God is the Healer
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the Twelve with their instructions. For the first reading, we're back in Hosea, chapter 11. Yet it was I who...
Fear of the Lord
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In the first reading today from Hosea 10, we read, "Since they do not fear the LORD, what can the king do for them?" It's a rhetorical question, of course....
Sheep Without a Shepherd
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Our first reading today is from Hosea 8. Hosea had an interesting, and difficult, life. Much of the book of Hosea is beautiful to read. It is a call from...
The Perfect Spouse
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 9, we see the story of two healings. A woman who has been suffering for years is healed by her faith, and Jesus...
A Shaky Time
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples and instructs them as He sends them out. At the end, He says, “Whatever town you enter...
Plump with the Spirit
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In today’s first reading, the Lord tells of the restoration of Israel that He will bring about. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus talks about putting new wine...
In Search of the Word
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Today's Gospel reading is the call of Matthew from Matthew 9. Jesus simply says to him, "Follow me." And Matthew leaves his post and follows Jesus. Just like that. In...
Qualifying the Called
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9 is the story of Jesus healing a paralytic. In today's first reading from Amos 7, Amos says, "I was no prophet, nor have I...
Two Greats of the Faith
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Today the Church celebrates two greats of the faith. It is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Interesting, isn’t it? You would think that, given the importance of each,...
Crime and Punishment
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In today's first reading from Amos 3 and 4, we read about crime and punishment. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 8, the disciples find themselves...
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
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The first reading today from Amos 2 has to do with crime and punishment. God lets it be known that acts of wickedness will not go unpunished. He issues a...
The Very Heart of God
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Today is the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the first reading from Ezekiel 34, God uses the imagery of a shepherd. “I myself will pasture my...
Making Christ Increase
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Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist. In the first reading today from Isaiah 49, we see the messianic prophesies, all of which certainly could be attributed...
False Prophets
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Today we have a very interesting first reading from 2 Kings. The book of the law had been lost, and was found. The king summoned all the people and the...
The Narrow Gate
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Our God is a big God. He can handle anything, even things that we might think are too big for even God! We see an awesome example of this in...
Of Splinters and Beams
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Today’s first reading shows us the beginning of the diaspora, where the tribes of Israel are scattered, leaving only the tribe of Judah. God allowed them to be tossed out...
Satisfying Humanity's Hunger
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The readings for today all point toward the Eucharist in an interesting way....
How to Make Worry Disappear
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In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus talks about worry, and how we need to live for today. Have you ever met a worry-wart? Someone who worries about everything? They seem to...
Our Heavenly Reward
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Today’s first reading is one of those stories that they make movies from. A wicked queen kills off the royal family, but they secret away young Joash, the rightful heir...
A Prayer of Surrender
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Over the past few days we have been reading the story of Elijah and Elisha. Today’s first reading is from Sirach 48. It is something of a recap of the...
It Never Hurts to Ask
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Today’s first reading is one that has stuck with me since the first time I ever heard it. Elijah is about to hand the office of prophet over to Elisha....
It Rains on Us All
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Today’s first reading is an interesting conclusion to the story of Ahab and Jezebel. God sends Elijah to tell them of how He was going to punish them because of...
Evil is a Thing
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Today's first reading from 1 Kings 21 is the story of an evil woman; perhaps the most evil woman in Scripture - Jezebel. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5,...
Three Persons, One God
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity; three Persons, one God. We see this idea fleshed out in our Gospel reading from John 16, where Jesus refers to...
The Encourager
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. There are two optional Gospel readings for today. The reading for the feast day is from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends out...
The Problem with Lust
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Today's first reading from 1 Kings 19 tells of how God speaks to us. We’re back in that pesky old Sermon on the Mount for today’s Gospel reading from Matthew...
Mending Fences
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It seemed that the drought in Israel would never end. But Elijah prayed, and the rains came, as we read in our first reading today from 1 Kings 18. In...
Answer Me!
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It is so important that we teach others the ways of the Lord. Jesus makes this very clear in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 5. He says, “Whoever obeys and...
God Provides
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In the first reading today from 1 Kings 17, we see more of the story of Elijah. More in a moment. We continue in the Sermon on the Mount for...
Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church
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Today, the day after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a relatively new memorial, instituted by Pope Francis in...
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
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Today is Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the birthday of the Church. We see this event in the first reading from Acts 2. At...
You Follow Me
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In Acts 28 today, we see Paul continuing in his ministry, even while in custody. Oh, that we could all have the evangelistic spirit of St. Paul! In the Gospel...
Questions from the Lord
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In the first reading today from Acts 25, Paul is in Caesarea awaiting trial. He is asked if he wants to go to Jerusalem to have his case heard. Paul...
The Lord's Prayer
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In our first reading today from Acts, Paul puts himself squarely in the middle of a dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Paul, a Pharisee by birth and training,...
Truth Perverters
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St. Paul finishes up his farewell speech to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus in today’s first reading from Acts 20. After he is done, there were many tears,...
It's All in How You Ask
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth didn't live nearby; Mary's journey was a...
A Memorial Day Reflection
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I’m going to deviate a bit from our normal format today. I’ve still got the link for today’s readings at the bottom of this post. And, of course, I encourage...
Alpha and Omega
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Throughout the Easter season we have been reading from the Book of Revelation for our second readings. John hears a voice that says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega,...
Learning the Faith
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, we are introduced to Apollos, "an eloquent speaker...he was an authority on the Scriptures." Apollos was a great preacher, but he didn't know...
Childbirth and Faith
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, Jesus comes to Paul in a vision and tells him, "Go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you."...
The Joy of the Ascension
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Today is Ascension Thursday. In some places the feast is celebrated today, and is a Holy Day of Obligation. In most dioceses in the US, the Ascension will be celebrated...
God is Not Far
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Today in our first reading from Acts 17, we see Paul giving one of his great speeches, this time to the Greeks in the Areopagus. More on his message in...
Saved Twice
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I'm going to talk about a very touchy subject in today's reflection: suicide. The reason is that we see a man about to commit suicide in our first reading from...
Opposite Day
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We live in a rapidly changing world, don’t we? Ever feel like things are completely topsy-turvy, upside down? When I was a kid, we used to have a saying for that...
The Peace of Jesus
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I’m sure you’ve found that, even when you’re walking closely with Christ, you undergo hardships. It is part of the human condition, and just because we profess faith in Christ...
Haters Gonna Hate
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More action and adventure today in the first reading from Acts 16. Paul has a vision in which a Macedonian says to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”...
My Friend Jesus
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You may remember or have sung or still sing the old hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." While that's not a direct quote from Scripture, today's Gospel reading...
The Council of Jerusalem
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In our Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus speaks about joy. "I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete."...
Good Morning, Child of God!
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Last week we introduced the new Good Morning Child of God coffee mug. Seems it's a big hit! This 14 oz. mug with its matte white exterior and sky blue...
The Pain of Pruning
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The early Church had lots of controversy. One of the hot topics of the day was circumcision. Did believers need to be circumcised like the Jews? In the first reading...