father. Originally the plan was to kill him. But one of the brothers had a fit of conscience and nixed that plan. So […]
Where Riches Can Lead
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 16, Jesus tells the Pharisees a story about a beggar named Lazarus and a rich man. Both of them die and wind up in opposite places. More on that in a moment. In our first reading from Jeremiah 17, the Lord curses the man who trusts in human beings, […]
The Cost
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Despite what you may have heard, Jeremiah was not a bullfrog. He was a prophet. And because of that, people turned against him. In today’s first reading, we see that. Even though Jeremiah stood in the gap to plead for the people, they plotted against him to kill him. In the Gospel reading from Matthew […]
Let Us Set Things Right
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I don’t know about you, but I find that, more often than not, something is not quite right in my relationship with God. It is always my fault, this I know. But I also know that God is always ready and willing to patch things up. Our first reading today from Isaiah 1 speaks to […]
Lenten Transfiguration
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Today’s Gospel reading is Mark’s version of the Transfiguration. This is when Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the top of the mountain (the very same mountain that we read about in the first reading) and reveals His heavenly glory. Moses and Elijah appear with him. And a voice comes from a cloud […]
Perfectly Merciful
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I’m always struck by one of the verses in today’s first reading from Deuteronomy 26. “And today the Lord is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own.” I love that phrase, “peculiarly his own.” Have you ever thought of yourself that way? As “peculiarly his own?” If not, […]
Reconciliation Before Worship
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Have you ever had a child say to you, “That’s not fair!” We hear a similar refrain coming from the people in today’s first reading from Ezekiel 18. Phrased as a question, it might sound like this: What do mean we have to repent? God then tells them the benefits of repentance. In our Gospel […]
Asking for Help
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It’s common knowledge that men don’t like to ask for directions. I guess in the age of the GPS, that problem has been all but eliminated. Asking for help, for men or women, is often a very difficult thing to do. We fancy ourselves strong and independent. I can handle it! In the first reading today […]
A Simple Message
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We have two interesting readings today that complement each other. Our first reading is from Johah 3. Jonah stops running from the Lord and finally sets out for the great city of Nineveh. He goes and preaches repentence. The people heed the words of the prophet. The king proclaims a fast, and God relents from […]
The Word of God
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What a beautiful reading today from Isaiah 55. We’ll talk about it in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Matthew 6 is where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray. He teaches them the “Our Father.” But that’s not the end of the story. Immediately after the prayer, Jesus tells them, “If you forgive men […]
Sheep or Goat?
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In the first reading today from Leviticus 19, Moses gives the people instructions from God on how to conduct their lives. It sounds very similar to the Ten Commandments. It ends with the great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In the Gospel reading from Matthew 25, we see a familiar story from […]
Temptations of the Devil
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Today is the First Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel reading is from Mark 1. St. Mark recounts the forty days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert before He began His public ministry. While He was in the desert, Satan came to tempt and test him. St. Mark’s version is very short, but […]
Seeing the Doctor
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We hear more today about things that are pleasing to God in our first reading from Isaiah 58. The Lord also talks about how we should conduct ourselves on the sabbath. “If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice – Then you shall delight in the […]
A Pleasing Fast
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We often think of fasting as abstaining from food. Make no mistake about it, this is a good thing – IF we are doing it with the right intentions for the right reasons. But in our first reading today from Isaiah 58, we read about true fasting. More on that in a moment. In the […]
The Choices We Make
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In our first reading today from Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people what they must do in order to enter the promised land. Obey the commandments of the Lord, love Him, walk in his ways. “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding […]
Return to Me
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Is it just me, or does Lent seem to creep up on you each year? It’s Ash Wednesday already! If you haven’t yet figured out what to do this Lenten season, today would be a good time to pray about that. Some great ideas come right from Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. Almsgiving, prayer and […]
Understanding Jesus
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We see some tough questions from Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. More in a moment. For our first reading, we’re in Genesis 6 and 7, reading about Noah. Everyone else on earth was evil, so God decided to start over again with Noah and his family. When Jesus tells the disciples, “Watch out, guard against […]
My Brother’s Keeper?
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We have a very short Gospel reading today from Mark 8. The Pharisees are looking for a sign from Jesus. But Jesus tells them that “no sign will be given this generation.” What they failed to realize is that the sign was standing right in front of them. A good lesson for us to remember: […]