Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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Gus began the day talking about what he believes are some the root causes of the spate of domestic violence cases today. The breakdown of the family and the large number of fatherless households are a great start. Gus took opinions from many listeners in a lively discussion. Former US Senator Rick Santorum joined Gus […]
Two Things I Ask
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If you could ask God for just two things, what would they be? Solomon does just that today in our first reading from Proverbs 30. And in the Gospel from Luke 9, Jesus sends out the Twelve, telling them to take just the bare necessities to get by. The two readings really go hand in […]
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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Gus is inspired by today’s Gospel reading (Luke 8: 19-21) in which Jesus, upon hearing that his mother and brothers are standing outside and they wish to see Him, says to the crowd, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” He asks his listeners about […]
Jesus’ Family
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So many of the Proverbs talk about our actions – how we respond to God’s call. That is certainly the case with today reading from Proverbs 21. “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. In the Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to […]
Monday, September 22, 2014
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Gus talks panhandling this morning. His hometown of Tampa passed an ordinance recently prohibiting panhandling downtown and near banks. Gus, like most people, feels conflicted about giving to panhandlers and asks his listeners how they feel about banning that activity and if they have rules on giving to people who panhandle. Also, Dr. Frank Hermann sits […]
Prayer and Generosity
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n the first reading today, we begin a few days in the book of Proverbs, a book that is full of short verses that contain the wisdom of the ages. Much of the book is attributed to Solomon, the wisest man ever to live. In the Gospel reading from Luke 8 Jesus tells us that, […]
Always a Good Time
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In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who goes into town to hire workers for his vineyard. He hires some at the beginning of the day, others late in the morning, others in the afternoon, and some very late in the day. At the end of the […]
Knowledge of the Mysteries of the Kingdom
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We continue in 1 Corinthians 15 for our first reading today, where St. Paul continues his treatment on the resurrection of the body. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” The Gospel reading is Luke’s telling of the parable of sower. After telling the parable, but before explaining it, Jesus […]
Friday, September 19, 2014
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Gus kicks the show off with Prayer Time and gets all the prayer intentions of his 7:30 listeners and offers them all up in one communal prayer. Also, Gus talks about Bishop Thomas Tobin’s recent comments about the Church’s approach to reconciling divorced-and-remarried Catholics, while not changing Church teaching, and opens it up to the […]
A Greater Hope
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Women were a very important part of the Church from the very beginning. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 8, St. Luke lists some women who accompanied Jesus and the Twelve and “provided for them out of their resources.” In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul continues to talk about the resurrection […]
Thursday, September 18, 2014
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Gus gets things rolling today with Jeff Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Catholic Media International, who joins us live in Iraq as he follows the plight of the persecuted Christians at the hands of ISIS. Jeff describes vividly the atrocities that have been inflicted upon them and how they’re getting through it. To hear the interview […]
Forgiveness and Love
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Popeye used to say, “I yam what I yam.” I wonder if he got that from St. Paul. He could have. In our first reading today from 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” Who knew that Popeye quoted the Scriptures? In the Gospel reading […]
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
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Gus plays a couple clips from yesterday’s edition of Conversation with Cardinal Dolan where his eminence spoke at length about the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen beatification delay and the St. Patrick’s Day parade controversy where, for the first time, a gay group will much under a banner. Cardinal Dolan, incidentally, was named Grand Marshall. To […]
Love is…You?
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Today’s first reading is from 1 Corinthians 13. In fact, it is the whole chapter. It is known as “The Love Chapter.” More on that in a moment. In the Gospel today from Luke 7, Jesus gives a scenario that kind of says, “You just can’t please anybody.” Check it out for yourself. If you […]
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
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In light of the news about Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson being indicted on child abuse charges for using a switch on his son, Gus talked about corporal punishment and asked the listeners if they received corporal punishment as a child, and/or used it on their children as parents. Read more about Adrian Peterson’s story […]
Many Parts, One Body
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We get a real glimpse of the merciful heart of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 7. Jesus comes upon a funeral procession of a young man who was the only child of a widow. Out of compassion and without being asked, Jesus raises the man from the dead. Imagine that! In the first […]
Monday, September 15, 2014
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Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Gospel reading is John 19: 25-27, where the Blessed Virgin Mary is at the foot of the Cross, watching her son Jesus dying on the Cross. Inspired by this passage, Gus asks his listeners if they or someone they know ever experienced the death […]
Help in Times of Sorrow
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Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The first reading is for Monday of the twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time. In it, St. Paul recounts what Jesus said at the Last Supper. How can that be? St. Paul wasn’t at the Last Supper. Read it and see. The Church gives parishes […]
The Cross of Christ
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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 a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. Whenever someone looked at it, they would be healed of their bite from a serpent. This […]
Participation in the Body and Blood
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus says, “Every tree is known by its fruit.” He then talks about building our house on a firm foundation. When Christ is not our foundation, our “house” is destined to fall. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 10, St. Paul speaks about the Real Presence of […]
Friday, September 12, 2014
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Gus asks his listeners if they ever had a brush with a famous athlete in their lives and how meaningful it was to them. Also, Gus welcome former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn to the show to talk about the administration’s tepid response to the Christian persecution in Iraq. […]
In It to Win It
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For many, sports is their religion. Interestingly, St. Paul used sports analogies when talking about religion. More in a moment. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus talks about how easy it is for us to point out the sins in others without recognizing our own faults and failings. “You hypocrite! Remove the wooden […]
Thursday, September 11, 2014
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Today, Gus kicks everything off by reading a piece written by Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George for his archdiocese’s newspaper Catholic New World entitled “A Tale of Two Churches.” To read it, click here. Also, following yesterday’s discussion of Freedom From Religion Foundation vs. Koskinen, Gus asks his listeners how they feel about political talk being […]
How You (are) Measure(d)
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Is it better to be smart, or to love? I think we all know the answer to that, right? In the opening verse of our first reading today from 1 Corinthians 8, St. Paul says it like this: “Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.” Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6 is one of […]
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
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Gus devotes much of today’s Seize the Day program to the reaction following Baltimore Ravens Running Back Ray Rice’s termination from the team after TMZ released the disturbing video of him punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an elevator last February, knocking her unconscious. He asks his listeners how something like this affects the solubility of […]
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
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Gus talks about the recent decision to allow gay groups to march in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, and invites his listeners to call in and share their thoughts on this historic change. Also, Gus speaks with Ashley McGuire, senior fellow at the Catholic Association, to talk about a recent Time Magazine […]
All is Not as it Seems
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In 1 Corinthians 7 today, St. Paul warns his readers that “time is running out.” This world is passing away. He warns them to use what time is left fruitfully. 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 […]
Things of the Past
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In the Gospel reading today from Luke 6, we see that Jesus spent the night in prayer. The next day, He called His disciples and told them that He had chosen Twelve, whom He also named Apostles. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 6, St. Paul talks about judgement, and Christians treating one another […]
Monday, September 8, 2014
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It’s Monday on Seize the Day and that means it’s time for Tell Me Something Good. Gus has an extended edition today as we’re inundated with God’s blessings on our listeners. Also, Gus speaks with Caitlin La Ruffa, director of the Love & Fidelity Network, to talk about their new college campaign addressing the college […]
Happy Birthday, Mom!
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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. We really don’t even know where she was born. In fact, we have no certainty at all about the details of Mary’s life before the […]
What We Owe
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The second reading today from Romans 13 begins with this: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Seems there’s a lot of talk about debt these days. National debt and personal debt. Debt is generally not a good thing. It means that we […]
Scum
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In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus is called on the carpet by some Pharisees for picking grain on the sabbath. It was unlawful to “work” on the sabbath. (Of course, in our day and age this seems ridiculous. But they took very seriously the commandment to keep holy the sabbath.) Jesus reminds them […]
Friday, September 5, 2014
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It’s a Friday on Seize the Day so that means Gus takes your prayer requests in Prayer Time. After all, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Also, Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, calls in to Gus to talk […]
Old Wine and New Wine
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Judgment is always a fun thing to talk about, right? In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 4, that’s just what St. Paul talks about. Read what he has to say about judgment. In the Gospel reading today from Luke 5, we hear Jesus talking about wine and wineskins. He says, “No one pours […]
Thursday, September 4, 2014
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Gus kicks off Seize the Day by again inviting his listeners to take his Pew Seat Challenge this weekend at mass. Inspired by Fr. Roger Landry’s recent article “The Spirituality of Pew Sitting,” Gus challenges the Seize the Day listeners to mix it up this Sunday by sitting in a different part of the church. Gus took […]
Confronting Our Sinfulness
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In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 3, we hear more about wisdom and foolishness. “If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise.” In the Gospel reading from Luke 5, we see a miraculous catch of fish. After fishing all night and […]
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
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Gus asks his listeners if God has ever put anyone in their life who they’ve tried to help grow spiritually and how that worked out for them. Also, where do you sit in mass? Did you know that where you sit may speak a lot about you? That’s what Fr. Roger Landry of St. Bernadette […]
God Causes the Growth
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Jesus was a very busy guy. We see this in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 4. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law, He heals all the sick in the town and casts out many demons. When He tries to get a moment alone, the people track Him down and try to prevent Him from leaving their town. […]
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
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Gus is back live after a three-day Labor Day weekend and he kicks everything off with Tell Me Something Good, where listeners can call in and share their good news and blessings. Also, Kevin Cotter from FOCUS calls in to the show to talk about his recent article “10 Things Pope Francis Wants You to […]
Natural and Spiritual
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For the first reading today, we’re back in 1 Corinthians 2. St. Paul speaks much of the Spirit of God here. More in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 4, we see the word “authority” twice. Jesus “spoke with authority” and “With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits.” Jesus was given […]
Our Labor
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Happy Labor Day! I hope you are taking a day of R&R today. I’d like to share some thoughts about our labor today. In these difficult economic times, many people are worried. Those who are unemployed are worried about whether they will find work again. The underemployed worry about making enough to make ends meet. […]
An Obstacle to God
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Jesus had just told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom. Immediately after that, Jesus begins to talk about how He would be handed over, killed and rise on the third day. This kind of talk didn’t sit well with Peter. In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Peter says, “God […]
Shame
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You have been given great gifts and talents. You need to use them to build up the Kingdom of God. This is a lesson we get from today’s Gospel reading in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. How are you investing your talents? In the first reading today from 1 Corinthians 1, we hear […]
Friday, August 29, 2014
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Big announcement from Gus and Fr. Leo Patalinghug on today’s edition of Seize the Day! Together, they announced their “Taste of Italy” pilgrimage scheduled for June 21, 2015 to July 2, 2015. To find out the details, click here. Part of the pilgrimage will include visiting the public display of the Shroud of Turin, which […]
Fools for Christ
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Today the Church celebrates the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel reading from Mark 6 tells the story of how John was beheaded. It is a tragic tale, but one that we can learn from – the truth will cost us everything. Our first reading today is from 1 Corinthians 1 where St. […]
June 21, 2015 – July 2, 2015 Taste of Italy Pilgrimage Itinerary
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SUNDAY, JUNE 21 – Day 1: DEPART U.S.A. Depart this evening on an overnight flight to Rome from Newark or Philadelphia. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. MONDAY, JUNE 22 – Day 2: ARRIVAL IN MILAN Upon arrival in Milan’s Malpensa Airport, we are met by our professional English speaking tour manager […]
Thursday, August 28, 2014
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Gus is joined today by Dr. Christopher Kaczor, professor of philosophy at Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles, to talk about Gov. Jerry Browne’s administration ordering abortion coverage in health insurance plans for his university and Santa Clara University; both of which are Catholic institutions. To read more about it, click here. Also, college football kicks off tonight and […]
Great Sinner, Great Saint
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Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Augustine. I want to go outside of our regular format today and talk about this great saint. By the way, we see much of our first reading played out in the life of St. Augustine. Read it and see if you agree. Augustine was a man of […]
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
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Gus welcomes Fr. Paul Schneck to the Conversion Corner. Fr. Schenck grew up Jewish and shares his fascinating conversion story, which ultimately led to him becoming a priest in the Catholic Church. To read his “glorious journey,” click here. Also, Seize the Day was off most of last week when a lot of major news […]
No Free Ride
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In the first reading today from 2 Thessalonians 3, St. Paul talks about the importance of work. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus continues to pronounce woes on the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus pulled no punches with these characters. “On the outside you appear righteous, but inside […]