Reflections on the Sunday readings from the Catholic Lectionary for Mass. Includes homilies, sermons, and other thoughts.
A Communion of Love The Trinity is a complicated thing. Today’s homily tells how even the great St. Augustine was reminded that he would never be able to fully understand …
Being a Good Priest We are all familiar with the ordained priesthood, but did you know that everyone who is baptized is a priest? The job of a priest is …
Come Follow Me The story of the “rich young man” in today’s Gospel is a challenge to all of us. This young man received the great call of Jesus to …
Preparing for a Birthday Today’s feast of Pentecost is often called the “birthday” of the Church. It was on this day that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the …
Peace Amidst the Troubles of the World Perhaps our natural response to opposition and setbacks is to assume that we have done something wrong. In today’s gospel, Jesus says quite …
Hope for Those Just Passing Through Today’s homily tells the story of a man who came to realize that we really don’t have a lasting home in this world; in …
Roses for Our Mother May is the month in which we traditionally honor Mary and often crown her statues with wreaths of flowers. While this is a special event for …
Following the Spirit In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we see how Paul changes his plans several times because, as he says, “The Spirit prevented me.” Can …
Feast of Sts. Philip and James One of my favorite verses in Scripture is spoken in today’s Gospel by St. Philip. He asks Jesus, “Show us the Father.” While Jesus …
Finding the Perfect Church How do you find the Church? Can you find the Church? Many Christians who say they believe in the Church and even claim to be members …
Memorial of Pope St. Pius V St. Pius V is probably best known for the leading the Church through the reforms following the Council of Trent. In 1570 he promulgated …
The Humility of Being a Sheep We tend to think of sheep as these adorable cuddly little fluff balls of cuteness. However, when you get right down to it, sheep …
To Teach, Sanctify, and Govern Today we celebrate what is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday” in reference to our Gospel reading. It is also the World Day of Prayer for …
How to Handle the Hard Stuff “This is a hard saying. Who can accept it?” This is the reaction of the disciples of Jesus to his teaching on the Eucharist. …
Happy Anniversary Pope Benedict Today marks the 5th anniversary of the election of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. On this day the Church throughout the world remembers him in …
St. Peter Shows Us the Beauty of Repentance In Jerusalem there is a church in honor of St. Peter called “St. Peter in Gallicantu.” It sits on the location …
This is Our Feast of Victory Everyone loves a good story. Some stories are just made up (see my previous post on the Clash of the Titans movie). Today we …
It’s Easter! Now What? Now that Eater is finally here, you might be wondering…”now what?” It would be easy to go back to our normal routines. That’s what Peter appears …
Christ the Lamb Has Saved the Sheep Easter Sunday and the 8 days that follow (the Octave of Easter) give us a rare treat of an additional chant for Mass. …
Oberammergau Teaches Us to Hope in the Cross It was the year 1632 and Central Europe was suffering through the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War which had left the …
Praying With the Rites of Holy Week As the most holy Three Days of the year begin this evening, I offer the talk I gave last night to those preparing …
Who Would Do Such a Deed? Today we celebrate both the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as well as his shameful crucifixion and apparent defeat. That’s a lot to …
Top Tips for Being a More Perfect Penitent Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been to confession. There are lots of reasons that people can fall away from the …
Coming to Our Senses Today’s familiar gospel story of the prodigal son presents us with an important image of life. The first part of the story tells of the tragic …
Humility Leads to Healing In today’s first reading, Naaman the Syrian gives us all an example of what we need to do if we desire healing from God. Despite being …
Be Aware In 1521, St. Ignatius of Loyola had a powerful conversion that turned him from a life of worldly dissipation to becoming one of the greatest saints in the …
Measure for Measure Today’s first reading from the prophet Daniel gives us a beautiful example of humility before God. When we humbly admit our sinfulness, it is then that God …
Peculiar, Holy, and Perfect Praying over the scriptures today, I began wondering about what was meant by saying that we a people that God has made “peculiarly” his own. A …
Flipping for Jesus While watching the Olympics recently, I was very interested in the “freestyle skiing” competition. The athletes ski down a steep hill and then into a ramp that …
Overcoming Spiritual Desolation with St. Ignatius Many people speak of the great joy they find in their relationship with God. You can see how alive they are with the Spirit. …