60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
God IS a Family
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity; three Persons, one God. The readings today reflect that. The first reading from Deuteronomy 4 tells us that there is only one God. “The Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.” The second reading from […]
Accepting Authority
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Today’s first reading is from the Letter of St. Jude. At the end of the reading, we read, “To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling…be glory, majesty, power and authority from ages past, now and for ages to come. Amen.” We also see the word authority in our Gospel reading from […]
My Life Verse
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Do you have a Life Verse? Do you even know what that is? A Life Verse is a passage of Scripture that you adopt for your own. A passage that speaks right into your heart; one that you try to live by, that guides your steps. The reason I bring this up today is because […]
Opening Our Homes to Jesus and Mary
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Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We recall when Mary, who was pregnant with the Lord Jesus, went to stay with her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. There are two options for a first reading. I recommend that you read them both. You’ll be glad […]
Intense Love
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The story we see in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 10 is very interesting. James and John come and say to Jesus, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” They wanted positions of prominence, over the other Apostles and everyone else. It is an […]
Holiness
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In the first reading today, St. Peter talks about how the prophets were testifying to Christ. He says that they “were not serving themselves but you.” In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10, Jesus talks about how those who have faith in Him will be repaid. And He says, “But many that are first […]
Honoring the Fallen
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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 […]
Come, Holy Spirit!
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Happy Birthday, Church! Rather than give you my own reflection today, I want to share the sequence that you will hear at today’s Mass. (Why try to improve on perfection?) Veni, Sancte Spiritus Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source […]
Who Will You Follow?
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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 […]
Need a Mulligan?
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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 […]
God’s Love in Us
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Paul was seen by many as a rabble-rouser. In today’s first reading from Acts, he creates a stir between the Pharisees and the Sadducees over the resurrection of the body. Things get so heated that troops have to come in and rescue Paul before he gets torn to shreds. Then the Lord tells Paul that […]
In Not Of
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Today we hear the last half of Paul’s moving farewell address to the Church in Ephesus. There is so much for us to take out of this reading! Read it sentence by sentence and let God speak to you through Paul’s awesome address! In the Gospel reading today, we’re back in John 17, listening in […]
Just Fluff
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What’s the greatest thing that we can achieve in life? To amass a fortune? Certainly not. To raise good kids? Be a good husband/wife/father/mother? To do lots of good works? Those are all important, but they are only part of the answer. St Paul has a thought on that in today’s first reading from Acts […]
Jesus Conquers
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In today’s first reading from Acts, Paul runs into a group of believers who have not yet received the Holy Spirit. In fact, they hadn’t even heard of a Holy Spirit. So Paul lays hands on them and they received the gift of the Spirit. In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that they will […]
Consecrated
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Since we talked about the readings for the Feast of the Ascension on Thursday, today we’ll concentrate on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Gospel reading today is from John 17. It is part of Jesus’ lengthy soliloquy at the Last Supper. Speaking to the Father, Jesus says, “Consecrate them in the truth…I consecrate myself […]
Answered Prayer
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More great action in the first reading from Acts 18. Today we meet a Scripture expert named Apollos. After studying the Scriptures, “he established from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.” He turned out to be another one of those great converts. In the Gospel today from John 16, Jesus tells his disciples, “Amen, […]
From Grief to Joy
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At the beginning of today’s first reading, the Lord speaks to Paul in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.” Sounds like sound advice for us, too! I believe we are living in a time that calls for bold speech to stand […]
Ascension Thursday
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. In most dioceses around the country, today is not a Holy Day of obligation. For most, this feast will be celebrated this Sunday. If you are in a diocese or archdiocese in New York, Boston, Hartford, Newark, Philadelphia or the state of Nebraska, then today is […]
Groping for God
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St. Paul must have been one of the greatest public speakers of all time. Today in our first reading from Acts 17, we see Paul giving one of his great speeches, this time to the Greeks in the Areopagus. More on his message in a moment. In the Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus speaks […]
My Conviction Notice
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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 […]
The Catholic Church’s Bold Claim
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias. The two readings are ones that we have already had during the Easter season. The Gospel is from John 15, the exact same reading from yesterday, where Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go […]
The Chosen One
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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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More action and adventure today in the first reading from Acts 16. Paul has a vision in which a Macedonian says to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” So he goes! Perhaps we should pray for the intercession of St. Paul and say, “Come to American and help us!” In the Gospel reading […]
Laying Down Your Life
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In the first reading today from Acts 15, the Apostles and presbyters choose Barsabbas and Silas to travel with Paul and Barnabas to take a message clarifying the position of the Church on some disputes that had arisen. For the Gospel reading today, we’re back in John 15, where Jesus says, “This is my commandment: […]
Jesus’ Joy in Us
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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 Holy Pruning
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Today in Acts, we see more discussion about whether new believers needed to be circumcised and obey the Mosaic law. We also see Paul and Barnabas reporting in Jerusalem what God had done with them. In today’s Gospel reading from John 15, we hear Jesus say, “I am the vine, you are the branches…without me […]
Peace in Hardship
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Today in our readings, we see one of the great paradoxes of our faith. In the first reading, we hear Paul and Barnabas telling the people, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Not a real popular message, I’m sure. In the Gospel reading from John 14, […]
Giving Glory to God
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word…whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” You love Jesus, right? So, do you keep His words? A good litmus test for all we do. We have a very interesting first reading today from Acts 14. Paul […]
A Botany Lesson
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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 […]
Seeing the Father
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Paul and Barnabas lived a pretty crazy life. In our first reading today from Acts 13, the Jews are filled with jealousy because of the crowds that Paul and Barnabas were attracting. So the Jews had them thrown out of the city. Suffice it to say that Paul and Barnabas were undeterred. In the Gospel […]
Troubled Hearts
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In the first reading from Acts 13 today, Paul continues his message of salvation through Jesus in the temple at Antioch. In the Gospel reading today, we’re in John 14, at the Last Supper. Jesus tells the Apostles, “Where I am going, you know the way.” Confused, Thomas says, “Master, we do not know where […]
Asking in Jesus’ Name
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Today is the Feast of St. Philip and St. James. They were both Apostles. James was a cousin of the Lord, the son of Alphaeus, and Bishop of Jerusalem. In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul talks about how Christ appeared to some after the resurrection. He mentions the Twelve, then […]
Sent Forth by the Holy Spirit
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In our first reading today from Acts, we see Barnabas and Saul being “set apart” by the Holy Spirit and sent out to proclaim the Word of God. In the Gospel reading today from John 12, Jesus says, “I came into the world as light” and “I did not come to condemn the world but […]
On Being a Christian
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In Acts 11 today, we see the story of a growing Church. People in great numbers are turning to the Lord. Barnabas brings Saul with him to Antioch, and they stay there for a whole year, preaching and teaching. Acts 11:26 tells us “it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” In […]
The Abundant Life
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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 […]
Good Sheep
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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 […]
Do You Want to Leave?
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In the first reading today from Acts 9, we see a blossoming Church. It is growing rapidly, even with the great persecution she was suffering. Peter raises a woman from the dead, and because of that, many came to believe. In the Gospel reading today, we finish up in John 6. After Jesus talked about […]
The Eucharistic Puzzle
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Today’s readings offer us a cornucopia of wonderful meditations. 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 […]
Authoritative Interpretation
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Back in Acts 8 for our first reading today. We see a very interesting story about an Ethiopian eunuch who has an encounter with Philip. More on that in a moment. Today in the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus continues with the Bread of Life discourse. He begins to reveal more about the Eucharist. […]
Resisting the Devil
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Today is the Feast of St. Mark. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, accompanied St. Paul on his first missionary journey and later went with him to Rome. He was a disciple of St. Peter whose teaching was the basis for Mark’s Gospel. The Gospel reading today is the end of Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus […]
Our Martyrdom
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Today in Acts 7, we read about the martyrdom of St. Stephen. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. In the Gospel from John 6, we continue in the Bread of Life discourse. In fact, today we hear Jesus say, “I am the bread of life.” If Jesus had stopped at this point, it […]
Will Work for Food (That Endures)
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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 […]
Lie No More
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The Apostles were never afraid to tell it like it is. In fact, there are quite a few places in Scripture that many would find offensive. Today is one of those. Listen to what St. John says in our second reading today from 1 John 2: “Those who say ‘I know him,’ but do not […]
The First Deacons
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For today’s Gospel reading, we’re back in John 6. The disciples are out on a boat when they see Jesus walking toward them on the water. It was dark and naturally the disciples had never seen anything like this before, so they were afraid. But Jesus calms their fears, saying, “It is I. Do not […]
Suffering Dishonor for Jesus
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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 […]
Accepting the Spirit
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A great reading from Acts 5 today. The court officers told the Apostles to knock off this teaching in the name of Jesus stuff. Their answer is awesome, and one that we should always take to heart…”We must obey God rather than men.” If only we kept that in mind more often, think of how […]
Coming to the Light
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What a cool story today from Acts 5. The Apostles once again get thrown into the hoosegow when, in the middle of the night, an angel comes and opens the doors to the prison and lets them out. This is getting to be something of a pattern for these guys! In fact, today we might […]
Unity in the Community
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In today’s first reading from Acts 4, we get a glimpse of the first Christian community. We’ll talk more about that in a sec. In the Gospel reading from John 3, we see the next part of the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus. Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel, and yet he did not understand […]
Born of the Spirit
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The Holy Spirit is constantly present. The movement and work of the Holy Spirit is seen in both of the readings today. In the first reading from Acts 4, St. Peter begs the Lord to “enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal, and signs […]
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 […]