Hitting Bottom
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The Gospel reading today from Luke 15 is probably a very familiar story – the prodigal son. (Note: since this is part of the longer version of the Gospel today,...
The Cross of Christ
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Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the first reading today from Numbers 21, we see a bit of typology. God told Moses to make...
Give Yourself a Break
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus talks about removing the beam from your own eye before addressing the splinter in your brother’s eye. For our first reading, we...
Put On
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The Gospel of Christ can be tough to live by. I would say impossible without God’s grace. Take today’s Gospel reading, for example. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good...
Put Them to Death
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The Gospel reading today is the beginning of the Sermon on the Plain from Luke 6. We know them as the beatitudes. There are slight differences in Luke’s version and...
Empty, Seductive Philosophies
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St. Paul was very big on making sure that Christians stayed true to the faith. Here one way he put it today's first reading from Colossians 2: "See to it...
The Greatest Good
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There may be confusion about something St. Paul says in today’s first reading from Colossians. “…in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ...
How to Properly Hate Your Family
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus tells a large crowd, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and...
Grounded and Stable
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In today's first reading from Colossians 1, St. Paul reminds his readers about their conversions. "You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; God has now...
Christ is All
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Today's first reading from Colossians 1 contains St. Paul's thoughts on Christology. I think it can be summed up in three short words: Christ is all. The word "all" is...
Following Jesus' Commands
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There's a great story in today's Gospel reading from Luke 5. Jesus is teaching from Simon Peter's boat. After He finishes, He tells Simon to "Put out into deep water...
Healing and Service
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For the first reading today, we begin St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians. As always, St. Paul starts with a blessing and a compliment. In our Gospel reading from Luke...
Children of Light
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We hear more about Jesus’ return in our first reading today from 1 Thessalonians 5. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 4, we see Jesus casting...
Labor Day
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Happy Labor Day! Because of the holiday in the US today, I'd like to reflect on our labor. In these difficult times, many people are worried. Those who are unemployed are...
Seeking the Lowest Place
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 14, Jesus is eating at the home of a leading Pharisee. He tells a parable about a guy who, when invited to a...
Growing Our Faith
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25 is known as the parable of the talents. Jesus tells the story of a man who goes on a journey and gives talents to...
Our "Faith Lamps"
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Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 25 can be a tricky one. Jesus tells His disciples a parable, the message of which He sums up at the end. “Therefore, stay awake,...
Courage to the End
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Today the Church celebrates the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. This feast used to be known as the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. Personally, I like the Passion...
A Pretender
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St. Paul led by example. He alludes to that in our first reading today from 1 Thessalonians 2. While he could have insisted that the believers take care of his...
How We Speak
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In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus has some more not-so-nice things to say to the scribes and Pharisees. He refers to them as hypocrites, blind guides and blind Pharisees. All this...
Words that Hurt to Heal
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There's a popular notion that Jesus was a very nice man. He would never do or say anything that would hurt anyone; therefore, we should never do or say anything...
Depart From Me, You Evildoers!
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Do works play a part in salvation? Some would say no, you simply have to profess faith in Jesus. But the words of Jesus tell a different story. In today's...
Bartholomew
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bartholomew. Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve. He was brought to Jesus by the Apostle Philip. Tradition tells us that he preached...
Ruth's Example
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The Book of Ruth is one of the shorter books in the Bible. In today’s first reading, we meet Ruth. Ruth was King David’s great-grandmother. But the story of how...
Being Properly Dressed
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Today’s first reading from Judges 11 may be hard for us to understand, and even harder for us to accept. Jephthah makes a vow to the Lord. If the Lord...
Time to Seize the Day!
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There are plenty of shifty characters in the Scriptures. We see one of them today in the person of Abimelech, in our first reading from Judges 9. He killed all...
What's Possible
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In the first reading today, we meet Gideon. Be honest now…you thought he was just a guy who dropped Bibles off in hotel rooms, right? Actually, Gideon is one of...
A Dangerous Question
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In the first reading from Judges 2, we see that the people turned away from God. The consequences were not pleasant. “[God] allowed them to fall into the power of...
Turn Up the Heat!
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I just love the Gospel reading for today from Luke 12. Jesus explains to the disciples that He has come not to establish peace, but division. He goes on to...
We Will Serve the LORD
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We have a very short Gospel reading today. But as always, it is packed. Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom...
Marriage From the Beginning
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Every now and again a history lesson is in order. In today's first reading from Joshua 24, Joshua gives that lesson to the children of Israel. In fact, Holy Mass...
The Assumption of Mary
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Don’t forget, it is a Holy Day of Obligation. This is one of those days that...
On Binding and Loosing and Praying
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Today we read about the death of Moses. It has been fascinating reading about his life and times. As I’ve mentioned many times, no on had a relationship with God...
God Marches With You
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We are in a constant spiritual battle. If we fail to recognize this, we do so at our own peril. But we never have to go it alone. In today's...
You're Free to Give
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In today's first reading from Deuteronomy 10, Moses reminds the people that they were chosen by God and that they were to serve him. In the Gospel reading from Matthew...
Unexpected Return
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus talks about being prepared. Prepared for what? His return. Jesus said, "Be sure of this: if the master of the house had...
Deacon, Martyr, Servant
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence was a deacon and a martyr. Our prayers go out today and every day to all the faithful deacons of...
What Profit?
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The children of Israel saw and experienced amazing and wondrous things. God had revealed himself to them and even spoken to them. In today’s first reading from Deuteronomy 4, Moses...
The Gates of Hell
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 16, we see the famous exchange between Peter and Jesus. It is one that Catholics especially should be familiar with, since it helps us...
Succumbing to Fear
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Fearmongering is a pretty common occurrence these days. Nothing new about that. We see it in today's first reading. In the Gospel reading, we see a Canaanite woman of great...
A Moment With Jesus
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In the first reading from Daniel 7, Daniel sees a vision of Jesus in His glory. Of course, he...
A Heavy Load
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Today’s reflection is a tough one for me to write. We see in our first reading today from Numbers 11 a very sad story. Moses had such a huge burden...
Rich in What Matters
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In our Gospel reading today, Jesus has an encounter with a man which prompts Him to warn the gathered crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one...
Celebrating a Year of Jubilee
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In today’s first reading from Leviticus 25, we read about the jubilee. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 14, we read the story of...
Wait...We Know You
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Today’s first reading is from the book of Leviticus. Many people will try reading the Bible from cover to cover. They’ll get through Genesis and Exodus just fine, but then...
Good and Bad Together
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In the first reading today from Exodus 40, we read about the Dwelling. Notice the capital “D” in the word. This was the place in the Israelite camp where God...
Better than the Lottery
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In today’s Gospel reading, we hear two parables in Matthew 13. They both have to do with getting rich. Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure...
Personal Relationship
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There's much that is made of having a "personal relationship" with Jesus. And rightly so. There's a huge difference with having an institutional relationship with someone. It's the difference between...
Two Sides of St. Martha
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Today we celebrate the feast of St. Martha. As per usual, there are options for the readings. The options for a Gospel reading are from John 11 or Luke 10....
Holy Spirit, Please!
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There’s an awful lot to digest in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11. It begins with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. He teaches them the perfect prayer:...