60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
The Beauty of Discipline
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Today we’re going to talk about discipline. Not a fun topic, I know. If you turned and ran away right now, I wouldn’t blame you! But in today’s first reading from Hebrews 12, discipline is a main theme. So talk about it we must. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus is not able […]
Faith and Healing
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In today’s first reading from Hebrews 12, the Sacred Author tells us “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” A wonderful reminder that we are never alone. The angels and saints are constantly interceding for us. Take comfort in that, my friend! In the Gospel reading today from Mark 5, we see […]
Going Where Jesus Tells Us
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 11, we hear about some of the great characters in the Old Testament. They all awaited the promise of God, but they did not see its fulfillment. You have. Do you realize how blessed you are? In the Gospel reading from Mark 5, Jesus has an encounter with […]
Love is…
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Our second reading today is 1 Corinthians 13. This is often referred to as “The Love Chapter.” If you’ve ever been to a wedding, chances are you have heard this read there. St. Paul tells us what love is, and what it isn’t. “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is […]
The Presentation of the Lord
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Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Also known as Candlemas, this is the day when candles will be blessed. There will be three readings today. In the first reading from Malachi 3, God says through the prophet, “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and […]
Endurance in Suffering
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus tells a couple of parables, both of an agrarian nature. In the first He talks about how a seed grows, yet we know not how. Why? It is the mystery of life, and that God alone is the giver and taker of life. The second is a […]
Absolute Trust
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Today’s first reading from Hebrews 10 is so chock full of great stuff! We’ll discuss in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus tells His disciples something that should give us all great pause. “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” That big measuring stick we use […]
Johnny Wordseed
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We read more about the one sacrifice of Christ in our first reading today from Hebrews 10. In the Gospel reading today from Mark 4, Jesus tells the parable of the sower of the seeds. After telling this parable, the disciples didn’t understand. Jesus seems a bit perturbed. But He explains the parable to them. […]
Sacrifice
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 10 we read about sacrifice. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is told that his mother and brothers were outside and wanted to see Him. Many non-Catholics will say that this is an argument against the Catholic belief in the […]
A Kingdom Divided
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 9, we read more about Christ’s once for all sacrifice, and about the judgement at Jesus’ second coming. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus’ response talks about how a house divided […]
The Spirit Upon You
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Today’s Gospel reading from Luke has two beginnings. The first part of the reading is the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, where he tells his friend Theophilus that he (Luke) has done his homework and that the events recounted are true and accurate. The second part of the reading recounts the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. […]
Your Spiritual Temperature
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Both of these great men were bishops of the early Church. There are letters from St. Paul to each of these (two to St. Timothy) in the New Testament. For the first reading at today’s Mass, there will be a reading either from […]
A Dramatic Conversion
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Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. I think it is highly significant that this year this feast coincides with the March for Life. Interesting, isn’t it? We see the story of Saul’s (Paul’s birth name) conversion in two places in Acts of the Apostles. In chapter 9, the account is told […]
Christ’s Once for All Sacrifice
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 7 & 8, the sacred author talks about the once for all sacrifice of Christ. “He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all […]
A Priest Forever
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The author of Hebrews was big on Melchizedek, and his “relationship” to Jesus. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. Once again the Pharisees, itching for a reason to come against him, well…come against him. The question has […]
A Priest Forever
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The author of Hebrews was big on Melchizedek, and his “relationship” to Jesus. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. Once again the Pharisees, itching for a reason to come against him, well…come against him. The question has […]
Standing Up for Life
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Today is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America. A sad day, indeed. At Catholic churches across the United States, today is observed as a day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the […]
Priesthood
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Today in Hebrews 5, we see a theme that we touched on last week; that Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered. The author of Hebrews was big on this concept. In the Gospel reading from Mark 2, Jesus says, “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh […]
Good Advice
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Jesus’ first public miracle, as told in John’s Gospel, is changing water into wine. It happens at a wedding feast at Cana. This story is the Gospel reading in today’s Mass from John 3. The wedding party runs out of wine. Jesus’ mother, Mary, is concerned. In the few words that we hear Mary utter […]
The Sword of the Word
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In our first reading from Hebrews 4, the author of Hebrews tells us about the word of God. More on that in a moment. The Gospel reading from Mark 2 is about the call of Levi, also known as Matthew. Levi was a tax collector. In those days, tax collectors were considered traitors. They were […]
Hierarchy of Healing
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Life is busy, isn’t it? Sometimes it seems that we can hardly get a moment’s rest. While it is great to labor in God’s vineyard, now and again we must rest, if for no other reason to stave off burnout. Hey, even God rested on the seventh day! The author of Hebrews reminds us of […]
Encourage
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Today’s Gospel story is from Mark 1, about a leper that comes to Jesus seeking to be healed. We heard Luke’s version of the same story a few days ago. If you would like to read my reflection on that, you can find it here. Today’s first reading from Hebrews 3 is one that is […]
He’s Been There, Done That
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Back in Hebrews 2 today, we see more about the suffering of Jesus and how that plays to our advantage. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 1, we see Jesus healing. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law, then many others who were sick or possessed by demons. He heals them all, then moves […]
Perfection Through Suffering
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Jesus was (and still is) astonishing. In fact, we see that in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 1. “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” Do you still have a sense of astonishment about Jesus? I hope so, and I hope it […]
Come After Jesus
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Welcome back to Ordinary Time! I hope that we will not take the name of this liturgical season literally. What I mean by that is that I hope that we consider every day that we have EXTRAORDINARY!! God loves you so much, and wants to fill your life with blessings. What’s ordinary about that?! In […]
Jesus’ Baptism
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Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. We see that moment in Luke’s Gospel where John the Baptist has just baptized Jesus when “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove,” and a voice comes from heaven and says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well […]
Our Decrease
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Catholics believe in different “kinds” of sin. Mortal sin and venial sin. Venial sins are still sins, but not as serious as mortal sins. Mortal sins are those sins that separate us from God. Serious sins where we willfully and intentionally turn our backs on God. We find this notion in today’s first reading from […]
Sin = Leprosy
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“Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” That question opens today’s first reading from 1 John 5. Who indeed? I hope that “one” is you! In our Gospel reading today from Luke 5, a leper comes to Jesus asking to be cleansed. […]
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
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Have you ever felt like you can conquer the world? If not, why not? St. John gives us some good insight into that in our first reading today. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 4, we get a glimpse of a most amazing moment in the life of Jesus. He is […]
Loving Fearlessly
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More on love in our first reading today from 1 John 4. St. John tells us not only WHAT love is, but, more importantly, WHO love is. “God is love.” He also goes on to talk about fear and love. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, we see […]
What is Love?
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In his epistles, St. John wrote an awful lot about love. In our first reading today from 1 John 4, the word “love” or a variation of it appears nine times in just four short verses. This guy could have been a country songwriter! In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, we see another miraculous […]
Knowing the Spirit of Truth
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 4, we read about the early part of Jesus’ public ministry. He went about preaching, teaching and healing. Great crowds came from the surrounding areas to follow Him. Our first reading today is from 1 John. St. John today talks about discernement of spirits. “Beloved, do not trust every […]
The Journey to Jesus
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Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 2 we see the story of the magi coming to visit the baby Jesus. We often refer to them as the Three Kings. The Gospel does not tell us that there were three, or mention any number. Nor does it refer […]
I’m a Good Person!
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In the Gospel reading today from John 1, we see an encounter between Jesus and Nathanael. Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, says to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” This after he had just met Jesus. Be sure to read Jesus’ response. In the first reading today […]
What Are You Looking For?
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In our first reading today from 1 John 3, St. John writes, “Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning.” Ouch! We all sin, right? So does that mean that we all belong to the Devil? What about yesterday, when we read that we are children of God? Don’t […]
Good Morning, Child of God!
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Good Morning, Child of God! Every day I start my radio show with those words, spoken by my son when he was very little. Are you comfortable with that “title?” I certainly hope so, because that is what you are! So says St. John in our first reading from 1 John 2 and 3. In […]
The Promise
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All week long, we get a double-dose of St. John, as both readings will be from his writings. In today’s Gospel reading from John 1, we see John the Baptist admitting that he is “the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ ” In the first reading […]
My New Year’s Resolution
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Happy New Year! Remember that today is the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. It is a holy day of obligation. We get to go to Mass! New Year’s Day is always an introspective time for me. I always take a look back at the previous year and reflect on successes and failures of […]
Family
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The Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family. There are a couple of options for a second reading today, and all of the readings talk about family and relationships. We would do well to read them all. The Holy Family is the perfect example of what a family is, and should be. A father, […]
Simeon’s Prayer
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Today is the fifth day in the Octave of Christmas. In our first reading from 1 John 2, St. John talks about light and darkness. He writes, “Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.” We need to examine our hearts and accept the light of Christ […]
Our Holy Innocents
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Who are the Holy Innocents? They are the children killed by order of Herod in Bethlehem right after the birth of Christ. We read about this today in the Gospel reading from Matthew 2. Matthew tells us that this fulfilled what had been said through […]
John’s Message of Love
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. St. John was the beloved disciple, the author of the fourth Gospel, three letters in the New Testament and the Book of Revelation. Our first reading today is from the beginning of St. John’s first letter. “We proclaim now…our fellowship is with the Father and […]
Feast of St. Stephen
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, we see the story of Stephen’s martyrdom. And in the Gospel from Matthew 10, Jesus tells the disciples, “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end […]
Christmas is Here!
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Christmas is here! Christmas is here! I can remember waking up VERY early on Christmas mornings when I was a kid and yelling that out to my brothers and sisters. We would go wake up Mom and Dad, probably much earlier than they would have liked, and attack the presents under the tree with reckless […]
Always Christmas Eve
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Today is Christmas Eve. Many people (myself and my family included) will go to Mass this afternoon or this evening for Christmas. Many will attend the beautiful Midnight Mass. Whenever you attend, I pray that you will be filled with blessings! I recently read an interesting study that said that only 47% of Americans will […]
He Shall Be Peace
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At Mass today you’ll see all four of the Advent candles lit on the Advent wreath. The Fourth Sunday of Advent…almost Christmas! The first reading today is a beautiful prophecy from Micah 5. In it, the Lord says that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (House of Bread). “One who is from of old, from […]
Our Dedication
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The Gospel reading today is from Luke 1. It is Mary’s great Magnificat. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant.” Beautiful! A bit of personal trivia…my wife and I are part of Teams of Our Lady. We pray the […]
God Sings About You
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You know something cool about the Catholic liturgy? We celebrate parts of the Christmas story throughout the year. Many of the Gospel readings that we are hearing at this time are also used at other times. For instance, today’s Gospel reading from Luke 1 is the same reading for the Feast of the Visitation on […]
May it be Done to Me
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Today’s first reading is essential to our belief as Christians in the Virgin Birth. It is the prophesy from Isaiah 7: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” Today’s Gospel reading is the same one we saw just a few weeks ago on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. […]
Miracle Baby
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Today’s readings are similar in that they both tell stories of angels announcing the birth of a baby. Both mothers are barren and childless. Both children will become mighty men of God. Be sure to notice the similarities in the stories when you read them. From the title of today’s reflection (Miracle Baby), one might […]