Tradition and tradition
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In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 8, Solomon stands before the altar in the magnificent temple that he had built and offers up a prayer to God. This is...
No One Left Behind
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Solomon has taken over as king after the death of his father, David. In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 8, we read about the ark of the covenant being...
Giving Light
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Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 5:13-16, from the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden....
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...
Lessons from King 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...
Fatherly Advice
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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...
They Took Offense
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Taking responsibility seems to be something that has gotten lost these days. I suppose that has always been true in some measure. It seems people, especially leaders, always want to...
Life and Death in a Family
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In today's readings, we see two stories about life and death in a family. In the first reading from 2 Samuel, David's son Absalom is killed. Absalom had been hunting...
Go and Tell Your Family
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King David lived such an interesting life. As we have seen, it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. He had a large share of hardship heaped upon him, some, of course,...
A Promise Kept
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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...
You are the Man!
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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...
God is Always at Work
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You’ve heard the old saying, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” So true. I’m sure you’ve experienced that in your life. More in a moment. In our first reading today,...
The Measure With Which You Measure
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King David was “a man after God’s own heart.” God had promised him that his kingdom would last forever, through the Messiah which would come from his line. In today’s...
Sowing the Seeds of Grace
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Today's Gospel reading is the parable of the sower from Mark 4. Jesus tells a story of a man who goes out and sows seeds all over. The seeds fall...
Dancing Hearts
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When it comes to God, the family is pretty large. What do I mean? In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother...
How Satan Plunders
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In today's first reading from 2 Samuel 5, we see David being anointed as king of Israel. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is accused of driving out...
Change Your Mind
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 4, we read about the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. His first words were, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The...
Knocked From Our High Horse
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Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. We see the story of Saul’s (Paul’s birth name) conversion in two places in Acts of the Apostles. In chapter...
Admitting We're 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...
Jealousy and Envy
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Goliath was dead. You would think that King Saul would be overjoyed that David, one of his own, had slain the Philistine. And he was…for a short time. More in...
Taking Down 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...
Of Books and Covers
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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...
Obedience is Tough
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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...
The Sin of the World
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Catholics are all familiar with John 1:29, which starts the Gospel reading in today's Mass. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." I think...
A Doctor You can Trust
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The people of Israel insisted that God give them a king. Despite warnings to the contrary, they persisted. In today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 9, we meet the new...
Everyone Else
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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...
The Agony of 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 and 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...
Cutting a Deal with God
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus casts an unclean spirit out of a man while in the synagogue in Capernaum. The people recognized the authority that Jesus had,...
Of Fishing and Catching
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Welcome back to Ordinary Time! In the first reading today we begin the first Book of Samuel. Today we read about a broken-hearted woman, Hannah. She was barren and wanted desperately...
The Need for Baptism
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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 "a voice came from the heavens, saying, 'This...
Fading into the Background
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Catholics believe in different “kinds” of sin. Mortal sin and venial sin. Venial sins are still sins, but not as serious as mortal sins. Mortal sins are those sins that...
Be Made Clean
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Today’s first reading from 1 John 5 begins with a question: “Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of...
Victory through Faith
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Have you ever felt like you can conquer the world? If not, why not? St. John gives us some good insight into that in our first reading today. More in...
Fear and Love
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Strong words from St. John today in our first reading from 1 John 4. St. John talks about fear. More on that in a moment. We see fear, too, come...
What is Love?
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In his epistles, St. John wrote an awful lot about love. In our first reading today from 1 John 4, the word “love” or a variation of it appears nine...
The One Who is in You
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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 Epiphany
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Today is the Feast of Epiphany. We celebrate the time when the three Wise Men, a.k.a Three Kings or Magi, appeared to offer gifts to Jesus. Such an interesting story...
An Important Question
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Today’s first reading from 1 John 3 can be a difficult one to grasp. St. John writes, “Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the...
Behold, the Lamb of God
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The first verse of today's Gospel reading is one that every Catholic knows. I often use it when speaking at conferences to show Catholics that they know Scripture much better...
Who Are You?
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In today's Gospel reading from John 1, the Jews from Jerusalem send people to ask a question of John the Baptist. It seems like a simple enough question. Who are...
My Scriptural Resolution
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Happy New Year! Remember that today is the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. It is a holy day of obligation. We get to go to Mass! New Year’s...
A Mind-Blowing Message
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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...
Loving "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...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph
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The Sunday after Christmas is always the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. All of the readings center on family themes. Anyone with an ounce of...
The 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...
Running To Love
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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...
The Ultimate Sacrifice
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, we see the story of Stephen’s martyrdom. And in...
A Christmas Thank You
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Christmas is here! Christmas is here! I can remember waking up VERY early on Christmas mornings when I was a kid and yelling that out to my brothers and sisters....
Always Christmas Eve
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Today is Christmas Eve. Many people (myself and my family included) will go to Mass this afternoon or this evening for Christmas. Many will attend the beautiful Midnight Mass. Whenever...