A Labor Day Reflection
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Happy Labor Day! I hope you are taking a day of R&R today. Instead of reflection on today's Scriptures, I'd like to offer a brief Labor Day meditation. In these difficult...
Being an Obstacle to God
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Jesus had just told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom. Immediately after that, Jesus begins to talk about how He would be handed over, killed...
Progress in the Spiritual Life
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. In our first reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, St. Paul talks about much of the spiritual...
God's Will: Your Holiness
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about ten virgins who are awaiting a wedding feast. Five of them were foolish, five of them were...
The Faithful and Prudent Servant
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In today's first reading from 1 Thessalonians 3, we see yet another beautiful prayer of St. Paul for the people. Our Gospel reading from Matthew 24 sounds much like Advent....
Whitewashed Tombs
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St. Paul led by example. He alludes to that in our first reading today from 1 Thessalonians 2. While he could have insisted that the believers take care of his...
Truth is Truth
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Today the Church celebrates the Passion of St. John the Baptist. In the past it has been called the beheading of and the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel...
Hypocrite
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Today's first reading is the opening of St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians. He reminds them, "Our Gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in...
The Keys and The Rock
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Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 16 is a very important one. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They give Him varied answers....
Being Humbled
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Today in the first reading, we see the rest of the story of Ruth. After accompanying Naomi, she met Boaz, a prominent man of Bethlehem. They married and had children,...
Wherever You Go, I Will Go
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The Book of Ruth is one of the shorter books in the Bible. In today’s first reading, we meet Ruth. Ruth was King David’s great-grandmother. But the story of how...
Ridding Ourselves of 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...
It's Never Too Late
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There are plenty of shifty characters in the Scriptures. We see one of them today in the person of Abimelech, in our first reading from Judges 9. He killed all...
The Queenship of Mary
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You won’t hear special readings for this feast, though the prayers in the Mass reference this....
Be Careful What You Ask
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In the first reading from Judges 2, we see that the people turned away from God. The consequences were not pleasant. “[God] allowed them to fall into the power of...
No...For Now
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 15, a woman comes and asks Jesus to heal her daughter. The woman was a Canaanite, not a daughter of Israel. Jesus in essence tells...
Who Will You Serve?
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We have a very short Gospel reading today. But as always, it is packed. Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom...
Priestly Celibacy
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus gives His teaching on marriage. In it, He speaks about those who have “freely renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom...
The Act of Forgiveness
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how often he has to forgive a brother who sins against him. As many as seven times? Jesus responds, “Not seven...
On Binding and Loosing and Praying
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Today we read about the death of Moses. It has been fascinating reading about his life and times. As I’ve mentioned many times, no on had a relationship with God...
Assumed into Heaven
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. This is one of those days that is greatly misunderstood...
The Subjects are Exempt
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In today's first reading from Deuteronomy 10, Moses reminds the people that they were chosen by God and that they were to serve him. In the Gospel reading from Matthew...
Doubt
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 14, we read the story about Jesus walking on the water during a storm. Peter asks Jesus to command that he come to him...
How to Move a Mountain
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Moses wanted to make sure that the children of Israel remembered who God was, and that He alone was worthy of their worship. He gives them yet another reminder in...
A Spiritual Cost/Benefit Analysis
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“This is why you must now know…that the Lord is God…and that there is no other.” These words Moses speaks to the children of Israel in today’s first reading from...
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...
When God says Go, You Go
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 15, we see an amazing example of perseverance in prayer, and the unselfishness of a mother. A Canaanite woman asks Jesus to heal...
Seeking Fame
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In the first reading today from Numbers 12, we see God punishing two people for being prideful. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 15, Jesus tells...
Satisfied
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Moses was a man with an enormous burden. In today's first reading from Numbers 11, he expresses his frustration to God. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 14, we read...
Listen to Him
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Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In the first reading from Daniel 7, Daniel sees in a vision “One like a Son of man coming…his kingship...
A Jubilee Year
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In today’s first reading from Leviticus 25, we read about the jubilee. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 14, we read the story of...
Festivals and Feasts
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In today's first reading from Leviticus 23, we read about the festivals that God prescribed for the Jews. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, the...
How to Avoid the Fiery Furnace
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In today's Gospel reading, we read the last of Jesus' parables in Matthew 13. (The last parable from this chapter; He told many more parables.) It's about a net that...
Radiant
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 13, Jesus gives two short parables about the Kingdom of heaven; one about a buried treasure and another about a pearl of great...
His Own
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds in the field. In the first reading from Exodus 33 and 34, we see a beautiful...
God the Punisher?
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13 brings us more parables from Jesus - one about a mustard seed and the other about yeast. In the first reading from Exodus 32...
The Cost of a Pearl
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus tells two very brief parables about what the Kingdom of heaven is like. Though often times his messages were hidden, Jesus always...
A Holy Family
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus. In previous years it was the Feast of St. Martha, but now the whole family is celebrated. Martha, Mary...
The Ten Suggestions?
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Most everyone knows that the Ten Commandments are found in the Bible. But did you know that they are found in the Bible twice? The first instance is in Exodus...
Just a Story Teller?
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Be sure to read His answer. Parables are a great...
The Grandparents of Jesus
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne. Tradition tells us that these were the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the record, Joachim and Anne...
The Way of St. James
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. James. This James is the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John the Apostle. He is often known as James “The...
Overcoming Obstacles
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In the first reading today from Exodus 14, we see the beginning of the story of the parting of the Red Sea. More on that in a moment. In the...
Wheat or Weed
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus tells and explains the parable of the weeds in the field. This is where a man sows good seed in his wheat...
Mary Magdalene and You
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Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. There are different options for the first reading, so I’ll let you read them and mull them over yourself. You can choose...
Our Perpetual Institution
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Each year on Holy Thursday, the first reading for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is taken from Exodus 11-12. That same reading is today’s first reading. In the Gospel...
I AM
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In the first reading today from Exodus 3, we read more of the interaction between God and Moses when God reveals Himself in the burning bush. Our Gospel reading is...
Holy Ground
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In today’s first reading from Exodus 3, Moses has an encounter with God. Moses spies a bush that is on fire, yet is not being consumed by the flames. Curious...
Can't You See?
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In our first reading today from Exodus 2, we see the story of the early part of Moses’ life. Because of the law that Hebrew baby boys be killed, Moses’...
Household Enemies
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In the Gospel from Matthew 10, Jesus tells the Apostles that he will be a source of division."Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.I...