Just Another Excuse
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Today’s first reading from Romans 12 is amazingly rich. In the first part of the reading, St. Paul talks about different jobs within the Body of Christ. The second part of the reading is what I like to call the gospel in a nutshell. Spend a few minutes today really reflecting on how you are […]
A Call From God
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It’s great to do nice things for people who will reciprocate. But Jesus gives us a different vision in the Gospel reading from Luke 14. In the first reading today, there is a passage from Romans 11 that has always had a great deal of meaning to me. St. Paul writes, “For the gifts and […]
Little Man, Big Conversion
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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 […]
Feast of All Souls
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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 […]
All Holy Men and Women, Pray for US
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Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. This is one of my favorite days of the liturgical calendar. I’m a big fan of the Saints, and I ain’t talking about the football team from New Orleans. (Although they are having a magnificent season!) This is the day when we celebrate all those holy men and […]
No Separating
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St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is such great reading. Today we hear St. Paul asking the question, “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” He then gives a list of things that we are afraid of. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 13, some Pharisees come […]
Romans 8:28
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” It’s another reminder that the Christian way is not the easy way. It is not easy to find or fit through the narrow gate. People generally choose the path of least resistance. That would be the wide gate. […]
The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God
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We hear a couple of short parables in the Gospel reading today from Luke 13. Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. Do you remember when Jesus talked about how the least would be the greatest? That is the mystery of the mustard seed. And the yeast? Yeast changes the […]
Patron of Hopeless Causes
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Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. 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 St. Jude Thaddeus, is the Patron of Hopeless and Desperate Cases. This is because of his […]
The Great Sin
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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 […]
God of Second Chances
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We’re in Romans 8 for the first reading today. St. Paul writes about living according to the flesh vs. living according to the spirit. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh.” Remember today to live in the Spirit! In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, […]
The Eternal Struggle
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We can sometimes mistakenly think that the writers of the Sacred Scriptures were these super-holy people. But that would be a mistake. They were most certainly inspired by the Holy Spirit, but they endured the same human struggles as you and me. St. Paul talks about his struggles. More in a sec. In the Gospel […]
Holy Bodies!
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In the first reading today from Romans 6, St. Paul talks about presenting our bodies for sanctification. We’ll talk more on that in a moment. In the Gospel passage from Luke 12, Jesus says, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” He then goes on […]
God’s Great Expectations
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Perhaps St. Paul’s words in today’s first reading from Romans 6 are ones we should read every day, or even commit to memory. “For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.” We are under grace!! In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus […]
Grace Overflows
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In our first reading today from Romans 5, St. Paul talks about grace. We’ll do that in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus applauds servants whom the master finds prepared, no matter when he returns. He says, “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.” May we […]
Empowered by Faith
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” He then tells a parable about a man who was bent on acquiring things, but was not “rich in what matters to God.” Let’s make sure […]
Pestering God
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a widow who wants to get a ruling from a corrupt judge. She continues to pester him to give her a fair ruling. Because of her persistence, he finally does so. We need to pray like teenagers. What do I mean by that? […]
The Denial of Silence
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In our first reading today from Romans 4, St. Paul continues his thoughts about the importance of faith. He speaks of faith as a gift. It is a gift of God, freely given, that we can accept or reject. Let us accept God’s gift anew each day! In the Gospel reading from Luke 12:8-12, Jesus […]
Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist
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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 […]
Justified by Faith
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scholars of the law. These are some pretty scathing remarks. “Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” Today’s first reading […]
Condemnation and Compassion
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Both of the readings for today are a bit harsh. In the first reading from Romans 2, St. Paul says, “The standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.” And in the Gospel reading from Luke 11, we see Jesus pronouncing more “woes.” “Woe also […]
I am not Ashamed
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One of the things that I admire most about St. Paul (there are many) is his boldness. And the first line of today’s first reading really sums things up. “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.” More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus derides the Pharisees for being […]
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
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In the first reading today we begin a journey through St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. St. Paul greets the believers in Rome with this – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” My sentiments exactly. In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus says to the crowd, […]
The Grateful Tithe
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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 […]
How to be Blessed
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God will take care of His people. That is His promise, His covenant. It is one that will last forever. In today’s first reading from Joel 4, we hear this from the Lord. “But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.” No matter how bad things had gotten for His children, in the […]
Spiritual Battles
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Balance is an essential component of life – in all areas. This includes the messages we communicate. While we should always try to be positive and loving, there is another side – a more ominous side to the story. That’s what we see in today’s first reading from Joel. “For the day of the LORD […]
Let the Spirit Rock You!
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Sometimes it seems that the wicked prosper. This has been going on for time immemorial. It comes up in today’s first reading from Malachi 3. Though it may seem that way now, in the end it will not be so. Read about what God has to say. In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus […]
Angry at God?
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John the Baptist taught his disciples how to pray. The disciples of Jesus came and asked Him to teach them how to pray. He taught them the prayer that we know as the Our Father. You’ll find it in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11. In the first reading from Jonah 4, we read, “Jonah […]
The Better Part
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Every now and again people get the message. We see this in the first reading today from Jonah 3. The reluctant prophet made his way to Nineveh and told the people they must repent from their evildoing. They heeded the message, repented, and God did not carry out the punishment he had planned for them. […]
Running From God
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The story of the good Samaritan is the Gospel reading today from Luke 10. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They couldn’t possibly have a decent bone in their bodies. Hearing that a Samaritan could actually be one’s neighbor probably took Jesus’ listeners aback. This story is a great lesson for us not to […]
No Medals Here
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus talks about servants who do what they are obliged to do. Jesus said, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’ ” We can be such credit hogs. I don’t mean borrowed […]
We are Blessed
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God gave us free will. There are times when we use that free will wrongly; we turn away from God. When we do reject God’s ways, there are consequences. The children of Israel experienced this. But it doesn’t mean that God no longer loves us. He is always calling us back. And when we come […]
The Signs and the Message
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Acknowledging our sinfulness is never easy. In the first reading today from Baruch 1, the exiles do just that. They come clean and admit that “we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after […]
Praying for Laborers
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We should be a people of rejoicing. We see that in today’s first reading from Nehemiah 8. When the people weep after hearing from the book of the law, the leaders tell them, “Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad and do not weep…for rejoicing in the LORD must be […]
Your Very Own Angel
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day 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 Dichotomy of (My) Faith
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We have a very interesting pair of readings today; two readings that, for me anyway, show a great dichotomy in my faith life. Perhaps you struggle with this same malady. Let me explain. In the first reading from Zechariah 8, the prophet speaks of the attractiveness of God. Because all people have a yearning for […]
God of the Impossible
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 9, the disciples of Jesus argue about who among them is the greatest. Jesus brings a child into their midst and says, “Whoever receives this child inmy name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all […]
Not Listening
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Today’s Gospel reading is the story of Lazarus and the rich man from Luke 16. Lazarus was a poor beggar “who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.” When Lazarus dies, he goes to the bosom of Abraham. When the rich man dies, he is sent […]
Jerusalem and the World
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Our first reading today is from the Prophet Zechariah. Zechariah has an encounter with an angel. More in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Luke 9 is short. Jesus tells the disciples that “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand, and were afraid to ask […]
Who is Jesus?
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In the first reading from Haggai 2 today, the Lord tells the people to get to work! He wants his house rebuilt. It, like the people, has been in a shambles. It used to be a glorious house. But its former glory will pale in comparison to the glory to come. “And in this place […]
Curiosity About Jesus
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There is a phrase used twice in today’s first reading from Haggai1: “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways!” Good advice for us. Sometimes we get so stuck in our ways (read: sinful patterns) that we never consider that God may have a different way in mind. Let’s take that advice today and […]
Proclaiming the Good News
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Ezra knew that he and his people were completely undeserving of God’s mercy. And yet they received it. He brings these two things to light beautifully in today’s first reading. Hopefully, we can come to the same understanding. As Ezra says, “Our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads…great has been our guilt.” And […]
Jesus’ Family
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Can you imagine tax dollars being used to build a church? That idea seems far fetched to Americans, but that’s part of what we see in today’s first reading from the Book of Ezra. Today we read about a construction project, and an agreement. King Darius decrees that the Jewish people be allowed to complete […]
Dirty Little Secrets
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There are some who question why some churches are big and ornate. It is because we believe that a church is the House of the Lord. In today’s first reading from Ezra 1, King Cyrus of Persia orders all who are part of God’s people to go up to Jerusalem and begin building the house […]
Choosing Who to Serve
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 16, Jesus talks about how it is impossible to serve two masters. “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” We all have conflict in our lives. […]
Hearing 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 […]
Money, Money, Money
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St. Paul gives some very sound advice to Timothy in today’s first reading from 1 Timothy 6. More on that in a moment. Our Gospel reading today is short, but important. Luke tells us that Jesus was accompanied by the Twelve, and a number of women. Why would he mention this? Because Luke wanted all […]
Much Forgiven = Much Love
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St. Timothy must have been a fairly young man. Perhaps he was taking some heat for his lack of years. St. Paul exhorts him in today’s first reading from 1 Timothy 4. “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love faith and purity.” […]
The Church and the Truth
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In our first reading today from 1 Timothy 3, St. Paul mentions “the pillar and foundation of truth.” Care to take a guess at what St. Paul said that was? We’ll talk about it in a moment. Our Gospel reading is from Luke 7. Here Jesus talks about how mixed up that generation was. They […]
Our Servant Leaders
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Jesus raised numerous people from the dead. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 7, we read about how Jesus came upon a funeral procession. The dead man was the only son of a widow. Moved with pity, Jesus raised the man from the dead and gave him to his mother. It was a miracle right […]