60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
Be Subordinate
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus tells two short parables about the Kingdom of God. The first compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed, the other to yeast. Our first reading today from Ephesians 5 is one of the most misunderstood passages in all of the New Testament. The longer version is Ephesians […]
Imitating God
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, Jesus heals a woman who has been crippled for eighteen years. He does this on the sabbath. This infuriates the leader of the synagogue where this healing took place. He chastised Jesus and the woman. Jesus’ retort humiliates the man and all of Jesus’ adversaries. Read what […]
An Approachable God
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Our Gospel reading today from Mark 10 is about Bartimaeus, a blind beggar that wanted Jesus to restore his sight. He tells Jesus what he wants, and Jesus gives him his sight because of his faith. In my book Magnetic Christianity, I talk about the eleven attributes of the Magnetic Christian. In the chapter on […]
Another Chance
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In our first reading today from Ephesians 4, St. Paul talks about how grace has been given to each of us in different ways. He then goes on to explain some different ministries in the Body of Christ. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, Jesus tells an interesting parable. A landowner has a […]
Advancing in Knowledge
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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 […]
Think Bigger!
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Was Jesus an arsonist? One might think so from reading the first words of today’s Gospel reading from Luke 12. “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Of course, Jesus isn’t talking about setting physical things ablaze, but our hearts. Today would be a good […]
Seize the Day
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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 […]
Keeping Vigil
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There is a word used in the first reading today from Ephesians 2 four times. That word is peace. “For he (Christ Jesus) is our peace.” “…Thus establishing peace…” “He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near…” You think St. Paul is trying to get […]
Love Matters
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By what are you saved? St. Paul gives us the answer in today’s first reading from Ephesians 2:1-10. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God.” In our Gospel reading today from Luke 12:13-21, Jesus has an encounter with a man which […]
Servant Leaders
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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. “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be […]
Denying Jesus
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In the first reading today from Ephesians 1:15-23, St. Paul prays that “the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for […]
God Pays Attention
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Why are we here? I mean, why do we exist? Is it to accumulate stuff? To, as Spock would say, live long and prosper? Perhaps it is only to serve our fellow man. Even though that is a noble thing, it is not the right answer. What is? St. Paul tells us in today’s first […]
Feast of 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. In fact, Acts may be considered a “sequel” to Luke’s Gospel, as that story picks up right where Luke ends. St. Luke is the only […]
Spiritual Fruit
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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 […]
Inside and Out
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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 […]
Who Can Be Saved?
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In our first reading today, we read about prudence and wisdom. These are certainly two things that I wish I had in greater abundance. How can that happen? Check out the first two words of this reading. “I prayed…” Our Gospel reading today is from Mark 10. It is about Jesus’ encounter with the rich […]
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 […]
Justified
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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 […]
The Open Door
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I wonder how well received was the part of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians that we read today. It starts out with, “O stupid Galatians!” And again, “Are you so stupid?” Paul obviously wasn’t trying to win any popularity contests. They were in error, and Paul wanted to let them know in the strongest […]
The Hypocritical Saint
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples come to Him and say, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus then teaches them the Lord’s Prayer, aka the Our Father. Of course, we know this prayer so well that we often recite it from memory without even thinking […]
Doing and Being
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In our first reading today from Galatians 1, we read a bit about what happened to St. Paul after his conversion. He didn’t jump right into ministry after being called by Christ. He probably knew that, since he had been one of the greatest persecutors of the Church, that he would not be trusted or […]
Your Part in the Story
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In the first reading today from Galatians 1:6-12, St. Paul says, “I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.” […]
God’s Definition of Marriage
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As is most always the case, there is a golden thread that runs through the readings in the Liturgy. Today’s clear theme: marriage. Marriage is under attack these days. People want to redefine marriage to fit what they want it to be. Men should be able to marry other men, and women to marry other […]
Written in Heaven
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In our first reading today we wrap up the story of Job. After all the things that had happened to him, Job kept faith. And God rewarded him for that. Read about how Job’s life turned out in the end. In our Gospel reading from Luke 10, the seventy-two disciples that Jesus sent out return […]
Let God be God
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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 […]
Prayer of 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 […]
Hand on Plow, Eyes Ahead
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In the first reading today from Job 1:1-12, 14-16, we hear Job contemplating God’s “bigness.” When you think about it, we are so small, and God is so big. Yet we often have the audacity to question Him. Figure that one out. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9:57-62, we hear what can be a […]
Angels Watching Over Us
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. In the first reading 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 the Gospel reading from Matthew […]
The Example of Job
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9:46-50, the disciples are arguing amongst themselves about which of them is the greatest. Actually, this seems like pretty typical guy stuff. But Jesus takes a child to help straighten the men out. Jesus then gets a report about someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Trouble was, the […]
We are Prophets
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Prophet is a word that most people would shy away from when describing themselves. Actually, all Christians are called to be prophets. If we only knew! In the first reading today from Numbers 11:25-29, two men are prophesying outside of the Israelites camp. The report comes to Moses. Moses responds, “Would that all the people […]
The Power of the Archangels
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the Archangels. Saint Michael is God’s great warrior angel, the Prince of the heavenly hosts. We see Michael doing battle with the dragon in today’s first reading from Revelation 12. Manly stuff, that! Gabriel is God’s messenger. In Luke 1, we see Gabriel […]
A Time for Everything
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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! In the […]
Vanity of Vanities
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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. […]
Two Things
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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 […]
We are Family
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We’re blessed today with more nuggets of wisdom in our first reading from Proverbs 21. Like this gem – “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 see him, but can’t get in the house […]
Telling Secrets
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The Book of Proverbs is filled with so much timeless wisdom. Our first reading today from Proverbs 3 is no exception. “Envy not the lawless man and choose none of his ways.” Be sure to read it and soak up the wisdom of the ages! In the Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus says, “For […]
What Are You Asking For?
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We’re back in the Letter of St. James for our second reading today. I so encourage you to look over today’s reading and meditate on it. It is so full of rich wisdom for us to contemplate. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” We pray about a […]
Knowledge of the Mysteries
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We continue in 1 Corinthians 15 for our first reading today, where St. Paul continues his treatment on the resurrection of the body. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” The Gospel reading is Luke’s telling of the parable of sower. After telling the parable, but before explaining it, Jesus […]
Following the Call
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew. His Jewish name was Levi. (We find that in the Gospels of Mark and Luke.) Matthew was a tax collector. Therefore, observant Jews would have nothing to do with him. He was considered a traitor. He is one of the four Gospel writers. In the first reading […]
I Am What I Am
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If I asked you to use one word to describe everyone in the world, what would that one word be? How about “sinner?” That would certainly be accurate, wouldn’t it? After all, we’re all sinners. But I want to suggest another word, one that I hope will help us change the way we think – […]
I Am What I Am
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If I asked you to use one word to describe everyone in the world, what would that one word be? How about “sinner?” That would certainly be accurate, wouldn’t it? After all, we’re all sinners. But I want to suggest another word, one that I hope will help us change the way we think – […]
True Love
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 7, Jesus talks about how you just can’t please some people. He ends with, “But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” Our first 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 […]
Your Job in the Kingdom
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What a beautiful story in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 7. Jesus comes across a funeral procession. The dead man is the only son of a widow. Jesus, moved with pity for the woman, stops the procession and raises the young man from the dead. Imagine the joy of that mother! This always reminds me […]
The Real Presence
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 7, a centurion hears about Jesus and asks some elders to bring Jesus to his home to heal his sick servant. Before Jesus reaches the home, the centurion sends messengers out to deliver this message: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof…but say the […]
Faith Without Works
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Today’s second reading from St. James is a treatise on faith and works. St. James says “faith without works is dead.” More on that in a moment. In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” That reading ends with Jesus saying that we must take […]
Our Lady of Sorrows
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Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Isn’t it appropriate that the Church celebrates this feast on the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross? The Church gives parishes an option of two different readings for the Gospel. The first is from John 19, the scene at the foot of the cross […]
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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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 a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. Whenever someone looked at it, they would be healed of their bite from a serpent. This […]
Loving Our Enemies
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 8, St. Paul talks about knowledge and conscience. “When they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.” This is a great reminder to me that we must have a well-formed conscience. In the Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus says, “Love your […]
Blessings and Woes
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Life is fleeting. In today’s first reading from 1 Corinthians 7, St. Paul gives some advice to his readers about how to conduct their lives. He then writes, “For the world in its present form is passing away.” In the Gospel reading from Luke 6, we begin hearing the Sermon on the Plain. It is […]