An Inconvenient Faith
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More great exhortations from St. Paul to Timothy today in our first reading from 2 Timothy 4. All things that we should take to heart. In Mark 12 today, we...
Scripture
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Jesus got thrown trick questions and conundrums often by the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees and others. In the Gospel reading today from Mark 12, Jesus throws out a tricky...
The Truth Without Deviation
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In 2 Timothy 2 today, St. Paul continues to exhort Timothy, reminding him to preach and teach in a way befitting the office he has accepted. In today’s Gospel, Jesus...
God of the Living
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In the first reading today from 2 Timothy 1, St. Paul says “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control....
Caesar's or God's
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In the Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus is asked by some Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes. They try to trip Him up by asking, “Is it lawful to...
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 brand new memorial, instituted by Pope Francis in...
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
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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...
Jesus' Question to You
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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...
Christ In Us
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In today's first reading from Acts, Paul starts a dispute between the Pharisees and Saducees that turned so serious that Paul had to be extricated from the proceedings for fear...
In, Not Of
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Today we hear the last half of Paul’s moving farewell address to the Church in Ephesus. There is so much for us to take out of this reading! Read it...
Finish the Job
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What’s the greatest thing that we can achieve in life? To amass a fortune? Certainly not. To raise good kids? Be a good husband/wife/father/mother? To do lots of good works?...
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
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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...
Correcting Error
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, we meet Apollos. He was "an eloquent speaker" and "an authority on the Scriptures." But he wasn't fully informed on the faith. Because...
Ascension Thursday
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. While this is normally a Holy Day of Obligation in some places, remember that, due to coronavirus, everyone is dispensed from the...
Finding God
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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...
Convicted?
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Another jailbreak in our first reading today from Acts 16. Today God uses a mighty earthquake to break the chains of Paul and Silas. And the happenings after the jailbreak...
An Upside Down World
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We live in a rapidly changing world, don’t we? Ever feel like things are completely topsy-turvy, upside down? More on that in a moment. In our first reading today from...
Always Be Ready
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As Christians, we need to be like Boy Scouts. Be prepared. It’s the theme of Advent. Stay awake! Be ready! We see a very good reminder of that theme in...
The World Hates You
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A comforting headline today, huh? Jesus spoke often about love. It’s kind of what He was all about. But today we hear Him speak of hate. And not just generically,...
Chosen
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In our first reading today, we hear the statement of the Apostles that came from the Council of Jerusalem. Today's Gospel reading from John 15 is filled with things we...
The History of Apostolic Succession
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias. The Gospel is from John 15, where Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you...
The Holy Pruning
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Today in Acts, we see more discussion about whether new believers needed to be circumcised and obey the Mosaic law. We also see Paul and Barnabas reporting in Jerusalem what...
The Necessity of Hardships
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In the first reading today from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas tell the faithful, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God." Wait...this...
The Cult of Personality
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In the Gospel reading today from John 14, Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and...
Show Them the Father
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The Gospel reading today is from John 14, where Philip says to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus (a bit perturbed, I...
Greater Works than Jesus'
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In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Philip says to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus seems to be a bit perturbed...
How Can We Know the Way?
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In the first reading today from Acts 13, we hear more of Paul's speech in the synagogue in Antioch. He continues to tell the Jews there about the plan of...
Receiving Jesus
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We read the writings of St. Paul often. Can you imagine what it must have been like to hear him speak? I conjure up images of Paul as a passionate...
Adjusting to the Light
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It’s interesting to see how often the Holy Spirit speaks in Acts of the Apostles. We see another instance of this in today’s first reading, where the Holy Spirit says,...
Christians
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In Acts 11 today, we see the story of a growing Church. People in great numbers are turning to the Lord. Barnabas brings Saul with him to Antioch, and they...
A Hindrance to God
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“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Those are the words of Jesus that begin our Gospel reading today from John 10....
The Abundant Life
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In the Gospel reading today from John 10, Jesus talks about shepherds and sheep. He goes on to say, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved.”...
To Whom Shall We Go?
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In the first reading today from Acts 9, we see a blossoming Church. It is growing rapidly, even with the great persecution she was suffering. Peter raises a woman from...
Know This Verse
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Sometimes we can be so thick-headed that God needs to use a (metaphoric) 2x4 over the head to get our attention. Such was the case with Saul of Tarsus, aka...
When Bread is Flesh
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A very interesting story in our first reading today from Acts 8. The Holy Spirit sends Philip, one of the first deacons, to interpret the Scriptures for an Ethiopian eunuch....
Raised on the Last Day
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In the first reading from Acts 8 today, we read about Saul persecuting the Church. Because of the persecution happening in Jerusalem, all but the Apostles left there. We read...
The New Manna
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Stephen was the first martyr; he was the first person in recorded history to shed his blood and die for the sake of his faith in Jesus. In the first...
What Can We Do?
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Today's first reading from Acts 6 is the first part of the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, considered to be the first martyr for the name of Jesus....
Fake News?
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The Gospel reading for today, the Third Sunday of Easter, is the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Two of Jesus' disciples are walking to Emmaus, a...
Proclaim the Gospel
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Today is the Feast of St. Mark, the author of one of the Gospel accounts. The first reading is from 1 Peter 5, where St. Peter mentions “Mark, my son.”...
Fighting Against God
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In our Gospel reading today, we begin a journey through John 6. Later in the chapter we will be reading and reflecting on the Bread of Life discourse, Jesus’ principle...
Obeying (and Disobeying) God
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There is a theme today in the readings: obedience. We hear Peter and the Apostles talk about it in the first reading from Acts 5. And in the Gospel reading...
This Life
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Today's Gospel reading begins with perhaps the most well known passage of Scripture - John 3:16. In the first reading from Acts 5, we read the story of a miraculous...
Unity in the Community
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In today’s first reading from Acts 4, we get a glimpse of the first Christian community. We’ll talk more about that in a sec. In the Gospel reading from John...
Holy Boldness
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In today's first reading from Acts 4, we read that the Apostles "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Our...
God's Mercy
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Today, the second Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. So, rather than do a reflection on the daily Scriptures (I’ll trust you to do that on your own!), I...
Speak Boldly
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In today's first reading from Acts 4, Peter and John are before the Sanhedrin after healing the crippled man in the temple. The elders have them leave the room as...
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...
No More Excuses
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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...