60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
The Dishonest Steward
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In today’s first reading from Philippians 3, St. Paul talks about people whose “God is their stomach; their glory is in their ‘shame.’ Their minds are occupied with earthly things.” St. Paul reminds that “our citizenship is in heaven.” We always need to be thinking of the eternal. In the Gospel reading today, Jesus tells […]
This Man Welcomes Sinners
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In the first reading today from Philippians 3, St. Paul says basically, if anyone has a right to boast, it is me. I have the pedigree, followed all the Jewish laws; yet none of it means a thing. He writes, “I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ […]
Counting the Cost
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In the first reading today from Philippians 2, St. Paul writes, “Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world.” Are we shining the light of Jesus to […]
It’s Always Something
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“At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” That’s from our first reading today from Philippians 2. Is your tongue confessing Jesus today? In the Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus tells a story […]
Humility
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Today’s readings focus on humility. In the first reading from Philippians 2, St. Paul tells us to “humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” In the Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus gives instruction to a Pharisee who invited Him to dinner. “When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, […]
All Souls and Purgatory
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Today we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. It is the day we remember all the souls in Purgatory. Purgatory can be a controversial topic, and hard to explain. So, I would like to help you with that. Following is the chapter in my book A Minute in the Church on Purgatory. I hope this helps. […]
St. Gus?
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Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. For the past 15 years, whenever this day falls on a weekday, I have a tradition of calling everyone with whom I speak on that day as St. (Your Name). It’s really a lot of fun! Why not try it today? Everyone you talk with today, call […]
A Work in Progress
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In today’s Gospel reading, we see another case of Jesus taking on the controversial topic of “working” on the sabbath. Is it okay to do good on the sabbath, to help and to heal? Of course it is. In the first reading today we begin a journey through St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Today […]
Thursday, October 30, 2014
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Today Gus re-aired his interview with Philip Johnson, the seminarian from the Diocese of Raleigh, NC who has terminal brain cancer. It is also available as a podcast, so you can listen to it any time. Click here to listen, and share it with your friends. Gus also shared some of the audio from a […]
Fearless Living
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Have you put on your armor for battle today? I sure hope so – the armor of God! Do you know what the armor of God is? St. Paul explains in today’s first reading from Ephesians 6. Time to suit up, my friend! In the Gospel reading from Luke 13, some Pharisees come to Jesus […]
Building Our Trust Muscles
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St. Paul has some great instruction for the family in today’s first reading from Ephesians 6. I think this line is particularly needed in our world today: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.” Fathers truly need our prayers today! In the […]
Help for the Hopeless
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Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The readings are the same as the feast days of other Apostles – Ephesians 2:19-22, which I recently wrote about, and Luke 6:12-16, which is the listing of the Twelve. St. Jude, also known as St. Jude Thaddeus, is the Patron of Hopeless and Desperate […]
Caring for People
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Today’s reflection may be a stretch, but stay with me. I want to make a connection between the first reading and the Gospel reading, something we can do most every day. In the first reading from Ephesians 4 and 5, St. Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these […]
A Different Perspective
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In a training session that I was doing for the readers at my church some years ago, one of the readers asked me specifically about today’s first reading from Exodus 22. “I just don’t connect with the Old Testament,” she said. “How am I supposed to make a reading like this exciting and relevant?” Good […]
Repent – Or Else
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Have you ever heard this old expression? God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. That’s one of the messages that we get from today’s first reading from Ephesians 4. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus has some stark words for the people. “But I tell you, if you do not repent, […]
The “Times”
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In our first reading today from Ephesians 4, St. Paul urges his readers to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.” I love this passage of Scripture because it first assumes that we have received a call. It […]
Turn and Burn!
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Our first reading today from Ephesians 3 is, in essence, a prayer. St. Paul prays that the Father “may grant you…to be strengthened with power through his Spirit…and that Christ may dwell in your hearts…that you…may know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” Be sure to read St. Paul’s beautiful prayer for you! I […]
Entrusted With More
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In today’s first reading from Ephesians 3, St. Paul talks about the gifts that God has given him, and his responsibility to use them properly. This is a theme that will come up in the Gospel reading today. St. Paul also tells us about a couple of gifts that God has given to us…”we have […]
No Longer Strangers
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We’re back in Ephesians 2 for our first reading today. St. Paul addresses the people as “you who once were far off,” and “you who were far off.” Notice that he uses both in the past tense. For now we are near to God the Father through Christ Jesus. In the Gospel reading from Luke […]
True Wealth
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Today in our first reading from Ephesians 2, St. Paul speaks about being saved. And how does he say we are saved? “By grace you have been saved.” and “For by grace you have been saved through faith…it is the gift of God.” Our salvation is only through the grace of God. We have done, […]
It’s All God’s
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus is asked by some Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes. They try to trip Him up by asking, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? ” Jesus’ reply is quite well known to most people. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar […]
St. Luke the Evangelist
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the author of two books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. In fact, Acts may be considered a “sequel” to Luke’s Gospel, as that story picks up right where Luke ends. St. Luke is […]
What You’re Worth
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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 exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Got it? You are here to praise God!! In the Gospel reading […]
Redemption, Forgiveness, 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 see that they “began to act with hostility to him.” It reminds me that when the world shows hostility to us, we should never despair. […]
A Checklist for Life
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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 of the law hears this, he tells Jesus that they (the scholars of the law) feel insulted, too. So, just to even things up, Jesus […]
Matching the Inside with the Outside
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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 reading: “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, […]
Freedom
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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 Jonah.” Hmm…seems the more things change the more they stay the same. So many today are seeking a sign. They won’t believe until they see […]
Properly Dressed
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable about a king who gives a wedding feast for his son. When the servants went out to summon the invited guests, they refused to come. Some even beat and killed the servants. So the king has servants go out and invite people off the […]
Being Blessed
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We hear more about justification and faith in today’s first reading from Galatians 3. “For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.” Good news, no? Lord, strengthen our faith this day. We have a very short Gospel passage today, only two short verses from Luke 11. A woman cries out to […]
The Gift of Faith
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Today in Galatians 3, St. Paul has strong things to say about faith and “works of the law.” More on that in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 11, we see Jesus being accused of casting out demons “by the power of Beelzebul.” Jesus responds by asking how that could be. If that […]
Ask for the Spirit
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In the first reading today from Galatians 3, St. Paul talks about faith vs. works of the law. He asks a question about “the one who supplies the Spirit to you.” More about the Spirit comes in the Gospel. In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus tells a story about persistence. He then goes […]
Speaking Truth to Power
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What was the first prayer you learned as a child? Chances are good that it was the Our Father. Jesus teaches it to His disciples in today’s first reading from Luke 11. In today’s first reading from Galatians 2, we see the story of an interesting confrontation. St. Paul was a very outspoken guy. He […]
The Turnaround
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St. Paul was a pretty bad guy early on. We hear about it in our first reading today from Galatians 1. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 10, we see the story of Martha and Mary. “You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church […]
Your Good Samaritan
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For the first reading today, we begin a trip through St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. St. Paul made it very clear that any “gospel” that conflicted with his preaching was a false gospel. Our Gospel reading for today is from Luke 10, the story of the Good Samaritan. We’re all familiar with this story, […]
The Importance of Bearing Fruit
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner. The landowner sends numerous servants to look after a vineyard that he had leased to some tenants. The tenants abuse and kill them all. So the landowner sends his son. And they kill him. Jesus then says to the chief priests and […]
St. Francis
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. So, rather than comment on the Scriptures, I’m going to go a bit out of format for today. If you’re not familiar with the Prayer of St. Francis, then today would be a good day to familiarize yourself with it. And if you already know […]
Two Rules
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 10, we hear more of Jesus’ words to the seventy-two as He sends them out. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” We must always remember that Jesus’ authority lies in the Church […]
My Guardian Dear
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is sending an angel before them to lead and guide them. He says that He has given this angel His authority; they must listen to him. In […]
Forward in Faith
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Do you converse with God? I hope so – and regularly. Have you ever questioned God? Job ponders that in today’s first reading from Job 9. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9:57-62, we hear what can be a rather disconcerting saying of Jesus. A guy says he will follow Jesus, but first he wants to […]
Fire from Heaven
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If Job were around today, he certainly would have been diagnosed with serious depression. In today’s first reading, he rues the very day that he was born. He knows that anything would be better than all the stuff he was suffering through. Yet through it all, he never curses God for his plight. In the […]
This is War!
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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 for the first reading. The first, from Daniel 7, contains a vision of heaven. Here we see “myriads upon myriads” attending to the Ancient One. […]
More Than Words
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a story of two sons, each of whom was told by their father to go out and work in the vineyard. The first son says, “I will not,” but then changes his mind and goes out to work. The second son says, “Yes, sir,” but then doesn’t […]
The Joy of Youth
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Jesus said many things that His disciples did not understand. We see this in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9. Jesus tells them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” They didn’t understand, and were afraid to question Him further about this. In the first reading today from Ecclesiastes 11 and […]
Seasons of Life
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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, you can’t read that Scripture without hearing “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds in your head. Not a bad ear worm to have! As a […]
A Greater Purpose
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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. In the Gospel from Luke 9, we see Herod wondering about this Jesus character. He had heard much about him and was obviously very curious. […]
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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Gus began the day talking about what he believes are some the root causes of the spate of domestic violence cases today. The breakdown of the family and the large number of fatherless households are a great start. Gus took opinions from many listeners in a lively discussion. Former US Senator Rick Santorum joined Gus […]
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 Luke 9, Jesus sends out the Twelve, telling them to take just the bare necessities to get by. The two readings really go hand in […]
Jesus’ Family
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So many of the Proverbs talk about our actions – how we respond to God’s call. That is certainly the case with today reading from Proverbs 21. “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. In the Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to […]
Prayer and Generosity
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n the first reading today, we begin a few days in the book of Proverbs, a book that is full of short verses that contain the wisdom of the ages. Much of the book is attributed to Solomon, the wisest man ever to live. In the Gospel reading from Luke 8 Jesus tells us that, […]
Always a Good Time
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who goes into town to hire workers for his vineyard. He hires some at the beginning of the day, others late in the morning, others in the afternoon, and some very late in the day. At the end of the […]