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...
Mortal Sin and Venial 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?...
Belief and Victory
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 5 is the story a leper approaching Jesus and asking to be healed. He says, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." He...
I'm a Liar
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There are an awful lot of challenging things in the Scriptures. Today's words from St. John in our first reading are right near the top. More on that in a sec....
Fearless Lovers
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Fear is a funny thing. Not funny ha-ha, but funny odd. It does funny things, has a funny effect on people. Fear can be a great motivator; some say the...
Do It Yourselves
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What is love? Here's what St. John says in today's first reading from 1 John 4: In this is love: not that we have loved God, but the he loved...
You Belong to God
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For many today is “back to reality day.” Lots of folks have been off since Christmas Eve. If that includes you, welcome back! Hopefully we can hit the ground running...
The Journey to Jesus
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Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 2 we see the story of the magi coming to visit the baby Jesus. We often...
Mary, Mother of God
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Happy New Year! Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Because the feast falls on a Saturday this year, it not a Holy Day of...
The Message of Christmas
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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...
When We 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...
The Canticle of Simeon
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Today is the fifth day in the Octave of Christmas. In our first reading from 1 John 2, St. John talks about light and darkness. He writes, “Whoever says he...
Today's Holy Innocents
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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...
Sprinting to the Lord
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. St. John was the beloved disciple, the author of the fourth Gospel, three letters in the New Testament and the...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph
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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...
Merry Christmas!
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Advent is finally over! Now begins the real celebration. Merry Christmas! I’ll pause today from the regular Scripture reflection and just share some random thoughts. A baby in a manger....
The Canticle of Zechariah
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It's Christmas Eve! Tomorrow and for the next couple of weeks we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Savior. Today's Gospel reading is the Canticle of Zechariah. If you ever...
What Will this Child Be?
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The prophets were God's messengers. And John the Baptist, "the new Elijah," was the greatest of the prophets. In today's first reading from Malachi 3, we read the prophecy of...
My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord
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In today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 1, we see Hannah giving up her only son to the service of the Lord. Eli, the priest, had prayed that Hannah might...
The Lord in Your Midst
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In the first reading today from Zephaniah 3, we read, "The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. The LORD, your...
The Virgin Birth
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As the Christmas story continues to unfold in the liturgy, we reflect today on the virgin birth. The Gospel reading is the story of the Annunciation. There is quite a...
The Fruit of Her Womb
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As the Christmas story continues to unfold in the liturgy, today's Gospel reading is the story of the visitation, when Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth's greeting to Mary is...