Help for the Hopeless
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Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The readings are the same as the feast days of other Apostles – Ephesians 2:19-22, which I recently wrote about, and Luke 6:12-16, which is the listing of the Twelve. St. Jude, also known as St. Jude Thaddeus, is the Patron of Hopeless and Desperate […]
Monday, October 27, 2014
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Gus devotes plenty of time today to the movie Ouija, which topped the box office this past weekend. He didn’t offer a review of the film, because he hasn’t seen it, but he did ask listeners if they ever played with a Ouija board in their youth and if they’d see the movie or allow their kids […]
Thursday, October 23, 2014
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Today, Gus plays 5 Questions with his listeners. The lucky caller who gets on the air gets asked five random questions by Gus and, if they make it through, they win a prize. Also, Jon Leonetti calls in to talk about his new book “Your God is Too Boring.” To learn more about Jon, check […]
Caring for People
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Today’s reflection may be a stretch, but stay with me. I want to make a connection between the first reading and the Gospel reading, something we can do most every day. In the first reading from Ephesians 4 and 5, St. Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these […]
A Different Perspective
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In a training session that I was doing for the readers at my church some years ago, one of the readers asked me specifically about today’s first reading from Exodus 22. “I just don’t connect with the Old Testament,” she said. “How am I supposed to make a reading like this exciting and relevant?” Good […]
Repent – Or Else
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Have you ever heard this old expression? God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. That’s one of the messages that we get from today’s first reading from Ephesians 4. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus has some stark words for the people. “But I tell you, if you do not repent, […]
The “Times”
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In our first reading today from Ephesians 4, St. Paul urges his readers to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.” I love this passage of Scripture because it first assumes that we have received a call. It […]
Turn and Burn!
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Our first reading today from Ephesians 3 is, in essence, a prayer. St. Paul prays that the Father “may grant you…to be strengthened with power through his Spirit…and that Christ may dwell in your hearts…that you…may know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” Be sure to read St. Paul’s beautiful prayer for you! I […]
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
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Gus is still unraveling the Synod of the Family, which wrapped up this past Sunday. He reads a lot of statements published by U.S. bishops who were in attendance and plays a clip of Cardinal Dolan’s account from yesterday’s edition of Conversation w/Cardinal Dolan on the Catholic Channel. You can listen to it by clicking […]
Entrusted With More
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In today’s first reading from Ephesians 3, St. Paul talks about the gifts that God has given him, and his responsibility to use them properly. This is a theme that will come up in the Gospel reading today. St. Paul also tells us about a couple of gifts that God has given to us…”we have […]
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
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Gus talks about the story of Brittany Maynard. She’s a 29-year-old woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer last year and was given 14 months to live. She has decided to end her life on November 1st, through physician-assisted suicide. She will be taking a drug called secobarbital. Gus uses this as an opportunity to discuss […]
Monday, October 20, 2014
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The Synod of the Family concluded yesterday in Rome and Gus breaks it down with expert analysis from Frank Rocca, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Services, and Catholic blogger Fr. Dwight Longenecker who wrote a passionate response following the release of the Relatio midway through the Synod. Read it here. Gus also welcomes Marcus […]
No Longer Strangers
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We’re back in Ephesians 2 for our first reading today. St. Paul addresses the people as “you who once were far off,” and “you who were far off.” Notice that he uses both in the past tense. For now we are near to God the Father through Christ Jesus. In the Gospel reading from Luke […]
True Wealth
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Today in our first reading from Ephesians 2, St. Paul speaks about being saved. And how does he say we are saved? “By grace you have been saved.” and “For by grace you have been saved through faith…it is the gift of God.” Our salvation is only through the grace of God. We have done, […]
It’s All God’s
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus is asked by some Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes. They try to trip Him up by asking, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? ” Jesus’ reply is quite well known to most people. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar […]
St. Luke the Evangelist
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the author of two books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. In fact, Acts may be considered a “sequel” to Luke’s Gospel, as that story picks up right where Luke ends. St. Luke is […]
Friday, October 17, 2014
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It’s Friday on Seize the Day, so Gus urges his listeners to call in for Prayer Time in an effort to offer up all their unique intentions in one communal prayer. Gus also talks about the big news of the day, which is Cardinal Walter Kasper’s disparaging remarks concerning the voice of the African bishops in the […]
What You’re Worth
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The old existential question persists – Why are we here? Actually, St. Paul gives the answer to that question in our first reading from Ephesians 1. “…so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Got it? You are here to praise God!! In the Gospel reading […]
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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Gus is still weighing in on the relatio that was released earlier this week. It came out yesterday that an “incorrect translation” created the immense reaction. To read more about that, click here. Also, Catholic author Jon M. Sweeney calls in to talk about his new book “When Saint Francis Saved the Church,” which Gus […]
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
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Gus is back from vacation and all the talk is about the Synod of the Family mid-term report called the “relatio.” It’s certainly getting big reactions from all sides of the spectrum. Click here to read the latest. To help sift through all the mixed reports on exactly what is going on at the Synod, […]
Redemption, Forgiveness, Grace
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The scribes and Pharisees were, for the most part, no fans of Jesus. Small wonder after the tongue-lashing they got from Him. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, we see that they “began to act with hostility to him.” It reminds me that when the world shows hostility to us, we should never despair. […]
A Checklist for Life
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Jesus was never one to mince words. We see this again today in the Gospel reading from Luke 11, where He is pronouncing woes on the Pharisees. When a scholar of the law hears this, he tells Jesus that they (the scholars of the law) feel insulted, too. So, just to even things up, Jesus […]
Matching the Inside with the Outside
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God doesn’t care about anyone’s background. You don’t have to have any kind of “pedigree” to give your life to Christ. St. Paul puts it like this in today’s first reading: “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, […]
Freedom
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus says, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” Hmm…seems the more things change the more they stay the same. So many today are seeking a sign. They won’t believe until they see […]
Properly Dressed
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In the Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable about a king who gives a wedding feast for his son. When the servants went out to summon the invited guests, they refused to come. Some even beat and killed the servants. So the king has servants go out and invite people off the […]
Being Blessed
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We hear more about justification and faith in today’s first reading from Galatians 3. “For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.” Good news, no? Lord, strengthen our faith this day. We have a very short Gospel passage today, only two short verses from Luke 11. A woman cries out to […]
The Gift of Faith
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Today in Galatians 3, St. Paul has strong things to say about faith and “works of the law.” More on that in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 11, we see Jesus being accused of casting out demons “by the power of Beelzebul.” Jesus responds by asking how that could be. If that […]
October 6th to October 14th
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Enjoy some of the greatest moments from the summer of Seize the Day and Gus Lloyd takes some vacation time! We talk to listeners about annulments, angelic encounters, the sign of peace and much more. He’s also joined by several guests including Catholic bloggers Kevin Cotter and Joshua Bowman and Fr. Jerry Byrd, John Lillis […]
Ask for the Spirit
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In the first reading today from Galatians 3, St. Paul talks about faith vs. works of the law. He asks a question about “the one who supplies the Spirit to you.” More about the Spirit comes in the Gospel. In the Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus tells a story about persistence. He then goes […]
Speaking Truth to Power
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What was the first prayer you learned as a child? Chances are good that it was the Our Father. Jesus teaches it to His disciples in today’s first reading from Luke 11. In today’s first reading from Galatians 2, we see the story of an interesting confrontation. St. Paul was a very outspoken guy. He […]
The Turnaround
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St. Paul was a pretty bad guy early on. We hear about it in our first reading today from Galatians 1. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading from Luke 10, we see the story of Martha and Mary. “You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church […]
Your Good Samaritan
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For the first reading today, we begin a trip through St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. St. Paul made it very clear that any “gospel” that conflicted with his preaching was a false gospel. Our Gospel reading for today is from Luke 10, the story of the Good Samaritan. We’re all familiar with this story, […]
The Importance of Bearing Fruit
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner. The landowner sends numerous servants to look after a vineyard that he had leased to some tenants. The tenants abuse and kill them all. So the landowner sends his son. And they kill him. Jesus then says to the chief priests and […]
St. Francis
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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 not familiar with the Prayer of St. Francis, then today would be a good day to familiarize yourself with it. And if you already know […]
Friday, October 3, 2014
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It’s a power-packed Friday on Seize the Day as Gus prepares to take a week plus off. We kick everything off with Prayer Time and then Gus gets into a heavy discussion with listeners about Bishop Ronald Gainer of the diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s decision to not allow the male wrestlers in Catholic schools in […]
Two Rules
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 10, we hear more of Jesus’ words to the seventy-two as He sends them out. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” We must always remember that Jesus’ authority lies in the Church […]
Thursday, October 2, 2014
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Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels and Gus invites listeners to call in again and share their “angelic encounter” stories. Earlier this week, we had the Feast of the Archangels so it’s been a very angelic week on Seize the Day. Also, it’s Thursday and that means our college football expert Bob Dunning […]
My Guardian Dear
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. In the optional first reading for the feast day from Exodus, we see God telling the people that he is sending an angel before them to lead and guide them. He says that He has given this angel His authority; they must listen to him. In […]
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
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In reflecting upon today’s Gospel (Luke 9: 57-62), when Jesus says, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God,” Gus admits the first thing that always comes to mind is addiction whenever he hears that passage. After all, we’re all addicts to […]
Forward in Faith
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Do you converse with God? I hope so – and regularly. Have you ever questioned God? Job ponders that in today’s first reading from Job 9. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9:57-62, we hear what can be a rather disconcerting saying of Jesus. A guy says he will follow Jesus, but first he wants to […]
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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Gus admits to “binge-watching” the TV show Under the Dome so he asks his listeners if they’ve ever binge-watched a program and which one was it? Also, Dr. Peter Kleponis calls in to the program to talk about his new book “Integrity Restored: Helping Catholic Families Win the Battle Against Pornography.” Dr. Kleponis is one of […]
Fire from Heaven
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If Job were around today, he certainly would have been diagnosed with serious depression. In today’s first reading, he rues the very day that he was born. He knows that anything would be better than all the stuff he was suffering through. Yet through it all, he never curses God for his plight. In the […]
Monday, September 29, 2014
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Gus kicks the show off with Tell Me Something Good. Callers share their blessings to try and push back the Monday blahs. Also, Patrick Archbold, National Catholic Register columnist and founder of the Creative Minority Report, calls in to talk about the upcoming Synod of the Family in Rome and how the possible “streamlining” of […]
This is War!
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael – the Archangels. We truly celebrate all of the Holy Angels. Our readings reflect that. We have two options for the first reading. The first, from Daniel 7, contains a vision of heaven. Here we see “myriads upon myriads” attending to the Ancient One. […]
More Than Words
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In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells a story of two sons, each of whom was told by their father to go out and work in the vineyard. The first son says, “I will not,” but then changes his mind and goes out to work. The second son says, “Yes, sir,” but then doesn’t […]
The Joy of Youth
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Jesus said many things that His disciples did not understand. We see this in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 9. Jesus tells them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” They didn’t understand, and were afraid to question Him further about this. In the first reading today from Ecclesiastes 11 and […]
Seasons of Life
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Today’s first reading is from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every thing under the heavens.” If you’re a baby boomer like me, you can’t read that Scripture without hearing “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds in your head. Not a bad ear worm to have! As a […]
Thursday, September 25, 2014
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Gus reminds everybody this morning that we’re only three months away from Christmas. In honor, he gives away copies of his books “A Minute in the Church” and “A Minute in the Church, Vol. 2” to callers who get on the air with him and promise to give it to their priest or pastor as a […]
A Greater Purpose
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In the first reading today, we begin the book of Ecclesiastes. The book is something of a study in the futility of life here on earth. More in a moment. In the Gospel from Luke 9, we see Herod wondering about this Jesus character. He had heard much about him and was obviously very curious. […]
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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Gus starts off by sounding off on the recent NFL epidemic of spousal/child abuse and lays the problem at the feet of the disintegrating families, particularly the diminished role of the father. Then, Fr. Robert McTeigue, instructor at Ava Maria University, calls in to talk about the religious sisterhood and why exactly some women choose […]