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...
Emmaus and the Eucharist
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 24, we read the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They have an encounter with the risen Jesus, but don’t recognize...
Your Name
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In today’s first reading from Acts 2, we hear more of what happened on the day of Pentecost. Peter tells the people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,...
Do Not Be Afraid
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It's Easter Monday! The Easter season is a favorite of mine because we get to go through the Acts of the Apostles for our first readings every day. Today from...
It Really is Easter!
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Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Happy Easter! The long season of Lent has come to a close. (Though to some it many not seem that way.) Now it's time to celebrate!...
Time to Wait
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Holy Saturday is an interesting day. It reminds me of waiting in the doctor’s office waiting room after you have had some tests run. You’re kind of in a state...
Were You There?
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Today is the one day of the year when there is no Mass celebrated. The commemoration of Good Friday is the most solemn day of the year. The readings for...
The Institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood
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Lent is over today. Now, that doesn’t mean that you stop with your Lenten penances and practices. Those should continue into Saturday evening. Tonight we begin the Sacred Triduum. It...
Spy Wednesday
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Want to know what Jesus is all about and what he did for you? Check out today’s first reading from Isaiah 50. It really says it all. On Wednesday of...
The Best Intentions
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Our first reading today is from Isaiah 49, more from the prophesies of the Servant of the Lord. “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation...
Giving Jesus Our Best
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As we begin Holy Week, we'll be reading the prophesies of the Suffering Servant, or the Servant of the Lord, from Isaiah. We see Jesus so clearly portrayed in all...
The Lord's Passion
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Today is Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Today we will hear the reading of the Passion narrative from Matthew's Gospel in the liturgy. It is perhaps the longest reading of...
One Dying for the Many
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As we approach Palm Sunday, the story of the final week of Jesus’ life unfolds. In the first reading from Ezekiel 37, the prophet speaks of the return of the...
Doing the Father's Works
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In today’s first reading from Jeremiah 20, we hear the people plotting against Jeremiah. But they will not be victorious; they will not have their way. Jeremiah says, “But the...
Longing for I AM
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There are only a very few instances of God changing someone’s name in the Scriptures. Today we see the first of these in Genesis 17. Abram gets a new name....
Trial by Fire
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In today’s first reading from Daniel 3, we see the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faith. Faith enough...
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
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Sutton Turner of Vanderbloemen joined Gus to talk about how churches, religious schools and non-profits can benefit from the recent stimulus bill. Leaders of these groups must act fast. Get...
The Antidote for Sin
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Today’s first reading from Numbers 21 tells us the story of God sending saraph serpents among the people of Israel, who had become terrible whiners. God then commands Moses to...
Sin No More
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In today’s readings, we see the stories of two women who are about to be killed. In the first reading from Daniel, we see the story of Susanna. Two wicked...
Come Out!
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For the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the theme of the readings is being raised from the dead. In the first reading from Ezekiel 37, God says, “Then you hslal know...
Vengeance is Mine
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You may have heard the saying, "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." That's from Romans 12:19, and not part of today's liturgy. But it comes to mind for me because...
Close to the Brokenhearted
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An eerie first reading today from Wisdom 2. It describes the things that Jesus went through to a tee. Be sure to read it and see if you don’t shake...
Craving Approval
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In today’s first reading from Exodus 32, Moses has a little heart-to-heart with God, asking Him to relent from destroying His people. And God relented. A wonderful statement on the...
The First Christian
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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. This is the moment when the Angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her she had been chosen to...