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...
The Paradox of the 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...
Reaching Out to the Forgotten
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An old song says, “Christ has no body now but yours.” In today’s first reading from 1 Corinthians 12, St. Paul talks about the Body of Christ; not in the...
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...
Lost and Found
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The Gospel reading today from Luke 15 contains three of Jesus' stories, all of which are hopefully familiar. All three are about something, or someone, that gets lost and then...
A Participation in...
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus says, “Every tree is known by its fruit.” He then talks about building our house on a firm foundation. When Christ is...
In It to Win It
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For many, sports is their religion. Interestingly, St. Paul used sports analogies when talking about religion. More in a moment. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus talks about...
Celebrating Mom's Birthday
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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....
Time is Running Out
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The Gospel reading today is from Luke 6, the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus speaks the Beatitudes. There is a difference between Luke's version and Matthew's version in that in...
Leave the Past Behind
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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...
On Labor
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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...
The Act of Renouncing
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 14, we hear Jesus tell us that we must “hate” our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters… What an awful thought!...
The World's Rubbish
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus is called on the carpet by some Pharisees for picking grain on the sabbath. It was unlawful to “work” on the sabbath....
Be Careful About Judgment
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In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 4, St. Paul talks about judgment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus talks about putting away the old and embracing the...
Learning to Swim (or Fish)
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 5, Jesus sees Simon Peter and his fishing buddies cleaning their nets after a hard night of fishing. Not catching, mind you. Fishing....
God Causes the Growth
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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...
The Mind of Christ
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 2, St. Paul talks about two spirits - "the spirit of the world" and "the Spirit who is from God." He goes...
Watering Down the 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...
Quid Pro Quo?
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There's a thread that runs through today's readings: humility. In the first reading from Sirach 3, we read, "Conduct your affairs with humility...Humble yourself the more, the greater you are..." In today’s...
Sins of Omission
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. In the parable, the master rewards the two servants who invested their talents and got a return....
Foolishness and Wisdom
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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...
Friendship and Intimacy with Jesus
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Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 24 is very Advent-ish. It begins with Jesus saying, “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” For our...
He Sees You
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Bartholomew. Bartholomew is referred to in the Gospel of John as Nathanael. This is the Gospel reading for today from John 1. When...
Hold Fast to the Traditions
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In today's first reading from 2 Thessalonians 2, St. Paul says, "Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by...
Our Heavenly Queen
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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....
Strength to Enter
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In today's Gospel reading, someone asks Jesus, “Will only a few be saved?” Jesus responds, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter...
Lead by Example
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Jesus often warned against haughtiness and hypocrisy. We hear it very clearly in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 23. In referring to the scribes and the Pharisees, He said, “Do...
The Spirit Gives Life
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The toe bone connected to the foot bone. The foot bone connected to the ankle bone. Ever heard of dem bry bones? (It’s an old spiritual tune.) That song was...
A Change of Heart
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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...
God's Generosity
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The first reading today from Ezekiel 34 speaks of bad shepherds. This should be a reminder to us to pray for our bishops. They are men, and it may seem...
Who Can be Saved?
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In the first reading today, we hear about the dangers of accumulating wealth. Now, being wealthy is not of itself a bad thing. It is what can happen spiritually that becomes...
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because it falls on a Monday, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation in the USA. There...
Hearts Afire
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I just love the Gospel reading for today from Luke 12. Jesus explains to the disciples that He has come not to establish peace, but division. He goes on to...
Leading by Example
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”...
One Flesh
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19 is Jesus' teaching on marriage. This is the passage on which the Church bases her teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. It is unchangeable...
You are a Sign
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18 is the story of Peter asking Jesus how many times he must forgive. Do you know how many? In the first reading from Ezekiel...
St. Lawrence
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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...
Feast on the Word
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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...
The Temple Tax
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Today’s first reading is from the opening chapter of the Book of Ezekiel. In it Ezekiel sees a vision of heaven. It is truly an awesome sight. In the Gospel...
A Checklist for His Return
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus talks about being prepared. Prepared for what? His return. Jesus said, "Be sure of this: if the master of the house had...
A Moment with Jesus
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Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In the second reading from 2 Peter, St. Peter recounts that moment on the mountain. In the Gospel reading from Luke...
On Profit
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus asks a couple of questions. “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or...
Written on Your Heart
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In the first reading from Jeremiah 31, we see the covenant between God and the people. The LORD says, "I will place my law within them, and write upon their...
Not-so-Instant Gratification
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 15, we see a model of persistence. A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus and asks Him to heal her daughter. Jesus ignores her. After...
Why Did You Doubt?
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At the end of today's first reading from Jeremiah 30, we see the renewal of the covenant between God and his people. "You shall be my people and I will...
Have I Told You...?
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I'm going to go outside the lines a bit today and not talk about the Scripture passages in the Mass. You can read them by clicking on the link below....
A Dead End Street
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” He...
Sent by the Lord
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In today's readings, we hear two stories of men who were sent by the Lord. In the first reading from Jeremiah 26, Jeremiah says, "It was the LORD who sent...
A Holy Family
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Today is the Feast of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus. In times past, this was the Feast of St. Martha, but the Church has added her siblings to the feast....
Malleable
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In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 13, we hear the last of Jesus' parables from this chapter. In the first reading from Jeremiah, the LORD tells Jeremiah to go...