The Connection Between Passover and Mass
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Each year on Holy Thursday, the first reading for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is taken from Exodus 11-12. That same reading is today’s first reading. In the Gospel...
The Yoke of Jesus
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Today we hear God reveal his name to Moses. "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you." In today’s Gospel reading from...
God Still Speaks
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God reveals himself to us in many ways. In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 11, Jesus says that the Father has “revealed [these things] to the childlike.” We see...
Can't You See?
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In our first reading today from Exodus 2, we see the story of the early part of Moses’ life. Because of the law that Hebrew baby boys be killed, Moses’...
Jesus First
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The children of Israel had become enslaved to the Egyptians. Yet they continued to multiply. Because of this, Pharaoh commanded that every male child of the Hebrews should be killed....
Go and Do Likewise
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Our Gospel reading today is from Luke 10. It is the story of the Good Samaritan. Most people are familiar with the term “Good Samaritan,” if not the Bible story...
Proclaiming Jesus
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In today’s first reading, we see the end of the story of Joseph in Genesis 49 and 50. After Jacob had died, Joseph’s brothers were still afraid that Joseph might...
Shrewd as Serpents, Simple as Doves
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What a beautiful reunion we read about today in our first reading from Genesis 46. Jacob/Israel thought that his youngest son, Joseph, had been eaten by wild beasts. But then...
God Makes Good of Bad
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the Twelve and gives them their “marching orders.” He says to them, “Without cost you have received; without cost...
Go After the Lost Sheep
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Israel's son Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers. He had risen to a position of great power with Pharaoh, unbeknownst to his brothers. Now his brothers had...
Wrestling with God
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Another fascinating story today in our first reading from Genesis 32. Today we read about Jacob wrestling with a divine being. After something of a stalemate, Jacob gets his name...
Stairway to Heaven
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I love to talk about God’s sense of humor. For me, that really comes into play today. You see, I grew up a Led Zeppelin freak. I was all about...
Praying for Laborers in the Harvest
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy-two of His disciples to prepare the way in all of the towns and villages where He was going to...
Lies and Deception
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Today’s first reading from Genesis 27 is one that is tough to read and perhaps even tougher to understand. Isaac is an old man and wants to anoint his heir...
Admitting We Need Help
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Getting over the death of a loved one is tough. It helps to have others around us who can help ease the pain. We see this today in our first...
I'm a Catholic American
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I want to deviate from my regular Scripture reflection today, the day that America celebrates Independence Day. Of course, you can click on “Today’s Readings” and find the readings for...
Believing the Outlandish
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. In the first reading from Ephesians 2, St. Paul tells us that the household of God, the Church, is...
We Were Perishing
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In the first reading today from Genesis 19, we read about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of their wickedness, God had his sights set on them. But Abraham’s...
A Godly Negotiation
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In our first reading today from Genesis 18, we see an amazing story of Abraham negotiating with God. In the Gospel reading, we read about two interesting encounters that Jesus...
Getting Past the "But"
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus encounters three people who wish to follow Him. He makes clear to all three the difficulties they will encounter in doing that....
On the Shoulders of Giants
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Interesting, isn’t it? You would think that, given the importance of each, they would both have their own feast...
Listen for His Heart
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Today is the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the first reading from Ezekiel 34, God uses the imagery of a shepherd. “I myself will pasture my...
Hearing, Talking and Acting
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So many parts of the Old Testament are downright soap opera-esque. This is certainly the case with today’s first reading from Genesis 16. At the request of his wife, Sarai,...
False Prophets
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“Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited to him as an act of righteousness.” This line is from today’s first reading from Genesis 15. St. Paul also recounts...
Throwing Your Pearls Before Swine
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In our first reading today we find ourselves back in the Book of Genesis, reading about Abram and Lot. For our Gospel reading, we’re back in the Sermon on the...
Increase and Decrease
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Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist. In the first reading today from Isaiah 49, we see the messianic prophesies, all of which certainly could be attributed...
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The readings for today all point toward the Eucharist in an interesting way....
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...