60 Second Reflections » 60 Reflections
One Constant: His Words
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” And so it has been. Seasons come and go. Rulers and kingdoms are here today, gone tomorrow. But for 2000 years now, one thing has remained constant. The words of Jesus. Untold billions of […]
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Happy Thanksgiving! I want to share with you what is a very appropriate Scripture verse for today. A bit of history first. Every year, I make a Scriptural New Year’s resolution. I take a passage of Scripture and put it in front of my face to look at daily – something I need to work […]
Hate and Perseverance
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More of John’s vision of heaven today from Revelation 15 in our first reading. Today we see “those who had won victory over the beast…” Jesus continues to address the people in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 21. He tells them, “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on […]
The Great Wine Press of God’s Fury
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In today’s readings, we get lots more end times stuff. In the Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus talks about things to look for near the end. Many of these have been happening since time immemorial, so I suspect they will be ratcheted up greatly near the end. In the first reading from Revelation 14, […]
Generosity = TRUST
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In today’s first reading from Revelation 14, we see a hundred and forty-four thousand people in heaven. Some take this to literally mean that only a hundred and forty-four thousand people from all time will be saved. That’s not the way it has been understood traditionally. We believe it simply means a great number. The […]
A Loving King
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Today the Church celebrates the end of the liturgical year. Fittingly enough, it is the Feast of Christ the King. All of the readings today point to the kingship of Christ. In the Gospel reading from Luke 23, the people are sneering at Jesus as He hangs on the cross. Above him there was an […]
After Our Resurrection
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The first reading today from Revelation 11 is filled with imagery of martyrs, prophets of old, Rome and more. I encourage you to read a bit of background on what John describes. In the Gospel from Luke 20, some Saducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection of the body, throw a trick question at Jesus […]
Cleaning House
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In today’s first reading from Revelation 10, St. John is told to eat a scroll. It is sweet as honey in his mouth, but then turns his stomach sour. Find out why. In our Gospel reading from Luke 19, Jesus goes into the temple area and drives out those who were selling things, saying to […]
A Failure to Recognize
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When you go to Mass and the priest says, “Behold the Lamb of God,” what comes to mind? Perhaps one of the things should be from today’s first reading from Revelation 5. Find out what I’m talking about. In our Gospel reading today from Luke 19, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. “They will smash you to […]
Different Motivations
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Some of the images we read about in the Book of Revelation can seem rather odd. That’s certainly the case in our first reading today from Revelation 4 – strange looking creatures covered with eyes and wings. The important thing is to get the message that God gives us through John’s visions. In the Gospel […]
Time for a Temperature Check
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Our Gospel reading today is the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19. It is a great story of repentance and redemption. In the first reading today from Revelation 3, we hear Jesus addressing the Churches of Sardis and Laodicea. His words to the Church of Laodicea are a stark reminder to all. “I know your […]
Lost Love
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For the next couple of weeks the first reading at Mass will come from the Book of Revelation. That’s because we’re nearing the end of the liturgical year. The first Sunday of Advent (this year November 27) marks the beginning of the new year in the Church. In today’s first reading from Revelation 1 and […]
Nearing the End?
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What will the end of the world look like? Nuclear holocaust? The rise of a political leader? One world government? Global warming? In the Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus is talking about the end times and what signs there will be that the end is near. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against […]
Will He Find Faith?
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Are you supporting those doing missionary work? You should be. St. John exhorts us to do that in our first reading today from 3 John:5-8. He says of those doing missionary work that “we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth.” In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 18, […]
Honoring Veterans
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Today is Veterans Day in the USA. How appropriate that in the Church today is the Feast of St. Martin of Tours. St. Martin was a military man. He was baptized at 18 after having a vision of Jesus. There are many similarities between the military life and the spiritual life. The biggest that come to […]
Chasing the Shiny Thing
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 17, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. What they didn’t realize was that they were standing in it. Jesus replies, “The Kingdom of God is among you.” Jesus then goes on to warn His disciples about those who would tell them that “the days […]
Why Catholics are Pro-Life
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. If you’ve never gotten the opportunity to visit this church in Rome, I hope you will someday. It is magnificent! The theme of today’s readings is the temple. I want to concentrate today on something St. Paul says in today’s second reading […]
A How-To on How to Live
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In today’s first reading from Titus 2, St. Paul has advice for everyone – older men, older women, younger women and younger men. Yep! I think that covers us all! After addressing these individual groups, he says this: “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and […]
Forgiveness and Mercy
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Jesus covers a lot of ground in a few short words in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 17. Par for the course, eh? He talks about causing others to sin, forgiveness and faith. I want to concentrate on forgiveness today. Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And […]
Not God of the Dead
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The first reading today from 2 Maccabees is an amazing story of courage in the face of terrible persecution. Read it for yourself, because it ties directly in with today’s Gospel reading. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 20, Jesus talks about marriage and the resurrection. Some Sadducees, who did not believe in the […]
Spiritual Juggling
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St. Paul went through a lot in his life. Early on, he had it all. He was well off, well educated, well liked. But later he was beaten, thrown in prison and eventually martyred. In today’s first reading, he tells the secret of getting along in both situations. Read Philippians 4:13 for the answer. In […]
A Win-Win
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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 […]
Of Sheep and Coins
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As Christians, we know that our confidence can be found in God alone. When we have confidence in our flesh, we are in big trouble. Because the flesh will always let us down. See what St. Paul says about confidence in today’s first reading. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus tells two parables. […]
All Souls’ Day
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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 one of the chapters of A Minute in the Church on Purgatory. I hope this […]
The Communion of Saints
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Today is the Solemnity of All Saints, one of my favorite days of the year. Today is a Holy Day of Obligation, and rightfully so. We celebrate all the holy men and women who have achieved our goal: sainthood. We celebrate the Communion of Saints. As Catholics, we view the Body of Christ as being […]
True Humility
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The golden thread that runs through the readings today, Philippians 2:1-4 and Luke 14:12-14, is humility. Humility can be difficult to describe. Is it being quiet and introspective? Just because someone doesn’t make a lot of noise does not necessarily mean that they are humble. So what is it? I think we see it come […]
Lessons from a Wee Little Man
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The character in today’s Gospel passage from Luke 19 is a favorite of kids the world over. Every time I read this story, I can hear the little song in my head that we used to sing to our children. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up […]
Seeking the Lowest Place
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In the first reading from Philippians 1, St. Paul struggles with whether he would rather stick around on earth or go home to be with the Lord. Not a true death wish, but recognizing that the life to come will be eternity with Christ. But Paul realizes that he has a mission on earth to […]
St. Jude
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Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. They share a feast day because tradition holds that they were martyred on the same day. The readings are the same as the feast days of other Apostles; Ephesians 2:19-22, and Luke 6:12-16, which is the listing of the Twelve. St. Jude, also known as […]
Put on the Armor of God!
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In today’s first reading from Ephesians 6, St. Paul tells us to “put on the armor of God.” He goes on to explain just what that is. More in a moment. In the Gospel from Luke 13, some Pharisees tell Jesus he should get out of the area because Herod wants to kill him. Jesus […]
A Message for Dads
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In today’s first reading, St. Paul addresses dads. Any time I tackle this topic it is fraught with peril, mainly because so many households now are single parent households where the mom is raising the kids by herself. Actually, that’s why today’s reflection is so important. Here is St. Paul’s advice to dads: “Fathers, do […]
Understanding Husbands and Wives
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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 […]
Then and Now
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In today’s first reading from Ephesians 4, St. Paul has a couple of challenges for us. Here are his two challenges: “Be imitators of God,” and “Live as children of light.” For both of those very difficult challenges, he gives us a hint how to go about each. For the first he says to “live […]
On Pride
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about two people praying in the temple. A Pharisee thanks God that he is not like all the low-lifes out there, including a tax collector who is with him in the temple. “I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole […]
Another Chance
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, Jesus tells an interesting parable. A landowner has a fig tree that has borne no fruit after three years. He orders it be cut down. But the gardener asks for another season, another chance. He tells the landowner, “It may bear fruit in the future. If not […]
Living the Call
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Today’s first reading is from Ephesians 4:1-6. You may notice that these six verses are all one sentence. St. Paul is famous for his run-on sentences. It can sometimes be brutal if you’re a lector at Mass! St. Paul writes, “I…urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…” Let’s […]
Fired Up!
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus says, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Of course, Jesus isn’t talking about burning down the earth. Quite the contrary; He wants to build the earth up by sending down the fire of the Holy Spirit. […]
Your Responsibility
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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 […]
A Bumper Crop of Souls
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Today is the Feast of St. Luke. Luke was a gentile, a physician, a companion of St. Paul and the author of one of the Gospels. Of course, today’s Gospel reading is from Luke, chapter 10. Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples to prepare the way for His visits. He said this, “The harvest is abundant […]
Rich in What Matters
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In our Gospel reading today, Jesus has an encounter with a man which prompts Him to warn the gathered crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Jesus then goes on to tell a story about a wealthy man who accumulates a […]
Will He Find Faith?
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a widow who continues to bother an unjust judge for a decision. The unjust judge renders a just decision for her because of her persistence. This Gospel reading ends with a question of Jesus. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he […]
Let the Spirit Speak
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus speaks of the importance of standing up for him. “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.” Jesus also speaks to the disciples about allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through them. He speaks of […]
He Knows You and Loves You
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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 […]
Chosen to be Holy
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For today’s first reading, we begin a trip through St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (This is going to be awesome!) St. Paul starts his letters with an introduction and a prayer. Check out this prayer that begins Ephesians. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in […]
Hurt Feelings
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In today’s first reading from Galatians 5, St. Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit. Do you know these nine fruits? Here they are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Go through that list today and ask God to help you improve in the ones that need improvement in your life. In […]
Faith and Love
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St. Paul made it very clear that salvation through Christ Jesus was available to everyone – Jew and Gentile alike. He also made it clear that the old Levitical laws were no longer binding. In today’s first reading from Galatians 5, St. Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, […]
Freedom and Slavery
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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 […]
One Gave Thanks
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus heals ten lepers. Of the ten healed, only one bothered to come back and give thanks to Jesus. To add insult to injury, the only one to return and give thanks was a Samaritan. Ouch! So, the percentage of those healed who came back was exactly ten […]
Clothed with Christ
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In today’s first reading from Galatians 3, St. Paul says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Did you realize that’s what happened at your baptism? When you think about it, clothing is often the thing that identifies a person. For instance, when a crime is committed, police […]
The Intentional Rosary
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Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In fact, October is the month of the Rosary. Rather than reflect on the Scriptures today, I want to share with you my story about the rosary. You see, I was never a big rosary guy. It just wasn’t a devotion I felt drawn to. […]