Leading by Example
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Have you ever messed up and wanted to make things right? In today’s first reading, we hear that very kind of language. Only the one who wants to set things right is not the one who messed things up in the first place. It is God Himself. “Come now, let us set things right, say […]
Give
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Anyone who has ever dealt with addiction of any kind knows that the first step to recovery is admitting that we have a problem. Part of the human condition is that we are all addicts; we are all addicted to sin. In the first reading today from Daniel 9, we see that first step in the […]
We Become What We Receive
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Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew’s version of the Transfiguration. This is when Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the top of the mountain and reveals His heavenly glory. Moses and Elijah appear with him. And a voice comes from a cloud that says, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; […]
The Example of Fatherhood
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Joseph. In our first reading from 2 Samuel, God says that his Son would spring from the line of David. “I will make his royal throne firm forever.” Joseph, though not Jesus’ biological father, was from the line of David. There are two options for a Gospel […]
Be Reconciled
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It is imperative that we not only believe in Christ, but that we live out His words. In the first reading today from Ezekiel 18, we see the truth of this. “But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he […]
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m going to go a bit out of the normal today and not do a reflection on the daily readings. In honor of St. Patrick, I want to share with you the beautiful St. Patrick’s Breastplate. Many people may know a small part of this beautiful prayer (specifically the next-to-last stanza), […]
Changing God’s Mind
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Today’s readings are about Jonah. Most people know the story from when they were kids. Or at least part of the story. If you were to ask 100 people about the story of Jonah, my guess is that the vast majority would only know one fact. He was the guy that got swallowed up by […]
The Word of God
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What a beautiful reading today from Isaiah 55. We’ll talk about it in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Matthew 6 is where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray. He teaches them the “Our Father.” But that’s not the end of the story. Immediately after the prayer, Jesus tells them, “If you forgive men […]
These Least Ones
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In the first reading today from Leviticus 19, the Lord tells Moses to tell the people how to conduct themselves. Though not the Ten Commandments, this reading sounds similar. It ends with the great commandment, the one that Jesus spoke of when asked which is the greatest of the commandments…”You shall love your neighbor as […]
Satan’s Tricks
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Today is the First Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew 4. St. Matthew recounts the forty days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert before He began His public ministry. While He was in the desert, Satan came to tempt and test him. We must always remember that Jesus, thought fully God, […]
Our Spiritual Doctor
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We hear more today about things that are pleasing to God in our first reading from Isaiah 58. The Lord also talks about how we should conduct ourselves on the sabbath. “If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice – Then you shall delight in the […]
An Acceptable Fast
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In our first reading today from Isaiah 58, we hear what is truly an acceptable form of fasting. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading, the Pharisees ask Jesus why His disciples don’t fast. Jesus replies, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will […]
Daily Choices
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In our first reading today from Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people what they must do in order to enter the promised land. Obey the commandments of the Lord, love Him, walk in his ways. “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding […]
The Angel Effort
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This year for Lent, I propose what I call the Angel Effort. Each day during Lent, I want to do something positive. You may think of them as “random acts of kindness.” Only they won’t be random. They will be planned and thought out. So I’m looking for suggestions for simple little things that we […]
The Fast Before the Feast
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Lent is here! Happy Ash Wednesday! I know that may seem like an odd thing to say. After all, Lent is a time of penance; a time to put on sackcloth and ashes. A time to give stuff up, to do without, to suffer. Yeah? So? Why shouldn’t that be an occasion for joy? After […]
My True Character
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In the first reading today from Tobit 2, we see Tobit go through some real hardship in his life. He loses his sight for four years. How would this effect you? In a moment, we’ll talk about how it effected Tobit. The Gospel passage today is from Mark 12. Jesus is asked about whether it […]
Be Like Tobit
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Our first reading today is the beginning of the book of Tobit. This is one of those books that is found in the Catholic Bible, but not in a Protestant one. (Unless it contained the Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical books.) We’ll talk about today’s story in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus […]
The Paradox of Works
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We see what seems to be an interesting quandry in today’s readings. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, we see that God offers “a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God…” OK, […]
The Authority of Jesus
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In the Gospel reading from Mark 11, Jesus is asked about His authority. “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authorityto do them?” Now usually, the chief priests and the elders were the ones who came up with trick questions for Jesus. But this time Jesus turns the tables […]
The Mountain Into the Sea
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Living a virtuous life is not only a nice thing to do, it can have eternal consequences. In the first reading today from Sirach 44, Sirach says that sinful men are forgotten. “And they are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them.” But he praises godly men who lived lives […]
Bartimaeus’ Prayer
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Atheists (allegedly) believe that there is no God. I’ve never been able to get my arms around that notion. Just look around at creation! That’s what Sirach does in the first reading today. “The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ, one from another, yet none […]
Serving
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Today’s first reading from Sirach 36 is a beautiful prayer. Don’t miss it! In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10, James and John come to Jesus and ask that they be able to sit at his right and his left in his glory. After a bit of bickering, Jesus tells the Apostles, “Whoever wishes to […]
WII FM
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The golden thread that runs through today’s readings could probably be summed up in this phrase: God will not be outdone in generosity. In the first reading from Sirach 35, we read “Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. For the Lord is one who always […]
Can God Handle It?
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In the first reading today from Sirach 17, we read “To the penitent God provides a way back.” Notice that it is a two-way street. We must first be penitent for God to provide the way back. Today’s Gospel reading is the Markan version of the rich young man. You know the story. Young guy […]
Needless Worry
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In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus talks about worry, and how we need to live for today. Have you ever met a worry-wart? Someone who worries about everything? They seem to go through life with a feeling of dread, as though nothing is ever going to go right. The worst-case scenario is their best friend. Jesus […]
Let the Children Come
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In the first reading today from Sirach 17, we get kind of a short history of man. We see that God “put the fear of himself upon their hearts.” In essence, God has set into our DNA the knowledge that there is a God, and that we ain’t Him. Unfortunately, that message seems to get […]
A Faithful Friend
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10, Jesus teaches about marriage. The Catholic Church has always held fast to these teachings. Sure, they are difficult. But they come from Christ Jesus Himself. I hope that you will join me in praying for marriages daily. Marriage is under attack on so many fronts. Pray that […]
Convert Today!
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 9, Jesus lets us know how dangerous it is to lead others into sin. “It would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” While we must strive for our own holiness, it is also incumbent […]
Wisdom Doesn’t Come Easy
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In our Gospel reading today from Mark 9, someone is driving out demons in Jesus’ name. But this puts off the disciples, since this guy wasn’t one of them. So they ask Jesus about it. Jesus tells them, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” In the first reading today from Sirach 4, we […]
Chair of St. Peter
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Some might look at that and say, “Boy, you Catholics are really strange! Imagine celebrating a piece of furniture!” That’s not what the feast day is about. Today we celebrate the office of the Papacy. Peter was the first Pope, the Vicar of […]
Help My Unbelief
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Today’s first reading is from the Book of Sirach. This is one of the books that you will find in a Catholic Bible, but not a Protestant one. I think it is one of the most beautiful books in all of Scripture. At the beginning of the book of Sirach, we read about Wisdom. There […]
Perfectly Merciful
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In the first reading today from Leviticus 19, the Lord says, “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus says to his disciples, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Wow. That’s […]
The Transfiguration
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Our first reading for today is from Hebrews 11. Here we receive the definition of faith. We talked about this last month when we were reading from the book of Hebrews. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Our Gospel reading today is from Mark 9, the […]
Tower of Babel
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In our Gospel reading today from Mark 8, Jesus asks the question, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” So many today are striving for riches, potentially at the cost of their souls. Sure doesn’t sound like a fair trade-off to me. If you do a cost/benefit […]
Thinking Like God
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In the first reading today from Genesis 9, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his family. Remember, they were the only humans on the planet at this point. He will never again destroy all living things with a flood. And as a sign of the covenant, God set his bow in the clouds. Every […]
Incremental Healing
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Did you know that Noah was over 600 years old at the time of the Great Flood? We see this in today’s first reading from Genesis 8. After the flood, God promises Noah, “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will […]
A Grieving God
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In today’s first reading, we see God delivering some bad news to Noah. “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created…for I am sorry that I made them.” Ouch! More on this in a moment. In the Gospel from Mark 8, Jesus warns his disciples to “Guard against the leaven […]
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
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We have a very short Gospel reading today from Mark 8. The Pharisees are looking for a sign from Jesus. But Jesus tells them that “no sign will be given this generation.” What they failed to realize is that the sign was standing right in front of them. A good lesson for us to remember: […]
Your Righteousness
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Back in the Sermon on the Mount for our Gospel reading today. Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now, we don’t have a very high view of the Pharisees and the scribes. Jesus had some issues with them, too. I know […]
The Devil Made Me Do It!
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 8, we read about a miracle. Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few fish. And after everyone had eaten their fill, they picked up the fragments left over and got seven baskets full. Now that’s love! In the first reading today from Genesis 3, God […]
The Fall
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 7, Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. “And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.” Let us pray today that God will open our ears to hear the truth, and that that hearing will result in us […]
God’s Marriage Mistake?
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Does God ever say no? Of course he does. But we must know that a “no” today may not mean a “no” for all time. We must persevere in prayer, especially when we’re not sure or we don’t think that God has answered our prayer. We see a shining example of this in today’s Gospel […]
What Comes Out
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In the creation story from Genesis 1, we don’t get details about how God made man. But in today’s first reading from Genesis 2, we see that “the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” […]
In God’s Image
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In the first reading today from Genesis 1, we see the rest of the story of creation. In the Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus talks about tradition. He says, “You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.” These traditions that Jesus condemns are not the same […]
God of Creation
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Today for our first reading, we begin at the beginning. Genesis 1. “In the beginning…” We’ll be in the book of Genesis for the next couple of weeks. Today we read about days 1-4 in the creation story. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, we see Jesus once again healing. […]
Salt of the Earth
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For the Gospel reading today, we’re back in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, Jesus says to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before, right? “Oh, he’s a real salt of the earth type.” It means that they’re just regular folk. Someone who doesn’t […]
The Lord is my Shepherd
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Sheep and shepherds pop up throughout the readings today. In the first reading from Hebrews13 the author prays, “May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the Blood of the eternal covenant, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will.” […]
Always the Same
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Hebrews 13: 1-8, today’s first reading, offers us a primer on living the Christian life. Read it again and again, and strive to live out the message. More in a sec. The Gospel reading from Mark 6 is the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. It is a sordid tale of a promise […]
The Reality of Mass
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 12, we see an amazing glimpse of what the Mass is. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus sends out the Twelve two by two and gives them authority over unclean spirits. This is especially important to Catholics, as we see Jesus giving His authority to the […]
Consecrating Our Children
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Jewish people “presented” their children to the Lord in the temple shortly after their birth. In the first reading from Malachi 3, the Lord says, “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek.” And in the second reading […]