To Be Like Christ
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 6 - the Sermon on the Plain - is filled with things to meditate on. I'd like to concentrate on one sentence, though. Jesus said,...
Sacraments in Scripture
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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...
"Yes", "No" and Trust
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In today's first reading from James 5, St. James says, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.'” These are the exact words of Jesus from the Sermon...
The Remedy for Sin
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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...
You're a Puff of Smoke
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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...
The Office of the Papacy
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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...
Two Kinds of Wisdom
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Prayer is so powerful and so important. We see this clearly in our Gospel reading today from Mark 9. Jesus’ disciples try to drive out a demon from someone but...
Give
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Our Gospel reading today is from Luke 6, the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus gives rules for living out the Christian life. “Be merciful…stop judging…stop condemning…forgive…” He then says, “Give...
The Trouble of the Tongue
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In our first reading today, St. James talks about the power of the tongue. Amazing how this one little muscle in our body can cause us so much trouble! Our...
Dead Faith
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Today’s first reading from St. James is a treatise on faith and works. St. James says “faith without works is dead.” More on that in a moment. In today’s Gospel...
Show No Partiality
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Today’s Gospel reading is Mark’s version of Peter’s great confession of faith, “You are the Christ.” In the first reading today from James 2, James exhorts the reader to “show...
Partial Healing
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We’ve all heard the old axiom, actions speak louder than words. In our first reading today from James 1, St. James reaffirms this. “Be doers of the word and not...
Temptation
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In our first reading today from James 1, St. James talks about temptation. This is a subject that comes up at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. More in a...
Trials = Joy
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For our first reading today, we begin the Letter of St. James. James is one of those books in the Bible that it would be very good for us to...
Blessings and Woes
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In the Gospel today from Luke 6, we begin the Sermon on the Plain. Luke 6 records the same sermon that, in Matthew’s Gospel is called the Sermon on the...
How Power Corrupts
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In the first reading today from 1 Kings 12 and 13, we read about Jeroboam. Jeroboam was one of the kings of Israel. He was not a good guy. More...
Division and Punishment
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In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus heals a deaf mute. In the first reading from 1 Kings 11 and 12, we see the division of Israel. Solomon had...
It Can Happen to You
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 7, we see the power of perseverance in prayer. A Greek woman, not a daughter of Israel, comes to Jesus asking that He...
That Which Defiles
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When I was a kid, my mom always used to use the phrase “The Queen of Sheba” to describe a person (or sometimes a dog) who thought they were all...
Tradition and Truth
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In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 8, Solomon stand before the altar in the magnificent temple that he had built and offers up a prayer to God. This is...
Scurrying to Jesus
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In today's first reading from 1 Kings 8, Solomon and the people bring the Ark of the Covenant to the temple. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus continues...
Depart From Me, Lord
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 5, we see a miraculous catch of fish. After fishing all night and catching nothing, Jesus has the disciples go back out and fish...
Asking for Wisdom
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In today's first reading from 1 Kings 3, we meet Solomon. God told Solomon that he could ask for anything he wanted and he would be given it. Instead of...
Learning from David
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For the past few weeks we have been reading about the life and times of King David. What a fascinating man! Our first reading today is from Sirach 47. It...
Great Advice from Dad
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David was about to go to his eternal rest. He had some advice to give to his son, who would take the throne. More in a moment. In our Gospel...
The Presentation of the Lord
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Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Also known as Candlemas, this is the day when candles will be blessed. There will be three readings today. In...
Jesus Loves the Little Children
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Today’s Gospel reading from Mark 5 tells the story of two healings. A synagogue official named Jairus asks Jesus to come to his home and cure his young daughter, who...
No Match for Jesus
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In today’s first reading from 2 Samuel 15, a man comes alongside David and begins cursing and throwing stones at him and his soldiers. One of David’s soldiers asks permission...
Hometown Prophet
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In today’s Gospel from Luke 4, the people in Jesus' hometown, Nazareth, challenge to do some of the mighty deeds He did in Capernaum. He tells the people, “Amen, I...
The Painful Mirror
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David had sinned greatly. This did not escape the LORD’s notice. More in a moment. In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus and His disciples are in a boat...
The Adulterous, Murdering Man of God
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King David is referred to in Scripture as "a man after God's own heart." You'd never glean that from reading today's first reading from 2 Samuel 11. From the top...
Be a Lamp
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In today's first reading from 2 Samuel 7, we listen in on a conversation that King David has with the LORD. In the Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus asks...
Two Great Pastors
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus. There are two optional first readings, one from St. Paul's second Letter to Timothy and one from St. Paul's...
The Process of Conversion
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel reading from Mark 16 are ones that St. Paul took seriously. Jesus said, “Go...
Working Our Spiritual Muscles
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In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is accused of being possessed, and driving out demons by the prince of demons. Jesus replies by talking about a kingdom divided...
Ministry
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In today's Gospel passage from Luke, we read about the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. He reads from Isaiah in the synagogue and says, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled...
The Right to Life
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Today in the United States is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It falls on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision...
I Was Wrong
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David and Saul had a tumultuous relationship. Saul hated David, and hunted him down to kill him. You would think that David would share this animosity. But not so. More...
The Jealous King
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It seems that wherever Jesus went, He drew a crowd, as we see in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 3. The more people He healed, the more demons He cast...
David and Goliath
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 3, Jesus has another run-in with the Pharisees about the sabbath. Jesus asks them, “Is it lawful to do good ont he sabbath...
What God Sees
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In today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 16, we read about the anointing of David. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 2, Jesus is...
The Price of Disobedience
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In the first reading today from 1 Samuel 15, we see a bit of the sneakiness of King Saul. Samuel has to call him out on it. More in a...
Do Whatever He Tells You
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Do you know what the first sign was that Jesus gave to the world? It was, as told in John’s Gospel, changing water into wine. It happens at a wedding...
Into the Unknown
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Today's Gospel reading from Mark 2 is about the call of Levi. Not sure who Levi is? We know him better as Matthew. He was a tax collector. Jesus sees...
The Danger of the Herd Mentality
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You would think that as God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel would enjoy being different, set apart. Uh…not so much. We see this in today’s first reading. More in...
Lessons in Defeat
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When we choose to follow God, life ain’t always a bed of roses. I’m sure you’ve experienced this. Challenges still come our way. People we love get sick and die....
Hearing vs. Listening
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Have you ever heard God speak to you? I believe God speaks to us in many different ways. I’ve talked to a number of people who tell me that God...
Prayer From the Depth of Your Soul
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We’re back in Ordinary Time. In our Gospel reading, we’re in Mark 1, where Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. After Jesus casts the spirit out, the people...
Come After Me
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Welcome back to Ordinary Time! I hope that we will not take the name of this liturgical season literally. What I mean by that is that I hope that we...
The Baptism of the Lord
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Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. We see that moment where John the Baptist has just baptized Jesus when “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily...