Called to Serve
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In today’s first reading from Acts 6, we read about the ordination of our first deacons. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus...
If It Is of God...
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For the next week, our Gospel readings will be from John 6. It starts off today with Jesus feeding 5000 with just five loaves and two fish. In the first...
The Gift of the Spirit
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In today’s first reading from Acts 5, Peter and the Apostles were called on the carpet by the Sanhedrin for teaching in the name of Jesus. Their response? “We must...
The Gospel in a Nutshell
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In today’s first reading from Acts 5, we see the first of numerous jail breaks in the Acts of the Apostles. Seems that the authorities wanted to keep the Apostles...
The Church of Socialism?
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I'll start today's reflection with a warning. Some folks may find this reflection "political." I'm going to reflect on socialism, because some use today's first reading to imply that the...
Being Born Again
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Another awesome first reading today from Acts 4. After Peter and John were released, the disciples all got together and prayed, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and...
The Ministry of Mercy
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Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Our Gospel reading from John 20 gives some insight into Divine Mercy and the sacrament of Confession. Jesus appeared to...
Proclaim the Gospel
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Today in Acts 4, the Sanhedrin comes to the conclusion that something astonishing happened through Peter and John. But just to be safe, they tell them not to ever again...
A Fishy Number
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In today’s reading from Acts 4, Peter and John spend the night in the clink and the next day they proclaim Jesus to the powers that be. The Scripture tells...
Ignorance is Bliss?
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You’ve heard the old expression “Ignorance is bliss.” In the first reading today from Acts 3, St. Peter refers to the people’s ignorance. More on that in a moment. In...
Burning Hearts
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Many of us wish we had more, so that we could be more generous. But generosity really has nothing to do with money. St. Peter speaks to this very well...
Called by Name
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In today’s first reading from Acts 2, we hear more of what happened on the day of Pentecost. Peter tells the people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,...
The Tomb Test
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Happy Easter Monday! Liturgically, the Easter season will be around for quite some time. How appropriate! We have forty days of Lent, but fifty days of Easter. So up until...
Alleluia! He is Risen!
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Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Happy Easter! The long season of Lent has come to a close. Now it's time to celebrate! While Lent is forty days long, the season of...
The Calm Before the "Storm"
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Holy Saturday is an interesting day. It reminds me of waiting in the doctor’s office waiting room after you have had some tests run. You’re kind of in a state...
You Can't Get to the Resurrection...
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Good Friday. Today is the only day of the year when there is no Mass. Though there is no Mass, I’m sure that your parish will be having at least...
The New Passover
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Each year on Holy Thursday, the first reading for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is taken from Exodus 12. The Gospel reading is from John 13, which focuses on Jesus...
Be Mindful of Me, Lord
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When we think of the brutality that Jesus suffered for us, we can see that this was all foretold in today’s first reading from Isaiah 50. “I gave my back...
A Rock and a Stumbling Block
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It's Tuesday of Holy Week. Today's first reading is the Second oracle of the Servant of the Lord from Isaiah 49. In the Gospel reading, we focus on Peter from...
You Always Have the Poor
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During Holy Week, we will be reading the Suffering Servant prophecies from Isaiah for our first readings. They are some of the most moving readings ever. Today is the first oracle...
Recalling Christ's Passion
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Today is one of the most well-attended Mass days of the year. Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday. Outside of Christmas and Easter (and perhaps Ash Wednesday), more people come to...
One Dies for Many - And One
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In the first reading today from Ezekiel 37, the LORD says through the prophet: “My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them...
Believe the Works
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In today’s first reading from Jeremiah 20, we hear the people plotting against Jeremiah. But they will not be victorious; they will not have their way. Jeremiah says, “But the...
Covenant Thinking
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In today’s first reading from Genesis 17, we see a watershed moment in salvation history. Abram has his name changed to Abraham, and God makes a covenant with him. And...
The "Yes" that Changed the World
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Today we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord. Our first reading today contains the prophecy from Isaiah 7: "The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him...
Room for the Serpent
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Today’s first reading from Numbers 21 tells us the story of God sending saraph serpents among the people of Israel, who had become terrible whiners. God then commands Moses to...
Casting Stones
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In today’s Gospel passage from John 8, we read the story of the woman caught in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees bring the woman before Jesus, telling Him that the...
Scripture's Shortest Verse
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Today's Gospel reading for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, is one of the longest of the Church year. Yet it contains...
Vengeance is Mine
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You may have heard the saying, "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." That's from Romans 12:19, and not part of today's liturgy. But it comes to mind for me because...
Obnoxious
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The first reading today from Wisdom 2 (Old Testament) fits Jesus to a tee. It begins with this: The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright, "Let us beset the...
Protector, Provider, Teacher
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Joseph. In our first reading from 2 Samuel, God says that his Son would spring from the line of David. “I will...
An Unbreakable Bond
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In the Gospel reading today from John 5, Jesus begins to reveal more clearly who He truly is. He says, “My Father is at work until now, so I am...
The Power of Sin
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In today's first reading from Ezekiel 47, we see a prefigurement of the Church. Water is so important to our faith lives. Read it and see if you can find...
A Bright Future
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In today's Gospel reading from John 4, we read about the second sign that Jesus performed in Galilee. Do you know what that was? Read it and find out! In...
Vision
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Today's readings have to do with vision. In the first reading from 1 Samuel 16, the LORD says to Samuel: "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees...
Humble Me, Lord
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We’re back in Hosea for our first reading today. We see a verse from Hosea that is quoted a few times in the New Testament. “For it is love that...
Get It?
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What a beautiful first reading we have today from Hosea 14. God tells the people, “Say to him, ‘We shall say no more, “Our god,” to the work of our...
Faithfulness has Disappeared
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11 Jesus is accused by some people of driving out demons by the prince of demons. Jesus talks about what a ridiculous notion...
So Many Rules!
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So many people look at Christianity, and especially Catholicism, as a religion of rules and regulations. You know, Thou Shalt Not this and that. Like it or not, God has...
"Feeling" Forgiveness
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Our first reading today is one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture. It is the prayer of Azariah in the fiery furnace from Daniel 3. He says...
Be a Prophet
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What a fascinating story we see in our first reading from 2 Kings 5. Naaman the Syrian, a respected military man, was a leper. He asks the king of Israel...
Breaking Down Barriers
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Today's Gospel reading is from John 4, the story of the woman at the well. Jesus meets up with a Samaritan woman at a well. Two unusual things automatically pop into...
The Un-Prodigal Son
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 is probably a familiar story - we call it The Prodigal Son. And rightly so. But it is really a story of two sons...
One of the Seven Deadlies
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Today’s readings feature two stories of envy, one real, the other a parable. In the first reading from Genesis 27 we see the story of Joseph. His father, Israel “loved...
Can You Even See Him?
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Our first reading today from Jeremiah 17 and the Responsorial Psalm are nearly identical. At the end of the passage from Jeremiah, we read, “I, the Lord, alone probe the...
Standing in the Gap
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Jeremiah had a tough gig. You’ve heard the old expression “No good deed goes unpunished.” Well, Jeremiah was a living example of that. He was a prophet, a messenger. All...
Preaching by Practicing
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God is always ready to make things right. We are the ones who mess up, who walk away from God. Yet God is always waiting to welcome us back with...
The Power of Giving
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Lent is a great time for us to come clean - to look inward and admit our faults to God. We see this in our first reading from Daniel 9...
Becoming
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Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew’s version of the Transfiguration. This is when Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the top of the mountain and reveals His heavenly glory....
Practice Makes Perfect
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gives us more difficult fare. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” As if...