The Word Became Flesh
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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...
Feast of the Holy Family
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Family, always the Sunday after Christmas. All of the readings today talk about family. In the Gospel reading from Luke 2, we read about...
Canticle of Simeon
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Today is the fifth day in the Octave of Christmas. In our first reading from 1 John 2, St. John talks about light and darkness. He writes, “Whoever says he...
The Blood of Children
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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...
Sprinting to Jesus
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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 Witness of St. Stephen
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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...
Merry Christmas!
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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....
Stuck on 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...
Welcoming Mary
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On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Gospel reading from Luke 1 is the story of the Visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who herself was pregnant with...
Dedicated to...?
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The Gospel reading today is from Luke 1. It is Mary’s great Magnificat. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he...
How Does This Happen to Me?
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 1 recounts the Visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth didn't live nearby; Mary's journey...
May It Be Done to Me
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Today’s first reading includes the great prophecy from Isaiah 7: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” Today’s Gospel reading is the same one...
A Special Purpose
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In the first reading today from Judges 13, we see the story of an angel coming to announce the birth of a child. The woman was barren, and the angel...
I Had a Dream
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Today in the first reading from Jeremiah 23, the Lord says, “Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall...
You Can Pick Your Friends...
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Well, it is one week before Christmas Eve! Are you feeling it yet? Beginning today, the liturgy begins to unfold the story of Christmas. In the first reading today from...
Filled With Expectation
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 3, the people come to ask John the Baptist questions. They weren't quite sure who he was. They "were asking in their hearts whether...
An Unexpected Return
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Today’s first reading is from the Book of Sirach. The author talks of Elijah, “whose words were a flaming furnace.” Then in the Gospel reading from Matthew 17, the disciples...
The Way You Should Go
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Love always desires the good. God is love. Therefore, God always desires the good. He always wants what is best for us. He also knows that often what we want...
The Hand of the LORD
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John the Baptist played a very special role in the history of salvation. How special? Jesus answers that in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 11. The children of Israel were...
A Message from Our Lady
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on a hill in Tepeyac, Mexico, in December of 1531,...
Cry Out!
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus talks about a man who has a hundred sheep and one goes astray. He leaves the ninety-nine behind to go in search...
Fear Not!
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I’m hearing more and more about how so many people are frightened today. Not just because of terrorist attacks or random violence. Sure, that’s part of it, but it goes...
A Tough Gig
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Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel reading from Luke 3, we read about the ministry of John the Baptist. He is the one about whom the...
Pointing the Way to Jesus
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a Holy Day of obligation. Let’s talk briefly today about what the Immaculate Conception is, and isn’t. Probably the most...
According to Your Faith
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Today’s “golden thread” in the readings features healing of the blind. In the first reading today from Isaiah 29, the Lord says, “On that day the deaf shall hear…the eyes...
"Lord, Lord"
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Here's some great advice from today's first reading from Isaiah 26: Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. In the Gospel reading today from Matthew...
The Lord Feeds Us
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Life brings sorrows. With sorrows come tears. But it won’t always be that way. We see that in the first reading today from Isaiah 25. “The LORD GOD will wipe...
A Lasting Legacy
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In today's first reading from Isaiah 11, we hear a name that pops up every year during Advent and approaching Christmas: Jesse. We see it at the beginning and end...
Subject to Authority
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Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8 contains a line that every Catholic should be familiar with. They are the words of a centurion who asked Jesus to heal a servant...
Blameless and Holy
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Happy New Year! What’s that, you say? It’s not January 1? No, but it is the beginning of a new Liturgical Year. The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning...
The Danger of the Daily Grind
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Today is the last day of the Church year. Tomorrow begins a brand new liturgical year with the season of Advent. In the first reading from the end of the...
Oh Brother
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew. Andrew was an Apostle, the brother of Simon Peter. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” In the first reading today...
Stand Erect
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Many Catholics think they don’t know much Scripture. I say that’s not true. If you’re a regular, Mass-going Catholic, then you probably know an awful lot more Scripture than you...
Hated by All
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More of John’s vision of heaven today from Revelation 15 in our first reading. Today we see “those who had won victory over the beast…” Jesus continues to address the...
God's Fury
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In today’s readings, we get lots more end times stuff. In the Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus talks about things to look for near the end. Many of these...
144,000
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 21 is a reading we heard from Mark's Gospel a couple of Sundays ago. It is the story of a widow and her offering in...
Christ Our King
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Today is the feast of Christ the King. It is the end of the liturgical year. Next Sunday we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new...
Dead or Alive?
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 20, some Sadducees ask Jesus a trick question regarding the resurrection of the dead. (The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of...
God's Word: Sweet and Sour
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 19, we see Jesus cleansing the temple area of those who are selling things. He says, “It is written, My house shall be...
Catholicism = Thanksgiving
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Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Happy Thanksgiving! I have a link to today’s readings at the bottom of today’s post. These are optional readings for Thanksgiving Day. But...
High Stakes
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In today's gospel reading from Luke 19, Jesus tells a story about a man who went out to secure the kingship and gives some of his servants money to invest...
A Wee Little Man with a Big Conversion
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If you’re lukewarm in your faith, there is a word – a warning, really – for you in today’s first reading from Revelation 3. Read what will happen to those...
Lost Love
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In the first reading today, we begin reading from the Book of Revelation. This can be one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted books in the Bible. Nothing a bit...
Jesus' Words
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In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 13, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” And so it has been. Seasons come and go....
Any Faith Out There?
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus tells a story about a widow and a judge. The judge is dishonest. He fears neither God nor man. The widow asks...
Left Behind?
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Our first reading today is from 2 John. This is the shortest book in the Bible, just 13 verses. But what a power-packed 13 verses! St. John writes, “For this...
The Kingdom is Here
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Today’s first reading is taken from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon. Here Paul urges his old friend to welcome back his slave, Onesimus. Onesimus had been travelling with and assisting...
The Other Good Samaritan
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Faith in Christ requires change. For many of us, that means a lot of change. St. Paul alludes to this in the first reading from Titus 3. “For we ourselves...
Grace Trains Us
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus says, "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged...
Of Millstones
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In today’s first reading from Titus 1, St. Paul talks about the attributes of a bishop. “Blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid...