The Danger of Worrying
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In the first reading today from 2 Corinthians 12, St. Paul continues his thought on boasting about his weaknesses. “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order...
Our Eyes
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What do you boast about? I’m sure you don’t boast, and if you do, it is probably about your kids, grandkids or something or someone other than yourself. But would...
The Lost Verse
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Often when I read Scripture, I'm reminded of the old adage - the more things change, the more they stay the same. So it is with today's first reading from...
A Cheerful Giver
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Our Gospel reading today is the same one we read on Ash Wednesday. In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches about almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Always lessons that we need to be...
So Be Perfect
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Poverty and generosity seem like they should be worlds apart. After all, if someone is living in poverty, how can they be generous? They have so little to begin with....
No More "Eye for an Eye"
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St. Paul wanted to make sure that people were not putting off their conversion. In today's first reading from 2 Corinthians 6, he says, "Behold, now is a very acceptable...
Three Persons, One God
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity; three Persons, one God. The readings today reflect that. The first reading from Proverbs we see an inkling of the...
New Things Have Come
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Are you a person of your word? We should all be. In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus says, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean...
The Cause of Sin
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What an awesome first reading today from 2 Corinthians 4. “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persectued, but not abondoned; struck...
The Danger of Anger
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Today is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony is known as the patron of lost items. We ask for his intercession when we have lost something and...
Abolish the Law?
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Today’s readings may be a bit confusing, as it seems they have contradictory messages. In the first reading from 2 Corinthians 3, St. Paul says, “for the letter brings death,...
Son of Encouragement
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas. There are two optional Gospel readings for today. The reading for the feast day is from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends out...
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...
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
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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...
What Concern is it of Yours?
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For today's Gospel reading, we read the conclusion of John's Gospel. Peter inquires to Jesus about John. Jesus answers, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What...
You Know That I Love 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...
Courage
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In today's first reading from Acts 22 and 23, Paul is about to be ripped to shreds during a dispute (that he started) between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The...
You Do Not Belong to the World
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In the Gospel reading today from John 17, Jesus raises his eyes to heaven and prays to the Father. He says, “I gave them your word, and the world hated...
What's Really Important
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Sometimes we can get our priorities a bit out of whack, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure there was a time in St. Paul’s life when that was true. But in...
Conquering the World
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In today’s first reading from Acts, Paul runs into a group of believers who have not yet received the Holy Spirit. In fact, they hadn’t even heard of a Holy...
Jesus' Unity Prayer
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We call the “Our Father” The Lord’s Prayer. And rightly so, since it is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. But down through the ages, theologians have also...
Learning the Way of God
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In today's first reading from Acts 18, we are introduced to Apollos, "an eloquent speaker...he was an authority on the Scriptures." Apollos was a great preacher, but he didn't know...
A Lesson from Elizabeth
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Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We remember that time when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. The first reading can be taken...
The Joy of the Ascension
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The Ascension may be the most under-celebrated feast of the Church year. But the Ascension is vital to our faith. Why? Well, first let me quote Pope Benedict XVI. He...
Groping for God
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St. Paul must have been one of the greatest public speakers of all time. Today in our first reading from Acts 17, we see Paul giving one of his great...
Suicide Interrupted
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I'm going to talk about a very touchy subject in today's reflection: suicide. The reason is that we see a man about to commit suicide in our first reading from...
A Memorial Day Reflection
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A bit of a deviation 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 you...
Peace I Leave with You
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I’m sure you’ve found that, even when you’re walking closely with Christ, you undergo hardships. It is part of the human condition, and just because we profess faith in Christ...
Haters Gonna Hate
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More action and adventure today in the first reading from Acts 16. Paul has a vision in which a Macedonian says to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”...
No Greater Love
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In the first reading today from Acts 15, the Apostles and presbyters choose Barsabbas and Silas to travel with Paul and Barnabas to take a message clarifying the position of...
Jesus. Others. You.
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In today’s first reading from Acts 15, we see that the early Church was hierarchical. There was a dispute about whether the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and follow the...
The Nick of Sin
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In our first reading today from Acts 15, we see more controversy in the early Church about whether or not new believers needed to be circumcised. To settle the matter,...
Hardships and Peace
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We see in Acts today the further adventures of Paul and Barnabas. These guys never had a dull moment! They went around to the different cities saying, “It is necessary...
American Idols
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Paul and Barnabas run into a very interesting situation in today's first reading from Acts 14. After facilitating a healing for a man, the crowds began to worship them as...
A New Commandment
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In the Gospel reading today from John 13, Judas has just left the upper room. Jesus says to the Eleven, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As...
You Still Do Not Know Me?
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In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Philip has a request for Jesus. "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus' reply must have stung...
Do Not Let Your Hearts be Troubled
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In the first reading from Acts 13 today, Paul continues his message of salvation through Jesus in the temple at Antioch. In the Gospel reading today, we’re in John 14,...
A Word of Exhortation
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Paul is in the synagogue in Antioch in today’s first reading. The synagogue officials ask if anyone has a word of exhortation for the people. Paul accepts the invitation. In the...
Set Apart
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In our first reading today from Acts, we see Barnabas and Saul being “set apart” by the Holy Spirit and sent out to proclaim the Word of God. In the...
The Bold Claim of the Catholic Church
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias. The two readings are ones that we have already had during the Easter season. The Gospel is from John 15, where...
Hindering God
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 10, we hear Jesus say, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” What is the abundant life about...
Hearing the Shepherd's Voice
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In today’s Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Many of us today, if not the vast majority,...
You Have the Words of Eternal Life
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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...
Literally, Literally
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Today’s first reading from Acts 9 tells us about the conversion of St. Paul. It’s a story that is always worth reading and reflecting on. Today I want to reflect on...
The New Manna
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In today's first reading from Acts 8, we see the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The Holy Spirit sent Philip to interpret the Scriptures for this man, and...
Never Hunger Again
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In today's first reading from Acts 8, we read about Saul persecuting the Church. In the Gospel from John 6, we continue in the Bread of Life discourse. Jesus said,...
Give Us This Bread Always
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In today's first reading, we read about the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Our Gospel reading continues in John 6 with what is known as the Bread of Life discourse. This...
Will Work for Food
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Today in Acts 6, we begin reading about St. Stephen. This was a very bold guy who was about to find himself in some real trouble. But even in the...
The Primacy of Peter
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The second half of today’s Gospel reading from John 21 is, I think, one of the the most moving scenes in the New Testament. After the resurrection, Jesus and Simon...
The Deacon
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In today’s first reading from Acts 6, we read about the ordination of our first deacons. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus...