The Choices We Make
Posted on
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,...
Giving and Giving Up
Posted on
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I hope you’ve given some consideration about what you will do this Lent. In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus speaks...
Your Spiritual ROI
Posted on
The golden thread that runs through today’s readings could probably be summed up in this phrase: God will not be outdone in generosity. In the first reading from Sirach 35,...
Seeing the Impossible
Posted on
Repentance and conversion are essential to the Christian life. We've heard it from Sirach before and hear it again today. In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 10, we read the...
Can You See the Beam?
Posted on
In our Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus gives us another of those “Ouch!” moments. Jesus talks about how we’re so ready to point out the splinter in another’s eye...
Let the Children Come
Posted on
In the first reading today from Sirach 17, we get kind of a short history of man. We see that God “put the fear of himself upon their hearts.” In...
A Faithful Friend
Posted on
In the Gospel reading today from Mark 10, Jesus teaches about marriage. The Catholic Church has always held fast to these teachings. Sure, they are difficult. But they come from...
The Sin of Presumption
Posted on
In the Gospel reading today from Mark 9, Jesus lets us know how dangerous it is to lead others into sin. “It would be better for him if a great...
Seeking Wisdom
Posted on
1 comment
Wisdom is an interesting concept. In our first reading today from Sirach 4 we get a brief primer on Wisdom. (Note the capital letter. The sacred author speaks of Wisdom...
Fear of the Lord
Posted on
Today's first reading from Sirach 2 is so filled with wisdom it would behoove us to read it again and again. It speaks again and again of fear of the...
I Do Believe...
Posted on
Today’s first reading is from the Book of Sirach. This is one of the books that you will find in a Catholic Bible, but not a Protestant one. I think...
What Credit is That?
Posted on
Today's Gospel reading is from Jesus' Sermon on the Plain from Luke 6. There's a particular question He asks three times in this short sermon. "For if you love those...
The Chair of St. Peter
Posted on
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...
On Losing One's Life
Posted on
In today's first reading from Genesis 11, we read the story of the Tower of Babel. This is a great lesson about the consequences of trying to glorify ourselves. In...
Get Behind Me, Satan
Posted on
In the first reading today from Genesis 9, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his family. Remember, they were the only humans on the planet at this point. He...
Seeing Clearly
Posted on
Are you afraid of Doomsday? I suppose folks have a different idea of what that means, but did you know that God will never destroy all the living things of...
Understanding Jesus
Posted on
We see some tough questions from Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. More in a moment. For our first reading, we’re in Genesis 6 and 7, reading about Noah. Everyone else...
Mastering Sin
Posted on
In today’s first reading, we see the story of the world’s first murder. Cain killed his brother Abel because God looked favorably on Abel’s offering and Cain became resentful and...
Blessings and Woes
Posted on
In the Gospel today from Luke 6, we begin the Sermon on the Plain. Luke 6 records the same sermon that, in Matthew’s Gospel is called the Sermon on the...
The Blame Game
Posted on
In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 8, we read about a miracle. Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few fish. And after everyone had eaten their...
Satan's Sweet Nothings
Posted on
In the Gospel reading today from Mark 7, Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. “And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and...
One Flesh
Posted on
Today’s Gospel reading is about a desperate mother who comes to Jesus and asks Him to heal her daughter. Since she is not a Jew, Jesus refuses at first. But...
On Defilement
Posted on
In today’s first reading from Genesis 2, we see how God made man in the second creation account. “The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground...
Why the Church is Pro-Life
Posted on
In the first reading today from Genesis 1, we see the rest of the story of creation. In the Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus talks about tradition. He says,...
How It All Started
Posted on
Today for our first reading, we begin at the beginning. Genesis 1. “In the beginning…” We’ll be in the book of Genesis for the next couple of weeks. Today we...
Learning to Swim
Posted on
1 comment
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....
A Sacrifice of Praise
Posted on
In today's first reading from Hebrews 13, the sacred author writes, "Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess...
Hospitality
Posted on
Today’s Gospel reading from Mark 6 is the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. Sad and tragic, yes, but a great story for us about standing up for...
The Heavenly Jerusalem
Posted on
Do you ever find yourself bored at Mass? Your mind wanders, you're looking around at what others are wearing or thinking about how good that donut is going to taste...
Discipline is for Disciples
Posted on
Today we’re going to talk about discipline. Not a fun topic, I know. If you turned and ran away right now, I wouldn’t blame you! But in today’s first reading...
Faith and Healing
Posted on
In today’s first reading from Hebrews 12, the Sacred Author tells us “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” A wonderful reminder that we are never alone....
Go and Tell Your Family
Posted on
In today's first reading from Hebrews 11, we hear of the faith of some of the great figures of the Old Testament. But they did not have the Messiah, Jesus....
A Light for Revelation
Posted on
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Also known as Candlemas, this is the day when candles will be blessed. There will be three readings today. In...
What is Faith?
Posted on
What is faith? In our first reading today from Hebrews 11:1 it says, "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." The Catechism...
A Marathon, Not a Sprint
Posted on
Christianity ain’t for quitters. And becoming a saint (isn’t that our goal?) isn’t easy. We get a glimpse of this in our first reading today. In the Gospel reading from...
Absolute Trust
Posted on
1 comment
Today’s first reading from Hebrews 10 is so chock full of great stuff! We’ll discuss in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus tells His disciples something...
30x, 60x, 100x
Posted on
Today's Gospel reading from Mark 4 is the Parable of the Sower. It is one that is very near to my heart, as it sparked my Seeds of Grace talks....
I Come to Do Your Will
Posted on
In our first reading today from Hebrews 10, the sacred author, speaking of Jesus, quotes Psalm 40. "Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I...
Strength and Weakness
Posted on
1 comment
In today's first reading from Hebrews 9 we hear more about the once for all sacrifice of Christ. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus is accused of being...
Scripture Fulfilled
Posted on
1 comment
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1 and 4, we see the beginning of Jesus public ministry in Nazareth. Jesus in the synagogue reads a passage from Isaiah and says...
The Call to Conversion
Posted on
Today the Church celebrates the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. We see the story of Saul's conversion twice the the Acts of the Apostles - in chapter 9 the...
The Twelve
Posted on
The first reading today from Hebrews 8 talks about covenant. Jesus came to earth to usher in the New Covenant. A covenant is an exchange of persons. It requires total...
The Sacrifice of the Mass
Posted on
In the first reading today from Hebrews 7 & 8, the sacred author talks about the once for all sacrifice of Christ. “He has no need, as did the high...
Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
Posted on
Today in the United States is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It falls on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision...
The Spiritual Law of Motion
Posted on
1 comment
In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 2, Jesus says something very telling to the Pharisees. “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the...
Jesus Our High Priest
Posted on
Today in Hebrews 5, we see a theme that we touched on last week; that Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered. The author of Hebrews was big on this...
Good Advice from Cana
Posted on
1 comment
Do you know what the first sign was that Jesus gave to the world? It was, as told in John’s Gospel, changing water into wine. It happens at a wedding...
The Word as Sword
Posted on
1 comment
In our first reading from Hebrews 4, the author of Hebrews tells us about the word of God. More on that in a moment. The Gospel reading from Mark 2...
Bringing Those We Love to Jesus
Posted on
Life is hard. But we can find rest in God. Today's first reading from Hebrews 4 encourages us to "enter into that rest." In the Gospel reading today from Mark...
Tomorrow May Be Too Late
Posted on
Today’s Gospel story is from Mark 1, about a leper that comes to Jesus seeking to be healed. Jesus heals him and tells him not to tell anyone. The guy...