60 Second Reflections

    Much Forgiven = Much Love

    Posted on
    Popeye used to say, “I yam what I yam.” I wonder if he got that from St. Paul. He could have. In our first reading today from 1 Corinthians 15,...

    Love Never Fails

    Posted on 1 comment
    Our first reading today is 1 Corinthians 13. This is often referred to as “The Love Chapter.” If you’ve ever been to a wedding, chances are you have heard this...

    Caring for the Widow and the Orphan

    Posted on 1 comment
    An old song says, “Christ has no body now but yours.” In today’s first reading from 1 Corinthians 12, St. Paul talks about the Body of Christ; not in the...

    Such Faith

    Posted on
    In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 11, St. Paul recounts the words of Jesus at the Last Supper. Wait...St. Paul wasn't at the Last Supper. No, but he "received...

    Help in Our Sorrows

    Posted on
    Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. How appropriate that this comes the day after the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Our first...

    Your Cross is His Cross

    Posted on
    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...

    The Really Hard Stuff

    Posted on
    In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, we continue to hear from Jesus' Sermon on the Plain. This is where Jesus begins saying things that probably sounded ridiculous to the...

    Not as It Seems

    Posted on
    In 1 Corinthians 7 today, St. Paul warns his readers that “time is running out.” This world is passing away. He warns them to use what time is left fruitfully....

    Inheriting the Kingdom of God

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading today from Luke 6, we see that Jesus spent the night in prayer. The next day, He called His disciples and told them that He had...

    A Cleansing

    Posted on 1 comment
    There is never a wrong time to do the right thing. This is one of the lessons we can get from today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, when Jesus heals...

    Selective Hearing

    Posted on
    In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 7, a deaf man with a speech impediment is brought to Jesus for healing. Jesus restored his hearing and immediately his speech impediment was...

    Happy Birthday, Mom!

    Posted on
    Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary…Mary’s birthday! Now, we don’t really know the exact day, date or year that Mary was born....

    Judgment

    Posted on
    An important lesson about judgment today from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4. St. Paul doesn’t care a whit if people judge him. He is only concerned about how God...

    Into Deep Water

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading today from Luke 5, Jesus sees Simon Peter and his fishing buddies cleaning their nets after a hard night of fishing. Not catching, mind you. Fishing....

    Seeds of Grace

    Posted on
    Jesus was a very busy guy. We see this in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 4. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law, He heals all the sick in the town and casts...

    Spiritual Realities

    Posted on
    In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 2, St. Paul juxtaposes "the natural man" with "the one who is spiritual." This reading is a reminder that there is much more...

    Faith Demonstrated

    Posted on
    After having gone through much of the Gospel of Matthew in Ordinary Time, today we transition to the Gospel of Luke and read about the beginning of Jesus' public ministry....

    The Bad Within

    Posted on
    In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus talks about what makes a person unclean, or defiled. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus declares all foods clean. He says, “Nothing...

    Investing in the Kingdom

    Posted on 1 comment
    In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 1, St. Paul says that “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of...

    Wisdom and Foolishness

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about ten virgins. Five of them are foolish and five of them are wise. They were all waiting...

    Fellowshipping with Jesus

    Posted on
    Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 24 is very Advent-ish. It begins with Jesus saying, “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” For our...

    No Watering Down the Truth

    Posted on
    Today the Church celebrates the Passion of St. John the Baptist. In the past it has been called the beheading of and the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel...

    Stand Firm and Hold Fast

    Posted on 1 comment
    In today's first reading from 2 Thessalonians 2, St. Paul says, "Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by...

    You Hypocrite

    Posted on
    St. Paul was big on prayer and thanksgiving. We see this today in our first reading from 2 Thessalonians 1. “We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and...

    Time to Decide

    Posted on
    For the past three Sundays, we have been reading from John 6, the Bread of Life discourse. John 6 begins with Jesus feeding the multitude. Then it moves to Capernaum,...

    Whoever Humbles Himself...

    Posted on
    In the first reading today, Ezekiel is led by an angel to the temple, where he sees the glory of God. He hears the voice of God say to him,...

    Ridding Ourselves of Duplicity

    Posted on
    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...

    Not Willing to Change

    Posted on 1 comment
    God is the changer of hearts. We see this clearly today in our beautiful first reading from Ezekiel 36. “I will give you a new heart and place a new...

    The Bad Shepherds

    Posted on
    In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. After hiring men at different times of the day, the landowner pays each...

    Of Camels and Needles

    Posted on 2 comments
    In the first reading today, we hear about the dangers of accumulating wealth. Now, being wealthy is not of itself a bad thing. It is what can happen spiritually that becomes...

    What Do I Still Lack?

    Posted on
    We have a very sad first reading today from Ezekiel 24. The LORD tells Ezekiel that he is going to take away the delight of your eyes, and that Ezekiel...

    Not a Symbol

    Posted on
    Today’s Gospel reading is John 6:51-58. While much of the Bread of Life discourse up to now has sounded somewhat metaphoric, Jesus gets to the meat of the matter today....

    Leading our Children

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”...

    Holy Matrimony

    Posted on
    In today’s Gospel passage from Matthew 19, we see Jesus’ teaching about marriage. From this teaching of Jesus we can better understand the teachings of the Church in matters concerning...

    How Many Times?

    Posted on 2 comments
    In today's first reading from Ezekiel 12, the Lord tells the prophet to do something unusual. He would be a sign for the people. In our Gospel reading, Peter asks...

    Mary's Assumption into Heaven

    Posted on 1 comment
    Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is one of those days that is greatly misunderstood by many. So let’s talk about...

    Feasting On the Word

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 18, Jesus asks a question about a man who has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray. Jesus says, “Will he...

    Free to Give

    Posted on
    Today’s first reading is from the opening chapter of the Book of Ezekiel. In it Ezekiel sees a vision of heaven. It is truly an awesome sight. In the Gospel...

    Strengthened by that Food

    Posted on
    In the Gospel reading today, we continue in John 6 - the Bread of Life discourse. Jesus says, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats...

    Faith Moves Mountains

    Posted on
    In the first reading today, God tells the prophet Habakkuk to write down a vision. Then He encourages the people to wait for the vision to be fulfilled. “If it...

    Deacon Lawrence

    Posted on 1 comment
    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...

    Christ's Church will Prevail

    Posted on
    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...

    Reward for Persistence

    Posted on
    God is always ready to give His people another chance. When His people turned their backs on Him, He allowed them to suffer the consequences. But in today’s first reading...

    Keep Your Eyes Fixed

    Posted on 1 comment
    In our first reading today from Jeremiah 30, God reiterates his covenant with the people. "You shall be my people, and I will be your God." In the Gospel from...

    Listen to Him

    Posted on
    Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In the first reading from Daniel 7, Daniel sees in a vision “One like a Son of man coming…his kingship...

    Prophetic Pain

    Posted on
    In both of our readings today, we see and hear that prophets get “dissed.” In Jeremiah 26, our first reading, we see Jeremiah saying everything that God tells him to...

    In the Hands of the Potter

    Posted on
    Today we see what I hope is a familiar story in Jeremiah 18. Though you may not know the chapter and verse, it is the story of Jeremiah going to...

    Pearl of Great Price

    Posted on 1 comment
    In Jeremiah 15 today, God speaks of the need for repentance. “Thus the Lord answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand.”...

    Questions, Questions, Questions

    Posted on
    Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus...

    Yeast and the Kingdom

    Posted on
    What an interesting story in our first reading from Jeremiah 13. It is about a loincloth – we would think of it in terms of underwear today. The root of...

Hello You!

Join our mailing list