A House of Prayer
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In the first reading today from 1 Maccabees 4, we read about the origins of Hanukkah. Do you know what that Jewish feast, celebrated to this day, is all about?...
Recognizing Our Visitation
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Another great story today from 1 Maccabees. Today we meet Mattathias. Mattathias had had enough of the baloney (this is a family blog) that was being shoved down the throats of...
Parenting for Eternity
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In our first reading today from 2 Maccabees 7, we meet yet another fascinating character. She is a mother who exhibits amazing faith and bravery. Some may think otherwise, but...
An Old Man Leads the Way
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In today’s readings, we meet two great characters of the Bible! The first is one who is probably very little known, the other very well known, especially with kids. He...
A Pretty Big Deal
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Our first readings this week will be from 1 and 2 Maccabees. We'll meet some amazing heroes of the faith, from whom we can learn much. Today's Gospel reading from...
My Words Will Not Pass Away
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 13, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” And so it has been. Seasons come and go....
Learning from a Dishonest Judge
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a dishonest judge. A widow comes to him seeking a judgment, but he refuses. The widow, however, kept...
Distracted
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I often wonder how anyone can be an atheist. Today's first reading from Wisdom 13 speaks to that conundrum. "For from the greatness and the beauty of created things, their...
The Kingdom of God is Here!
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 17, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. What they didn’t realize was that they were standing in it. Jesus...
The Other Nine
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God doesn't care if you're great or small in the eyes of the world. Today's first reading from Wisdom 6 tells us, "For the Lord of all shows no partiality,...
The Temple of God
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. If you’ve never gotten the opportunity to visit this church in Rome, I hope you will someday....
Wisdom
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For the first reading today, we begin a quick trip through the Book of Wisdom. In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus talks about sin, causing others to sin,...
God Will Provide
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In the first reading today from 1 Kings 17, we see a story of Elijah and a widow. Then in the Gospel reading, Jesus commends a widow for her donation. At...
Serving Two Masters
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 16, Jesus talks about how it is impossible to serve two masters. “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one...
The Dishonest Steward
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If anyone had a right to boast, it was St. Paul. A prolific writer, eloquent speaker, man of great charisma…the guy had it all. But he would never boast of...
Hide and Seek
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In the first reading today from Romans 14, St. Paul writes, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for...
Renounce Everything
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I love Romans 13:8, the opening line in today’s first reading: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”...
All Souls' Day
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Today we celebrate All Souls' Day. On this feast (and throughout the month of November) we pray for the souls of the faithful departed. To many non-Catholic Christians, this seems...
All Holy Men and Women, Pray for Us
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Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. This year it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, since it falls on a Monday. I have a long standing tradition on my...
Not Far From the Kingdom of God
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In today's Gospel passage from Mark 12, Jesus is asked which is the first of all the commandments. He answers with two: You shall love the Lord, your God and...
Irrevocable
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Today I want to concentrate on one sentence in our first reading. This passage from Romans 11 has always had a great deal of meaning to me. St. Paul writes, “For the...
Breaking the Law
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St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a Jew, a learned Pharisee. It broke his heart that so many of his own people refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. He...
Saints Simon and Jude
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The readings are typical for the feast of Apostles - the first reading from Ephesians 2 and the...
Breaking Down Romans 8:28
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It is not easy to find or fit through the narrow gate. People generally choose the path of least resistance. That would be the wide gate. Jesus Christ is the...
The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God
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We hear a couple of short parables in the Gospel reading today from Luke 13. Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. Do you remember...
Go Ahead and Be Offended
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Warning: Some folks may find this reflection offensive. And well they should. You've been warned. The Gospel reading today from Luke 13 is the story of Jesus being chastised for healing a...
The Prayer of Bartimaeus
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Our Gospel reading today from Mark 10 is about Bartimaeus, a blind beggar that wanted Jesus to restore his sight. He tells Jesus what he wants, and Jesus gives him...
Choose Not to Perish
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 13, some people tell Jesus about some Jews who had been killed by Pilate. Jesus’ response is telling. “Do you think that because these...
I Do the Evil I Do not Want
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Could Jesus have been talking about Purgatory in today’s Gospel reading? He talks about being thrown into prison and how “you will not be released until you have paid the...
On Fire for Jesus
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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...
Responsibility
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In today’s Gospel from Luke 12, Jesus tells a story about a servant left in charge of his master’s affairs. He begins doing evil things, thinking his master will not...
Grace Overflowing
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In our first reading today from Romans 5, St. Paul talks about grace. We’ll do that in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus applauds servants whom...
St. Luke
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke. St. Luke is the author of two books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles....
A Ransom for Many
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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...
The Unforgivable Sin
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No one is beyond God's mercy, right? Then what is Jesus talking about in today's Gospel reading from Luke 12 about a sin that will not be forgiven? Jesus said,...
Priceless
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Have you ever felt worthless? I suspect we all struggle with those feelings from time to time. Nothing could be further from the truth. We see this in today’s Gospel...
Works vs. Works of the Law
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scholars of the law. These are some pretty scathing remarks. “Woe to you, scholars of...
Doing What We Condemn
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Both of the readings for today are a bit harsh. In the first reading from Romans 2, St. Paul says, “The standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,...
Ashamed of the Gospel?
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One of the things that I admire most about St. Paul (there are many) is his boldness. And the first line of today’s first reading really sums things up. “I...
The Grace of Apostleship
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People are always seeking a sign. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus addresses this. While the people were insisting on a sign, Jesus told them that they...
Camels and Needles and Riches, Oh My!
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Our Gospel reading today is from Mark 10. It is about Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man. Today we hear those famous words of Jesus, “It is easier for...
All May be Blessed
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We have a very short Gospel passage today, only two short verses from Luke 11. A woman cries out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the...
A Divided Kingdom
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus’ response talks about how a house divided...
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The readings today are for Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time. I’ve only recently become a rosary guy....
Perspective
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Most folks can pray the Our Father from memory. Today we hear Jesus teaching His disciples to pray from Luke's Gospel. The wording is a bit different from Matthew's Gospel,...
Actions and Consequences
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 10 is the famous story of Mary and Martha. We're back in Jonah for our first reading. The story of Jonah has so many important...
Fleeing from God
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The story of the good Samaritan is the Gospel reading today from Luke 10. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They couldn’t possibly have a decent bone in their...
Pray for Marriages
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus talks about marriage. “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his...
An Angel Just for You
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is...
The Signs and the Message
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Acknowledging our sinfulness is never easy. In the first reading today from Baruch 1, the exiles do just that. They come clean and admit that “we did not heed the...