Another Year, Another Chance
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Happy New Year! Today is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It is a holy day of obligation. If you're like me, you probably saw midnight come and go...
A Mind-Blowing Message
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For today’s first reading, we are back in 1 John 2. Today St. John writes about the antichrist. Very interesting stuff, especially for those hard core “end-timers.” Those are the...
The World
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In today’s first reading, we get some great advice from St. John. More on that in a moment. The Gospel reading today is from Luke 2. Today we read about...
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...
Blood is Thicker than Water
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Family, always the Sunday after Christmas. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 2, we read about Joseph taking his family to Egypt to...
St. John the Evangelist
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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...
The First Martyr
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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...
Merry Christmas!
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Advent is finally over! Now begins the real celebration. Merry Christmas! I’ll pause today from the regular Scripture reflection and just share some random thoughts. A baby in a manger....
Christmas Eve
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Blessed Christmas Eve! Today's Gospel reading from Luke 1 is the canticle of Zechariah. I can't do better than that, so let's reflect today on his words. “Blessed be the...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
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Today in the liturgy, the day before Christmas Eve, we concentrate on the birth of John the Baptist. (Remember how I talked a few days ago about the Catholic liturgy...
Mary's Magnificat
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In today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 1, we see Hannah giving up her only son to the service of the Lord. Eli, the priest, had prayed that Hannah might...
God is With Us
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In today’s first reading from Isaiah 7, we see the prophecy that is at the heart of Christianity. “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall...
May It Be Done to Me
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Today’s first reading includes the great prophecy from Isaiah 7: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” Today’s Gospel reading is the same one...
A Special Purpose
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In the first reading today from Judges 13, we see the story of an angel coming to announce the birth of a child. The woman was barren, and the angel...
Righteous Joseph
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Today in the first reading from Jeremiah 23, the Lord says, “Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall...
The Lion of Judah
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Today is one week before Christmas Eve. In the liturgy, we begin to see the unfolding of the Christmas story. The Gospel reading for today is the beginning of Matthew’s...
Lip Service Won't Cut It
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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 Authority of Jesus
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In the first reading today from Numbers 24, we read of a prophesy of Balaam. He prophesies about how a king would come from Jacob’s line. “His king shall rise...
Rose Colored Glasses?
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Today is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. Today we light the pink, or rose, candle on the Advent wreath, and the clergy may wear rose colored vestments. It...
Not What You Expect
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In the first reading today from Sirach 48, we see a synopsis of the life and times of Elijah. The people were awaiting his return. In the Gospel reading from...
Our Lady of Guadalupe
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on a hill in Tepeyac, Mexico, in December of 1531,...
He is Elijah
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You may know that the most common admonition in Scripture is "Be not afraid" or some variation thereof. We see one in today's first reading from Isaiah 41. "It is...
Soar Like an Eagle
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We’re back in Isaiah for our first reading today. The final verse in today’s reading is Isaiah 40:31. I’ll talk about it in a moment. Our Gospel passage today is...
The People is the Grass
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In today’s first reading from Isaiah 40, Isaiah is told, “Cry out!” He answers to the voice, “What shall I cry out?” We’ll talk about it in a moment. In...
Conceived Without Sin
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Remember that, for Catholics, today is a Holy Day of obligation. I hope you will make it a point to attend...
Crying Out In the Desert
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Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 3, we read about the ministry of John the Baptist. He is the one about whom the...
Avoid the Mine Field
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In today's first reading from Isaiah 30, we read, "No longer will our Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a...
What We're Blind To
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In the first reading today from Isaiah 29, the LORD GOD says, “On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness,...
A Construction Lesson from the Lord
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Our first reading from Isaiah 26 includes this: "For the LORD is an eternal Rock. Jesus continues this theme of rock in our Gospel reading from Matthew 7. Today Jesus...
The Ultimate Feast
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There are two common elements in today's readings - a mountain and food. Here's the beginning of the first reading from Isaiah 25: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts...
Blessed are Your Eyes
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We get another glimpse into a beautiful future of peace in our first reading from Isaiah 11. In the Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus says something to His disciples...
Subject to Authority
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8 contains a line that every Catholic should be familiar with. They are the words of a centurion who asked Jesus to heal a servant...
The Day is at Hand
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Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year. Happy New Year! We begin the year (the season of Advent) by preparing for what is...
Beware
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Today is the last day of the liturgical year. Tomorrow we begin the season of Advent. So it seems fitting that today's Gospel reading prepares us for the Advent season....
Jesus' 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...
Catholicism and Thanksgiving
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Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Happy Thanksgiving! I have a link to today’s readings at the bottom of today’s post. These are optional readings for Thanksgiving Day. But...
Not a Hair on Your Head
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In today’s Gospel passage from Luke 21, Jesus talks about some of the fun things that his disciples could expect. This Christian thing is like a veritable amusement park! Check...
Do Not Follow Them
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Today's Gospel reading is the first half of a reading we heard a couple of Sundays ago. In it, Jesus talks about the end times. He says, "See that you...
No Pain, No Gain
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In the first reading today, we read the beginning of the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Daniel was a gifted young man, and faithful to God. For that, God blessed...
The Perfect King
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Today the Church celebrates the end of the liturgical year. Fittingly enough, it is the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or more commonly referred to...
Marriage and the Resurrection
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In the Gospel from Luke 20, some Saducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection of the body, throw a trick question at Jesus about who a woman would be married...
Cleaning House
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In our Gospel reading from Luke 19, Jesus goes into the temple area and drives out those who were selling things, saying to them, “My house shall be a house...
The Power of Zeal
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All week long we've been reading about heroes of the faith in Maccabees. Today we read about Mattathias. In our Gospel reading from Luke 19, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and...
Another Hero of the Faith
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In our first reading today from 2 Maccabees 7, we meet yet another hero of faith. She is a mother who exhibits amazing faith and bravery. Some may think otherwise,...
Heroes of the Faith
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In today’s readings, we meet two great characters of the Bible! The first is one who is probably very little known, the other very well known, especially with kids. He...
The Danger of Keeping the Faith
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 18, Jesus is on his way to Jericho when a blind man on the side of the road shouts out, “Son of David,...
The End is Near!
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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,...
Learning from a Dishonest Judge
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a dishonest judge. A widow comes to him seeking a judgment, but he refuses. The widow, however, kept...
The Danger of Distraction
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I often wonder how anyone can be an atheist. Today's first reading from Wisdom 13 speaks to that conundrum. "For from the greatness and the beauty of created things, their...
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...