Intercessory Prayer
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Ever wonder what things will be like after Jesus returns. That is, after all, a basic tenet of our faith; that Christ will come again. Well, wonder no more! The...
Follow the Light
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Our Gospel reading for today includes John 3:16, maybe the most familiar verse in Scripture. But today I would like to concentrate on the second half of this reading. St. John...
The Sin of Pride
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Another beautiful reading from Hosea today for our first reading. Through the prophet, the Lord says, “For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather...
Got It?
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What a beautiful first reading we have today from Hosea 14. God tells the people, “Say to him, ‘We shall say no more, “Our god,” to the work of our...
Fully Armed
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Today's first reading from Jeremiah 7 should be required reading. See if you don't recognize that exactly what was happening then is happening now. "Say to them: This is the...
Teaching the Faith
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There's a word that comes up in both of the readings today. That word is teach. In the first reading from Deuteronomy 4, Moses tells the people, "However, take care...
What Eating an Elephant and Forgiveness Have in Common
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Today’s first reading from Daniel 3 contains one of the most beautiful and heartfelt prayers in all of Scripture. It is the prayer of Azariah, while he was in the...
Setting Aside Our Pride
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Our first reading today is from 2 Kings 5. It is a story about a man named Naaman. Naaman was not a child of Israel. He was a commander in...
Zeal
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For the next few weeks of Lent, you may have different readings at Mass than the ones here. Many parishes use the readings for Year A, especially at Masses where...
The Other Son
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 is probably a familiar story - we call it The Prodigal Son. And rightly so. But it is really a story of two sons...
Kingdom Fruit
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Today’s first reading from Genesis 37 is the story of Joseph being sold out by his brothers. The brothers were jealous of him because he was the favored son of...
Who (or What) Do You Trust?
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So much is said in the opening verses of today’s first reading from Jeremiah 17. “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks...
Slaves of All
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Jeremiah was one of those prophets who had a really tough go of things. As we see in today’s first reading from Jeremiah 18, the people were plotting against him....
Exalted and Humbled
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When we go astray, God is always beckoning us back to him. In today's first reading from Isaiah 1, it's put like this: "Come now, let us set things right,...
God's Golden Rule
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We all know the Golden Rule, right? Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. (That's in the Bible, by the way. Matthew 7:12. Check it out.)...
Listen...
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The Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Lent is the story of the transfiguration from Mark 9. Peter, James and John got a glimpse of Jesus in His fullness. As...
Loving Your Enemies
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Jesus was really good at tell His disciples to think outside the box. Take today's Gospel reading, for example. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for...
The Grudge Pact
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Are God's ways fair? I daresay that many would say no. (One of the reasons why we're so good at making our own rules.) The children of Israel didn't seem...
Celebrating a Chair?
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Some might look at that and say, “Boy, you Catholics are really strange! Imagine celebrating a piece of...
The Signs are Everywhere
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The first reading today is from Jonah 3. Jonah goes into the city of Nineveh and calls them to repent. Jonah comes up again in the Mass. In the Gospel...
The Blueprint
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What a beautiful reading today from Isaiah 55. We’ll talk about it in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Matthew 6 is where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray....
I Was Hungry
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“The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.” That is the first line in today’s Responsorial Psalm from Psalm 19. In the first reading from Leviticus, we hear...
What is the Gospel?
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In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, we read about Jesus going out into the desert for forty days before beginning His public ministry. He opens His public ministry with...
Seeing the Doctor
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We hear more today about things that are pleasing to God in our first reading from Isaiah 58. The Lord also talks about how we should conduct ourselves on the...
Fasting
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Today's readings are about fasting. In the first reading from Isaiah 58, we read about God's idea of a pleasing fast. (Hint: It has nothing to do with giving up...
Choose Life
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In our first reading today from Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people what they must do in order to enter the promised land. Obey the commandments of the Lord, love Him,...
Back to the Basics
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Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of another journey through Lent. Lent lasts for 40 days. If you count the days from today to Easter, you’ll note that there are...
Tempted
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In our first reading today from James 1, St. James talks about temptation. This is a subject that comes up at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. More in a...
Bring on the Joy!
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For our first reading today, we begin the Letter of St. James. James is one of those books in the Bible that it would be very good for us to...
Spread the Word!
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In today's first reading from Leviticus, we read about what happened to someone with leprosy in the Old Testament. In our Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus heals a leper....
Pulling a Fast One
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In the first reading today from 1 Kings 12 and 13, we read about Jeroboam. Jeroboam was one of the kings of Israel. He was not a good guy. More...
Why We're Deaf and Mute
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Jesus performs another miracle in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 7. He takes a deaf mute away from the crowds and heals him. The people were astonished and said, “He...
It Can Happen to Anyone
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 7, we see the power of perseverance in prayer. A Greek woman, not a daughter of Israel, comes to Jesus asking that He...
Things That Defile
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When I was a kid, my mom always used to use the phrase “The Queen of Sheba” to describe a person (or sometimes a dog) who thought they were all...
Tradition and Truth
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In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 8, Solomon stand before the altar in the magnificent temple that he had built and offers up a prayer to God. This is...
Jesus' Healing Power
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Jesus was quite popular. In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, we see that as soon as people recognized Jesus, they ran to get their sick friends and relatives to...
Everyone is Looking for You
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In the Gospel reading today from Mark 1, Jesus leaves early in the morning, before the sun came up, to go off to a deserted place to pray. Simon and...
Asking for Wisdom
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In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 3, we meet Solomon. Solomon’s father, David, had just died. The son had ascended to the throne of Israel. More in a moment....
Presenting Our Children
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Jewish people “presented” their children to the Lord in the temple shortly after their birth. In the first...
Operating Without a Net
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David had a long and adventurous life. In today’s first reading from 1 Kings 2, we read about the death of David. “The length of David’s reign over Israel was...
The Reach of Sin
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Familiarity breeds contempt. We've all heard that old saying. We see it play out today in the life of Jesus in our Gospel reading from Mark 6. The people most...
God's Will and Our Children
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Today’s readings center around children. In the first reading from 2 Samuel 18, we see the tragic story of King David’s son Absalom. Absalom had become his father’s mortal enemy,...
Hearing the Uncomfortable
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In today's readings, we see two people who hear things that probably made them uncomfortable. In the first reading from 2 Samuel 15 and 16, a man comes upon David...
Harden Not Your Hearts
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The first reading and the Gospel today have to do with how God speaks to us. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, God promises he will raise one like Moses...
That Painful Mirror
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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...
Cowardice
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Today is the Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus. Both were co-laborers with St. Paul, and both received letters from him which are included in the New Testament. (There are...
Knocked Off Your 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...
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...
Praising with Abandon
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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...
Praying for Life
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Today is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America. A sad day, indeed. In the U.S., today is the Day of Prayer for...