Christ's Once for All Sacrifice
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In the first reading today from Hebrews 7 & 8, the sacred author talks about the once for all sacrifice of Christ. “He has no need, as did the high...
A Priest Forever
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The author of Hebrews was big on Melchizedek, and his “relationship” to Jesus. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus heals a man...
Eagerness
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Great stuff today from Hebrews 6. The reading starts out “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by...
Our High Priest
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Today in Hebrews 5, we see a theme that we touched on last week; that Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered. The author of Hebrews was big on this...
What's in a Name?
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Name changes in the Scriptures are not real common, especially when that name change is given by God. You better believe that a great significance is attached. We see one...
Sharper Than a Two-Edged Sword
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In our first reading from Hebrews 4, the author of Hebrews tells us about the word of God. More on that in a moment. The Gospel reading from Mark 2...
Entering His Rest
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In today's first reading from Hebrews 4, we read about rest - God's rest. There are two Old Testament passages quoted by the sacred author about rest. "As I swore in...
Encourage Someone Today
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I know that I say this way too often, but today’s first reading contains one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. It is a verse of great encouragement...
Looking For Jesus
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 1, Jesus leaves early in the morning, before the sun came up, to go off to a deserted place to pray. Simon and...
Perfection Through Suffering
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Jesus was fully God and fully man. He was given all authority in heaven and on earth. We see His earthly authority in today's Gospel reading from Mark 1. He...
Leaving Your Nets
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We're back in Ordinary Time! For our first reading today, we begin a journey through the Letter to the Hebrews. Authorship of this letter has never been concretely determined. Some...
The Baptism of the Lord
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Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. We see that moment in Luke’s Gospel where John the Baptist has just baptized Jesus when a voice came from the...
Mortal Sin
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In Catholic theology, we talk of venial sin and mortal sin. Many will say, “Sin is sin! There is no such thing as mortal sin and venial sin.” Oh, really?...
Lord, If You Wish
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You, my friend, are a winner! You are victorious over the world. How do I know? St. John says so in our first reading today. "Who indeed is the victor...
Lovers and Liars
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1 John is an amazing book. I always get so much out of it when I read it. Today is no exception. In fact, today, like every day, St. John...
False Evidence Appearing Real
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Strong words from St. John today in our first reading from 1 John 4. St. John talks about fear. More on that in a moment. We see fear, too, come...
Satisfaction
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Let's start today with a question. Fill in the blank: God is _____. What's your answer? Good? Faithful? Merciful? All of those would of course be correct. But in our...
Test the Spirits
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 4, we read about the early part of Jesus’ public ministry. He went about preaching, teaching and healing. Great crowds came from the...
Wise Men Still Seek Him
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Today is the Feast of Epiphany. The Gospel reading tells the story of the Three Kings, or the Three Wise Men. They heard that the King of the Jews had...
Who are You?
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In today's Gospel reading from John 1, the Jews from Jerusalem send people to ask a question of John the Baptist. It seems like a simple enough question. Who are...
Mary, Mother of God
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Happy New Year! Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. In honor of that, I want to share with you a chapter from A Minute...
Pondering the Incarnation
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For today’s first reading, we are back in 1 John 2. Today St. John writes about the antichrist. Very interesting stuff, especially for those hard core “end-timers.” Those are the...
Do Not Love the World
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In today’s first reading, we get some great advice from St. John. More on that in a moment. The Gospel reading today is from Luke 2. Today we read about...
Thoughts of the Heart
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Today is the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas. It's a good day for us to consider the difference between the things we say and the thoughts of our...
The Blood of the Children
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Who are the Holy Innocents? They are the children killed by order of Herod in Bethlehem right after the birth...
JMJ
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Family, always the Sunday after Christmas. All of the readings today talk about family. In the Gospel reading from Luke 2, we read about...
The First Martyr
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, we see the story of Stephen’s martyrdom. And in...
It's Christmas!
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Christmas is here! Christmas is here! I can remember waking up VERY early on Christmas mornings when I was a kid and yelling that out to my brothers and sisters....
It's About Jesus
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Today is Christmas Eve. Many people (myself and my family included) will go to Mass this afternoon or this evening for Christmas. Many will attend the beautiful Midnight Mass. During this...
Preparing the Way of the Lord
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Today in the liturgy, the day before Christmas Eve, we concentrate on the birth of John the Baptist. (Remeber how I talked a few days ago about the Catholic liturgy...
Dedicated
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The Gospel reading today is from Luke 1. It is Mary’s great Magnificat. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he...
Rejoicing and Singing for You
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You know something cool about the Catholic liturgy? We celebrate parts of the Christmas story throughout the year. Many of the Gospel readings that we are hearing at this time...
The Handmaid of the Lord
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During December, we see a few readings multiple times. Today’s Gospel reading is a case in point. In fact, it is the exact same Gospel reading we saw on the Feast...
Made for a Purpose
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In the first reading today from Judges 13, we see the story of an angel coming to announce the birth of a child. The woman was barren, and the angel...
Dream Big
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In today's first reading from Jeremiah 23, we see another prophecy that the Messiah will be from the line of David. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 1, the story...
All in the Family
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Well, it is one week before Christmas Eve. Can you believe it?? So beginning today in the Liturgy, we see the unfolding of the Christmas story. In the first reading...
There is no Other
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If you miss the message in today's first reading, you're not paying attention. The theme is reiterated five times. In the Gospel reading from Luke 7, John the Baptist has...
More Than Words
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a story of two sons, each of whom was told by their father to go out and work in the vineyard....
Whose Authority?
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In the first reading today from Numbers 24, we read of a prophesy of Balaam. He prophesies about how a king would come from Jacob’s line. “His king shall rise...
Rejoice Always
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Today is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. Today we light the pink, or rose, candle on the Advent wreath. It is called Gaudete Sunday because of the opening...
Your Merciful Mother
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on a hill in Tepeyac, Mexico, in December of 1531,...
Simple, but not Easy
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Love always desires the good. God is love. Therefore, God always desires the good. He always wants what is best for us. He also knows that often what we want...
John = Elijah
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You may know that the most common admonition in Scripture is "Be not afraid" or some variation thereof. We see one in today's first reading from Isaiah 41. "It is...
He Gives Rest and Strength
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Have you ever felt like all your strength has been sapped? Physical and/or spiritual? Today's readings are perfect for those of us who have experienced this. From our first reading...
Mary Points to Jesus
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Normally it is a Holy Day of obligation, but in this year of COVID, for most Catholics the obligation to attend today...
Incredible Things
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Today's "golden thread" is about healing. In the first reading from Isaiah 35 we read, "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be...
Time
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Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. Of course, the theme of Advent is to be prepared as we await the second coming of Christ. Today's second reading from 2...
The Teacher has Come
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As you read today’s first reading from Isaiah 30, I hope your mind is immediately drawn to Jesus. We see these prophesies so perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. More on that...
According to Your Faith
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Today’s “golden thread” in the readings features healing of the blind. In the first reading today from Isaiah 29, the Lord says, “On that day the deaf shall hear…the eyes...
Rock or Sand?
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Rock is a theme that we find in our two readings today. In the first reading from Isaiah 26, we read, "Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is...