The Danger of Remaining Faithful
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 18, Jesus is on his way to Jericho when a blind man on the side of the road shouts out, “Son of David,...
Let Jesus Do the Talking
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Christianity has to be from God. Why do I say this? Because Jesus told His disciples again and again what they were in for. “They will seize and persecute you,...
Lessons from the Unjust Judge
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about an unjust judge. A widow comes to him seeking a judgment, but he refuses. The widow, however, kept...
Finding God in Beauty
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus talks about what things would be like on the day of His return. The first Christians were convinced that that day was...
On Wisdom
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Our first reading today is again from the Book of Wisdom. What an amazing book! In it, Wisdom is always referred to as a female personal pronoun, she. More in...
The Other Nine
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Those in positions of authority have a great responsibility and a heavy burden. We read about it in today's first reading from Wisdom 6. In the Gospel reading from Luke...
The Faithful Departed
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Today's first reading from the Book of Wisdom is one you heard if you followed the liturgy for All Souls' Day. It speaks to the eternal disposition of the faithful...
Causing Sin
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A blessed Veterans Day to my readers in the USA. I am eternally grateful to all those who have served our country. May God bless you for your sacrifices. In...
Life After the Resurrection
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In the Gospel from Luke 20, some Saducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection of the body, throw a trick question at Jesus about who a woman would be married...
The Lateran Basilica and the Temple
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. the Lateran Basilica was erected by Constantine. It is known as the mother church of Christendom. We...
Prudent Servants
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If anyone had a right to boast, it was St. Paul. A prolific writer, eloquent speaker, man of great charisma…the guy had it all. But he would never boast of...
We Are the Lord's
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Ever feel like a lost sheep? Fret not, my friend! God is always reaching out for you. Jesus tells a parable about that in today's Gospel reading from Luke 15....
The Act of Letting Go
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I love Romans 13:8, the opening line in today’s first reading: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”...
Blueprint for the Christian Life
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Today's first reading from Romans 12 is really a blueprint for living the Christian life. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus tells a parable...
Eternal Repayment
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In the first reading today from Romans 11, St. Paul says, “For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.” That may sound a bit odd....
An Encounter with Jesus
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The character in today’s Gospel passage from Luke 19 is a favorite of kids the world over. Every time I read this story, I can hear the little song in...
Purgatory and All Souls' Day
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Today we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. It is the day we remember all the souls in Purgatory. Purgatory can be a controversial topic, and hard to explain. So,...
All Holy Men and Women, Pray for Us!
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Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, so make sure and get to Mass today. I have a long standing tradition on my...
What Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ?
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St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is such great reading. Today we hear St. Paul asking the question, “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” He then gives...
Romans 8:28
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It is not easy to find or fit through the narrow gate. People generally choose the path of least resistance. That would be the wide gate. Jesus Christ is the...
The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God
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We hear a couple of short parables in the Gospel reading today from Luke 13. Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. Do you remember...
Hopeless Cause? Call on St. Jude
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Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The readings are the same as the feast days of other Apostles; Ephesians 2:19-22, and Luke 6:12-16, which is the...
Falling Into the Sin of Pride
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about two people praying in the temple. A Pharisee thanks God that he is not like all the low-lifes...
No Condemnation
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In the first reading today from Romans 8, St. Paul writes, "Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Sounds great, right? But what does this...
Everyone Talks About the Weather...
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We should all relate to part of today's first reading from Romans 7. St. Paul writes, "The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I...
Holy Bodies
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In the first reading today from Romans 6, St. Paul talks about presenting our bodies for sanctification. We’ll talk more on that in a moment. In the Gospel passage from...
Great Expectations
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Perhaps St. Paul’s words in today’s first reading from Romans 6 are ones we should read every day, or even commit to memory. “For sin is not to have any...
A Minute in the Church: Back to the Basics
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A Minute in the Church: Back to the Basics is now available at www.GusLloyd.com! This is the fifth book in the A Minute in the Church series. It covers some...
Overflowing Grace
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In today’s first reading from Romans 5, St. Paul talks about sin and grace. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus tells his...
You Can't Take It With You
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St. Paul used Abraham as an example of faith. We would do well to imitate Abraham. Here’s what St. Paul says in today’s first reading from Romans 4: “Abraham did...
Will He Find Faith?
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a widow who continues to bother an unjust judge for a decision. The unjust judge renders a just...
Denial Through Silence
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In our first reading today from Romans 4, St. Paul continues his thoughts about the importance of faith. He speaks of faith as a gift. It is a gift of...
Feast of St. Luke
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the author of two books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke and Acts of...
Justified by Faith
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scholars of the law. These are some pretty scathing remarks. “Woe to you, scholars of...
Our Un-PC Savior
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God is a just judge. St. Paul makes this very clear in today’s first reading from Romans 2. Here’s how he puts it: “By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you...
I am Not Ashamed
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One of the things that I admire most about St. Paul (there are many) is his boldness. And the first line of today’s first reading really sums things up. “I...
Our Apostleship
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People are always seeking a sign. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus addresses this. While the people were insisting on a sign, Jesus told them that they...
One Gave Thanks
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus heals ten lepers. Of the ten healed, only one bothered to come back and give thanks to Jesus. To add insult to...
The Blessing of Being Blessed
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God will take care of His people. That is His promise, His covenant. It is one that will last forever. In today’s first reading from Joel 4, we hear this...
Armed Guards
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Today's first reading from the Book of the Prophet Joel sounds very Lenten. In fact, part of this reading pops up in Lent. "Proclaim a fast, call an assembly...cry to...
Good Gifts
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 11 contains a famous saying of Jesus that most folks know: "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;...
The Good Lord Giveth...
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Most folks can pray the Our Father from memory. Today we hear Jesus teaching His disciples to pray from Luke's Gospel. In our first reading we continue the story of...
When We Repent
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Today's Gospel reading is the familiar story of Mary and Martha, where Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." Mary chose...
A Persistent God
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The story of the good Samaritan is the Gospel reading today from Luke 10. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They couldn’t possibly have a decent bone in their...
Just Doing Our Jobs
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus talks about servants who do what they are obliged to do. Jesus said, “When you have done all you have been commanded,...
Reason for Rejoicing
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, the seventy-two disciples return to Jesus rejoicing. They say, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus answers...
St. Francis of Assisi
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Today we celebrate the feast of perhaps the most well known and most loved saint in history: St. Francis of Assisi. In his honor, I thought I would share some...
Lambs Among Wolves
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy-two of His disciples in pairs to the places He intended to visit. He gives them instructions before they go,...
Guardian Angel Prayers
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is sending...
Bring on the Fire!
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In today’s first reading from Zechariah 8, the Lord speaks of a time when other peoples would come to the Jews, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have...