Pants on Fire!
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I love the times when we read from 1 John. I always get so much out of it when I read it. Today is no exception. In fact, today, like every day, St. John is speaking directly to me! He even has the nerve to call me a liar! More on that in a sec. […]
Fearless Lovers
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Fear is a funny thing. Not funny ha-ha, but funny odd. It does funny things, has a funny effect on people. Fear can be a great motivator; some say the greatest motivator. Fear can also paralyze. And fear is a thread that runs through our readings today. In the first reading from 1 John 4, […]
Putting Love into Action
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In the first reading today from 1 John 4, St. John writes yet again about love. “Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God…In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” In our Gospel passage from Mark 6, […]
The One Who is in You
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For many (myself included) today is “back to reality day.” Lots of folks have been off since Christmas Eve. If that includes you, welcome back! Hopefully we can hit the ground running in this new year. What’s a great way to do that? Listen to what Jesus says in our Gospel reading today from Matthew […]
Epiphany
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Today is the Feast of Epiphany. We celebrate the time when the three Wise Men, a.k.a Three Kings or Magi, appeared to offer gifts to Jesus. Such an interesting story of these three mysterious characters! They traveled untold miles on a journey to see the newborn King. This should serve as a great reminder for […]
Another Year to Grow
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Happy New Year! I’m always excited about a new year. I like to start the new year thinking of all the possibilities that God has in store. Can’t wait to find out what God has up his sleeve for us this year! Jan. 1 is normally a holy day of obligation, but not this year, […]
The Word Made Flesh
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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 people who keep telling us that we are in the end times. Well, 1900 years ago, St. John said the same thing. Read today’s reading. St. […]
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 the prophetess Anna. She was a very old woman and “never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.” Like Simeon, […]
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 is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.” We need to examine our hearts and accept the light of Christ […]
Today’s Holy Innocents
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Who are the Holy Innocents? They are the children killed by order of Herod in Bethlehem right after the birth of Christ. We read about this today in the Gospel reading from Matthew 2. Matthew tells us that this fulfilled what had been said through […]
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 Book of Revelation. Our first reading today is from the beginning of St. John’s first letter. “We proclaim now…our fellowship is with the Father and […]
The Holy Family
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The Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family. There are a couple of options for a second reading today, and all of the readings talk about family and relationships. Click on the link below to see the readings. We would do well to read them all. The Holy Family is the perfect example of […]
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. A husband and a wife with no place to stay, except with animals. The Author of Life come into the world in the form of […]
Christmas Eve
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Today is Christmas Eve. Many people (myself and my family included) will go to Mass this afternoon or this evening for Christmas. Many will attend the beautiful Midnight Mass. Whenever you attend, I pray that you will be filled with blessings! I was just reading an interest study that said that only 47% of Americans […]
Preparing the Way
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Today in the liturgy, the day before Christmas Eve, we concentrate on the birth of John the Baptist. (Remeber how I talked a few days ago about the Catholic liturgy celebrating snippets of the Christmas story throughout the year? The Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist is June 24. A mini- pre-Christmas celebration […]
Dedicated to the Lord
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The Gospel reading today is from Luke 1. It is Mary’s great Magnificat. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant.” Beautiful! A bit of personal trivia…my wife and I are part of Teams of Our Lady. We pray the […]
Singing Because of You
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You know something cool about the Catholic liturgy? We celebrate parts of the Christmas story throughout the year. Many of the Gospel readings that we are hearing at this time are also used at other times. For instance, today’s Gospel reading from Luke 1 is the same reading for the Feast of the Visitation on […]
Mary’s Yes
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Today’s first reading is exactly the same as yesterday’s first reading. So, if you went to Mass (you did go to Mass, didn’t you?), then you heard the prophesy from Isaiah 7: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” Today’s Gospel reading is the same one we saw just […]
The Virgin Birth
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The Fourth Sunday of Advent. Today we light the final Advent candle. Christmas is just around the corner! And the readings reflect this. In fact, the Gospel reading today is exactly the same as yesterday. (You can read my reflection on Joseph for more.) There is quite a bit of division within Christianity these days. […]
Joseph
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More of the unfolding of the Christmas story today. In the first reading from Jeremiah 23, we read, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land.” […]
Jesus’ Family Line
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Well, it is one week before Christmas Eve. Can you believe it?? So beginning today in the Liturgy, we see the unfolding of the Christmas story. In the first reading today we see that “The scepter shall never depart from Judah.” In other words, the Messiah, the King of Kings, would descend from the tribe […]
Married to God
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What amazing language we see in today’s first reading from Isaiah 54. More on that in moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus asks the people what they thought they were going to find when they went out to follow John the Baptist. Jesus says, “A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more […]
Go and Tell
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In the first reading today from Isaiah 45, you get the sense that God has a message for the people. Five times God says, “I am the Lord, there is no other!” (Or something very similar.) Only God is God…get the message? In the Gospel reading from Luke 7, John sends two of his disciples […]
Lip Service
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Today’s readings have much to do with that which comes from our lips. In the first reading from Zephaniah 3, the Lord says, “For then will I change and purify the lips of the peoples…They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue.” And […]
Comments About A Minute in the Church
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I would love to know your thoughts about my new book, A Minute in the Church. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you for reading the book! I pray that it blesses many. Gus Jerry wrote: Love it. I personally think it should be given to every new Inquirer […]
Jesus’ Authority
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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 higher, and his royalty shall be exalted.” He then goes on to speak this prophesy, “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall […]
Can’t Please ‘Em
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We have a tendency to want to do things our way. Hey…someone cue up the Sinatra. Unfortunately, this doesn’t usually work out the best for us. Now, if we did it God’s way, that’s a different story. In the first reading today from Isaiah 48, we see what will happen if we do things God’s […]
Immaculate Conception
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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 Mass. Let’s talk briefly today about what the Immaculate Conception is, and isn’t. Probably the most common misconception (no pun intended) that people have is […]
Gus’ new book, A Minute in the Church
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Order our new book, “A Minute in the Church.” Please use the links below to order your copy, or copies, today! Order a single copy Order 5 copies Order 10 copies If you would like to order larger quantities of A Minute in the Church, please email GusLloyd@verizon.net God bless and keep you, always. Gus
What Shall I Cry Out?
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Our “golden thread” today is that of shepherds and sheep. In the first reading from Isaiah 40, the prophet says, “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.” Then in the Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus speaks […]
Friends
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I don’t know about you, but I so love the Advent readings from the Prophet Isaiah. They are filled with so much beauty and hope. “Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” In the Gospel reading today from Luke 5, we see a healing of a […]
More Johns
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Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 3, we read about John the Baptist. As Matthew tells us, he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah wrote, “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’ ” That’s really […]
More Than a Teacher
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As you read today’s first reading from Isaiah 30, I hope your mind is immediately drawn to Jesus. We see these prophesies so perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading today, we see Jesus sending out the Twelve, with authority. He tells them, “Without cost you have received; […]
According to Your Faith
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The Advent readings in the Liturgy are marvelous! Today’s “golden thread” features healing of the blind. In the first reading today from Isaiah 29, the Lord says, “On that day the deaf shall hear…the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, and the poor rejoice in the […]
Built on Rock
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Have you ever been to New York City? If not, you’ve surely seen it before. Skyscrapers all throughout Manhattan reaching to the heavens. Ever wonder how they put those things all so close together, and how they always remain so firm? It’s because of their foundation. Manhattan has this amazingly strong bedrock underneath all those […]
Behold our God!
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 15, Jesus feeds a great multitude. He says, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd…I do not want to send them away hungry.” The disciples gave Him seven loaves and a few fish. Jesus fed the whole crowd. Afterwards, there were seven baskets of fragments left […]
The Other Brother
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew. Andrew was an Apostle, the brother of Simon Peter. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” In the first reading today from Romans 10, St. Paul asks, “And how can people preach unless they are sent?” He then goes on to quote from Isaiah 52: “How […]
Such Faith
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We’ll be reading a lot from Isaiah during the Advent season. And rightly so. In the first reading today, we see where we can “take cover” from the things that beat us down. “For over all, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from […]
Stay Awake!
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Today we begin a new year in the Church. Happy Advent! The world wants us to think that this is the Christmas season. But the Christmas season actually STARTS with Christmas! Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get in the Christmas spirit. We should. But our mindset needs to go far beyond shopping and […]
The No-God Rut
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Today is the last day of the Church year. Tomorrow begins a brand new liturgical year with the season of Advent. In the first reading from the end of the book of Revelation, we see this final beautiful view of heaven. “Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, […]
Words to Live By
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In Revelation 20, St. John gives us a glimpse of the final judgement. Hopefully, reading these words can give us a new perspective on the importance of how we live our lives. “All the dead were judged according to their deeds.” John also sees a “new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and […]
Thanksgiving
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Today in the U.S., the Church gives some options for readings for Thanksgiving Day. One of these options is Sirach 50:22-24. It is such a beautiful reading. I thought I would share it with you today. And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters men’s growth from […]
Eternal Hairdos
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Another heavenly vision from St. John in Revelation 15 for today’s first reading. St. John sees those who had won the victory over the beast singing “the song of Moses…the song of the Lamb.” It is a beautiful song. See for yourself! In today’s Gospel passage from Luke 21, Jesus talks about some of the […]
Signs Within
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We get a couple of very apocalyptic readings today. In Revelation 14, we see one “like a son of man” reaping his harvest on the earth. But it’s good news-bad news. The first harvest is good. The second harvest gets thrown into “the great wine press of God’s fury.” Which harvest will you be in? […]
Stretching by Giving
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Our first reading today is from Revelation 14. Here we see the hundred and forty-four thousand “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” This number, by the way, is symbolic. It means a great multitude. Some (like the Jehova’s Witnesses) take this number to be literal and say that that […]
The Kingship of Christ
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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 […]
Can't Fool Jesus
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Much of the imagery found in Revelation is taken from other places in Scripture. Case in point is today’s first reading. John sees two witnesses: two olive trees. This same imagery is found in Zechariah 4. There are other allusions in these passages, too. And at the end of the reading, we see the two […]
Sweet and Sour
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 19, we see Jesus cleansing the temple area of those who are selling things. He says, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” We then read that “every day He was teaching in the temple […]
What Makes for Peace
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In the first reading today from Revelation 5, we see a striking figure in John’s vision of heaven. An angel asks the question, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And then we see Him. “A Lamb that seemed to have been slain.” The next time you’re at Mass and the […]
Investing in Eternity
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In the first reading today from Revelation 4, we see in John’s vision of heaven some very strange looking creatures. These are the passages in Revelation that sometimes throw people for a loop. But don’t let that happen to you. Theologians and great saints down through the ages have exegeted these passages (St. Jerome and […]