Works vs. Works of the Law
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 11, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scholars of the law. These are some pretty scathing remarks. “Woe to you, scholars of...
Holding Ourselves Accountable
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Both of the readings for today are a bit harsh. In the first reading from Romans 2, St. Paul says, “The standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,...
The Danger of Impurity
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In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus has some harsh words for the Pharisees about putting on airs. We should heed these words. In the first reading from Romans...
An Evil Generation
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For today's first reading, we begin a trip through St. Paul's Letter to the Romans. It's going to be an interesting few weeks as we go through Romans, so stay...
One Gave Thanks
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In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus heals ten lepers. Of the ten healed, only one bothered to come back and give thanks to Jesus. To add insult to...
How To Be Blessed
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God will take care of His people. That is His promise, His covenant. It is one that will last forever. In today’s first reading from Joel 4, we hear this...
Stick Together
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As we read today’s first reading from Joel, we may begin to feel as though it is Ash Wednesday. Fear not…it isn’t! But in this reading, the prophet reminds us...
A Loving Father
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 11 contains a famous saying of Jesus that most folks know: "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;...
Mountains Out of Molehills
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Most folks can pray the Our Father from memory. Today we hear Jesus teaching His disciples to pray from Luke's Gospel. The wording is a bit different from Matthew's Gospel,...
God Repented
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In today's first reading from Jonah 3, we see a passage that may be confusing. We'll reflect on that in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 10, we...
The Risks of the Good Samaritan
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In today's first reading, we begin the story of Jonah. Perhaps often thought of as a great kids' Bible story, it has so much to teach all of us. Our...
Increase Our Faith
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 17, the Apostles say to Jesus, “Increase our faith.” Interesting, isn’t it? I mean, here is a group of guys who have given...
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. So, rather than comment on the Scriptures, I’m going to go a bit out of format for today. If you’re...
The Signs and the Message
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Acknowledging our sinfulness is never easy. In the first reading today from Baruch 1, the exiles do just that. They come clean and admit that “we did not heed the...
The Holy Guardian Angels
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is...
No Going Back
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My mouth often precedes my brain. In other words, I often speak without thinking. Worse yet, I more often speak without praying. This can be dangerous, as I have found...
Let Us Go With You!
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Have you ever wanted God to rain down fire and brimstone on someone? Maybe someone who was perpetuating evil? Or maybe someone who did you wrong? If so, you're not...
The Power of the Archangels
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the Archangels. Saint Michael is God’s great warrior angel, the Prince of the heavenly hosts. We see Michael...
Lazarus Lessons
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 16, Jesus tells the Pharisees the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus is a poor beggar who waits by the rich man’s...
Dwelling Among Us
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Our first reading today is from the Prophet Zechariah. Zechariah has an encounter with an angel. More in a moment. Our Gospel reading today from Luke 9 is short. Jesus...
Who Do You Say?
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In the first reading from Haggai 2 today, the Lord tells the people to get to work! He wants his house rebuilt. It, like the people, has been in a...
Consider Your Ways!
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Our first reading today is from the Prophet Haggai. The Lord had opened the doors for the rebuilding of his temple in Jerusalem. The exiles had returned. God opened the...
FROG is a Verb
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In our first reading today we see Ezra praying, acknowledging the people's sinfulness and God's great mercy. In the Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus sends out the Twelve two...
The Family of Jesus
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Can you imagine tax dollars being used to build a church? That idea seems far fetched to Americans, but that’s part of what we see in today’s first reading from...
Faith, Blessings and Gratitude
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For our first reading today we begin a journey through the Book of Ezra. King Cyrus, a gentile king, paved the way for the building of the temple in Jerusalem....
Taking the Long View
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The parable in today’s Gospel passage from Luke 16 can seem very confusing. It is about a dishonest steward that his master is going to fire. When the steward gets...
The Seeds Went Where?
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Today's Gospel is from Luke 8, the parable of the sower. A sower goes out to sow some seed and it falls in many different places. Some falls on the...
In with Nothing, Out with Nothing
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Ever hear the old expression "Money is the root of all evil"? That's actually a misquote from Scripture. In our first reading today from 1 Timothy 6, St. Paul writes,...
Great Sinners Make Great Christians
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St. Timothy must have been a fairly young man. Perhaps he was taking some heat for his lack of years. St. Paul exhorts him in today’s first reading from 1...
Where to Find Truth
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In our first reading today from 1 Timothy 3, St. Paul mentions “the pillar and foundation of truth.” Care to take a guess at what St. Paul said that was?...
Caring for the Widow and the Orphan
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We see a heartwarming story in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 7. Jesus is in the town of Nain when He comes across a funeral procession. The dead man was...
Help in Your Sorrow
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. How appropriate that we celebrate this feast the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Church gives parishes...
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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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...
Of Hearts and Fruit
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You probably think you’re a pretty big sinner. I know I do. I mean, I think I’m a pretty big sinner, not you! St. Paul knew that he was a...
The Blind Leading the Blind
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Today's Gospel reading from Luke 6 begins with Jesus asking a couple of questions. "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?" He...
The Peace of Christ
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When Catholics go to Mass, we pause to offer one another a sign of Christ's peace. Originally this was known as the kiss of peace. It eventually became a handshake...
The Wrath of God
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Today's Gospel reading is the Beatitudes from Luke's Gospel. It differs from Matthew's account in that here, Jesus includes not just blessings, but woes. In our first reading from Colossians...
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 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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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....
On Hating 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...
The Way Things Work
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Who is Jesus? In today's first reading from Colossians 1, we get that answer from St. Paul. Today's reading is a lesson in Christology. In today's Gospel reading from Luke...
Depart from Me, Lord
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Are you walking in a manner worthy of the Lord? That’s a phrase we see in our first reading today from Colossians 1. My sense tells me that you would...
Sharing Jesus with the World
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Yet another treat in store for us! Today we begin a trip through St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians. As in many of his letters, St. Paul begins with an...
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! I hope you are taking a day of R&R today. Instead of reflection on today's Scriptures, I'd like to offer a brief Labor Day meditation. In these difficult...
How You'll Be Repaid
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus goes to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. While there, He tells a parable in which He exhorts...
Spiritual Progress
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In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. In our first reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, St. Paul talks about much of the spiritual...
The Passion of John the Baptist
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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...
The Two Lives of Augustine
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Today is the Feast of St. Augustine of Hippo. He is one of the greatest converts in history, and he recounts his story in his Confessions. Like most converts, Augustine...