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 […]
All in the Past
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 6, we see that Jesus spent the night in prayer. The next day, He called His disciples and told them that He had chosen Twelve, whom He also named Apostles. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 6, St. Paul talks about judgement, and Christians treating one another […]
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 5, St. Paul recounts that someone from the community is engaging in very immoral behavior…and people are cheering! Read what St. Paul says should be done. In the Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. The scribes and […]
The Deaf Hear and the Mute Speak
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Jesus performs another miracle in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 7. He takes a deaf mute away from the crowds and heals him. The people were astonished and said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” As with so many other characters that we see in Scripture, […]
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary…Mary’s birthday! Now, we don’t really know the exact day, date or year that Mary was born. We really don’t even know where she was born. In fact, we have no certainty at all about the details of Mary’s life before the […]
The Old and the New
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 4, St. Paul refers to himself (and Apollos) as “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” As should we regard ourselves. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus talks about the old and the new, patching an old cloak with new fabric, and […]
The Unworthy Following Jesus
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In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 3, St. Paul speaks again of foolishness and wisdom. “If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.” Amen to that! In the Gospel […]
Growth in God
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Jesus was a very busy guy. We see this in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 4. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law, He heals all the sick in the town and casts out many demons. When He tries to get a moment alone, the people track Him down and try to prevent Him from leaving their town. […]
Having the Mind of Christ
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For the first reading today, we’re back in 1 Corinthians 2. St. Paul speaks much of the Spirit of God here. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 4, we see the word “authority” twice. Jesus “spoke with authority” and “With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits.” Jesus was given […]
A Labor Day Meditation
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Happy Labor Day! I hope you are taking a day of R&R today. There are plenty of options for readings today. The link that I will provide is actually for Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time. But if you attend Mass today, you may hear different readings for Labor Day. The Gospel reading […]
Minimizing Defilement
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It’s funny how social mores change over time. Not so long ago, people pretty much ate what they wanted and no one thought much about it. And profanity was a bad thing. Now things have done a 180. If you eat certain foods, you’re looked down upon by some. But profanity has become very acceptable […]
Investing in the Kingdom
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 1, St. Paul says that “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong…” Being weak and foolish myself, I’m kinda liking this reading! In the Gospel from Matthew 25, Jesus tells the […]
Wisdom and Foolishness
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about ten virgins. Five of them are foolish and five of them are wise. They were all waiting to attend a wedding. The bridegroom was long delayed. When he finally arrived, five of them were ready, five were not. Read it and see […]
God is Faithful
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 24, Jesus tells a story meant to warn His followers against complacency. Two servants – one is always about his master’s business, the other figures the master will be away for a while so he becomes complacent and begins giving in to his baser passions. Of course, the […]
The Passion of John the Baptist
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Today the Church celebrates the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. This feast used to be known as the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. Personally, I like the Passion better. It reminds me of how passionate John the Baptist was for God. I hope that we share in that passion. The Gospel reading is […]
St. Augustine
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Augustine. I want to go outside of our regular format today and talk about this great saint. By the way, we see much of our first reading played out in the life of St. Augustine. Read it and see if you agree. Augustine was a man of […]
I, Hypocrite
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St. Paul was big on prayer and thanksgiving. We see this today in our first reading from 2 Thessalonians 1. “We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, as is fitting…” and “We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling…” Prayer and thanksgiving. Two things […]
A Difficult Teaching
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If there is one chapter in all of Scripture that Catholics should be intimately familiar with, it is John 6. Over the course of the last three weeks at Sunday Mass, we have been hearing from John 6. Today we get the culmination of the Bread of Life discourse. After Jesus talked about eating His […]
Our Spiritual Fathers
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 23, we find a verse that many use to try to discredit the Catholic faith. Jesus said, “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.” Some people will point to this verse and say, “See, you Catholics call your priests ‘Father!’ Jesus said […]
Getting Rid of Our Duplicity
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bartholomew. Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve. He was brought to Jesus by the Apostle Philip. Tradition tells us that he preached the Gospel in India, where he was rewarded with the crown of martyrdom. The first reading today is from Revelation 21, where we get a […]
A Heart of Stone
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In today’s first reading from Ezekiel 36, God tells the people that He is going to take some corrective measures. We also hear the renewal of the covenant…”You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” The Gospel reading from Matthew 22 is the parable of a king throwing a wedding feast. He […]
No Unemployment in the Kingdom
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Today’s first reading is one that should be required daily reading for priests and bishops. Through Ezekiel, God talks about some not-so-good shepherds. He is not pleased; and when He is not pleased, things don’t end well for those with whom He is not pleased. Pray for our bishops and priests, that they may be […]
WII FM
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In today’s first reading from Ezekiel 28 we read about the prince of Tyre. This guy thought he was all that (and a bag of chips, we can assume.) He fancied himself a god. So the Lord God challenges him. He would meet a very nasty end. This is a pertinent story for those times […]
The Cost of Following Jesus
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In the first reading from Ezekiel 24, God takes Ezekiel’s wife from him; she dies. But even before this happens, God tells Ezekiel not to weep and mourn when God takes away the delight of his eyes. Unfortunately, the character in today’s Gospel reading didn’t get that memo. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 19, […]
Feeding on Jesus
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Today’s Gospel reading is John 6:51-58. While much of the Bread of Life discourse up to now has sounded somewhat metaphoric, Jesus gets to the meat of the matter today. (Pun intended.) “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh […]
Return and Live!
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Jesus had a heart for children. Take a look at today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 19. He says, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” This is just one of the reasons why Catholics have always baptized their children. In today’s […]
Jesus’ Teaching on Marriage
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I suppose it’s just the way I look at things, but I see some similarities between ancient Jerusalem and the United States. Take a look at today’s first reading from Ezekiel 16. “But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on […]
The Act of Forgiving
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Today in Ezekiel, the prophet is told to do some things in full view of the people as an example. He acts as one going into exile, showing the people what was about to happen to them. In the Gospel from Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how often he has to forgive a brother who […]
Feast of the Assumption
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is one of those days that is greatly misunderstood by many. So let’s talk about it, and hopefully clear up some misconceptions that some people may have. First of all, Catholics believe that Mary was assumed, body and soul into […]
God’s Word is Sweet
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 18, Jesus asks a question about a man who has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray. Jesus says, “Will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?” God is always looking after us when we go astray – […]
Part of the Family
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Today’s first reading is from the opening chapter of Ezekiel. Here, Ezekiel has a vision of heaven. He describes things that we would understand. I’m pretty sure that heaven is indescribable, but that we may have a tiny glimpse, God showed Ezekiel things that would seem familiar to us. Today’s Gospel reading includes an interesting […]
A Year of Faith Special for A Minute in the Church
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Pope Benedict XVI has declared a Year of Faith, which begins on October 11, 2012. As part of the Year of Faith, the Holy Father has called on education and catechesis to be important components of the celebration. The Pope is encouraging all Catholics to learn their faith! To help facilitate this, we are starting […]
The Bread of Life
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More from the Bread of Life discourse from John 6 in our Gospel reading today. Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” More on that in a moment. In the first reading, we see a story about bread from heaven also. In 1 Kings, we read about how an angel […]
Moving Your Mountain
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In the first reading today, God tells the prophet Habakkuk to write down a vision. Then He encourages the people to wait for the vision to be fulfilled. “If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of […]
Deacon, Martyr, Servant
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence was a deacon and a martyr. Our prayers go out today and every day to all the faithful deacons of the Church, through the intercession of St. Lawrence. Thank you, deacons, for your service to God’s people! The first reading today is from 2 Corinthians […]
Thomas Merton Prayer
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I am a regular reader and pray-er of the following prayer by Thomas Merton. Whenever I read it on the air, people ask for a copy. Feel free to to cut and paste and pray it yourself! Thomas Merton’s Prayer MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see […]
Messages from Priests About HHS Mandate
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Below are three videos that I played on Seize the Day. They are from priests with powerful messages on the Obama administration’s HHS mandate requiring Catholic institutions to purchase contraception, abortifacient drugs and sterilizations for all women for whom they provide health insurance. As I have stated numerous times, this is an affront on the […]
The Keys to the Kingdom
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Today is one of those days when I wish this could be a 60 minute reflection, instead of 60 seconds. The readings are soooo rich! In the first reading from Jeremiah 31, God speaks of a new covenant. Of course, we know that that new covenant is with the blood of Jesus. Glory!! In the […]