On the Shoulders of Giants
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Interesting, isn’t it? You would think that, given the importance of each, they would both have their own feast...
Into Exile
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In today's first reading from 2 Kings 25, we see one of the saddest moments in the history of God's chosen people - the beginning of the Babylonian exile. For...
Words We Never Want to Hear
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus says, "“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of...
Ravenous Wolves
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Today we have a very interesting first reading from 2 Kings. The book of the law had been lost, and was found. The king summoned all the people and the...
Living the Golden Rule
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The Gospel reading today is from Matthew 7. It includes what we know as The Golden Rule – “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” I suspect...
Making Christ Increase
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Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist. In the first reading today from Isaiah 49, we see the messianic prophesies, all of which certainly could be attributed...
Jesus, Don't You Care?
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In our Gospel reading from Mark 4, the disciples are in a boat with Jesus, who is sleeping. Suddenly, a big storm comes up and the boat is getting tossed...
Let Go and Let God
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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...
Using Our Eyes
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus talks about the eye. "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be...
Forgiving Transgressions
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 6, Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. He teaches them the prayer we all know as the Our Father. It is probably...
Performing Good Deeds
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In today's first reading from 2 Kings 2, Elijah's protege and successor, Elisha, asks Elijah for "a double portion of your spirit." His request is granted as Elijah is taken...
Practicing for Perfection
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Actions have consequences. And God will not be mocked. Yesterday we read about the evil Jezebel and her wimpy (and equally evil) husband Ahab. Today we see the consequences of...
An Evil Woman
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Today's first reading from 1 Kings 21 is the story of an evil woman; perhaps the most evil woman in Scripture - Jezebel. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5,...
We Know Not How
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In the Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus tells a couple of parables about the Kingdom of God. The first is about the mysterious way that God works. “It is...
No More Spin
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus talks about swearing oaths. In fact, He says we should not swear oaths at all. Why? Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’...
How God Speaks
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Our first reading from 1 Kings 19 is so poignant for us in today’s world. We read the story of Elijah hearing the voice of God…though not in the way...
Hurt People Hurt People
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Today is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony is known as the patron of lost items. We ask for his intercession when we have lost something and...
God vs. gods
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More from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel reading today. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have...
Son of Encouragement
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. There are two optional Gospel readings for today. The reading for the feast day is from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends out...
Our Help is From the Lord
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In today's first reading from 1 Kings, we read the story of Elijah and how he got by during the terrible drought. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew 5, the...
Who is My Mother?
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In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is teaching in a crowded house when His family requests Him. "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking...
The Heart of our Mother
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yesterday was the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is appropriate that we celebrate the heart...
The Very Heart of God
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Today is the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the first reading from Hosea 11, we get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus before He was...
Truth is Like Medicine
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In 2 Timothy 2 today, St. Paul continues to exhort Timothy, reminding him to preach and teach in a way befitting the office he has accepted. In today’s Gospel, Jesus...
Not God of the Dead
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In the first reading today from 2 Timothy 1, St. Paul says “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control....
Don't Fall for It!
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Today’s Gospel reading contains one of the most famous sayings of Jesus. In fact, even people who are mostly unfamiliar with the Scriptures could probably finish this quote: “Repay to...
A Spiritual Plan
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In our Gospel reading today from Mark 12, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who plants a vineyard and has tenants care for it. The man sends servants to...
The Body and Blood of Christ
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of The Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi. All of the readings today point to the Eucharist, the source and summit of...
Have Mercy
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Today's first reading is from the Letter of Saint Jude. This is one of the shortest books in the Bible, just 25 verses. Saint Jude has an important message for...
How Does This Happen to Me?
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Today is the Feast of The Visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth didn't live nearby; Mary's journey was a long...
God's Person
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In today’s first reading from 1 Peter 2, St. Peter says “long for spiritual milk.” St. Peter provides a tall, frosty glass of that for us today. More in a...
Life as a Ransom
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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...
What's in it for Us?
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Some interesting readings today, and I'll take them in reverse order. In the Gospel reading from Mark 10, Peter says to Jesus, "We have given up everything to follow you." While...
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
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I’m going to deviate a bit from our normal format today. I’ve still got the link for today’s readings at the bottom of this post. And, of course, I encourage...
Three Persons, One God
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity; three Persons, one God. The readings today reflect that. The first reading from Deuteronomy 4 tells us that there is...
Our Sacramental Church
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How about this…two sacramental reading days in a row! Yesterday we read about the sacrament of marriage and today we read about the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick AND...
Two and One
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Today's Gospel reading from Mark 10 is Jesus' teaching on marriage. This is the passage on which the Church bases her teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. It is unchangeable because...
Cutting Sin Out of Our Lives
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Scathing words to the rich today from James 5. Funny thing about wealth, isn’t it? We work so hard to accumulate it here on earth, to the point where it...
Today and Tomorrow
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In today’s first reading, St. James talks about tomorrow. Something we need to think about today. So we will. In the Gospel from Mark 9, Jesus says, “For whoever is...
Enmity with God
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The battle of pride vs. humility is a recurring theme in the Scriptures. We see it in today’s readings from James 4 and Mark 9. St. James reminds us that...
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
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Today, the day after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a brand new memorial, instituted by Pope Francis in...
Happy Birthday, Church!
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Today we celebrate Pentecost. Happy Birthday, Church! Rather than give you my own reflection today, I want to share the sequence that you will hear at today’s Mass. (Why try...
Lord, What About Him?
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In Acts 28 today, we see Paul continuing in his ministry, even while in custody. Oh, that we could all have the evangelistic spirit of St. Paul! In the Gospel...
Lord, You Know That I Love You
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In the first reading today from Acts 25, Paul is in Caesarea awaiting trial. He is asked if he wants to go to Jerusalem to have his case heard. Paul...
That They May be One
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We call the “Our Father” The Lord’s Prayer. And rightly so, since it is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. But down through the ages, theologians have also...
Wolves Will Come
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St. Paul finishes up his farewell speech to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus in today’s first reading from Acts 20. After he is done, there were many tears,...
Apostolic Succession
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias. The Gospel is from John 15, where Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you...
Answering Questions and Conversations
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St. Paul was a very persuasive guy. Time and again he persuaded people about Jesus being the Christ of God. They weren’t persuaded by St. Paul, but in today’s Gospel...
Consecrated in Truth
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Since we talked about the readings for the Feast of the Ascension on Thursday, today we’ll concentrate on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Gospel reading today is from John...
Using Your Gifts
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, we meet Apollos. Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria. He became a famous teacher and evangelist for Christ. Apollos was "an authority on...