Reflections on the Sunday readings from the Catholic Lectionary for Mass. Includes homilies, sermons, and other thoughts.
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. …
We’re On a Mission from God God tells us today through the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” John Henry Cardinal Newman reminds us …
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
History Gives Us Context Sometimes as we go through life we can become so focused on our present situation that forget our larger place in history. We can even wander …
Monday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Monday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Do You See What I See? In the summer of 2008, a movie came out called “WALL-E”. The plot is set many years in the future when Earth has become …
What Child is This? There is a popular Christmas carol that asks of the newborn Jesus, “What child is this who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping?” Today, …
The Word Became Flesh God was always a Trinity of persons from all eternity. The second person of the trinity, the Son, always existed. Yet, we celebrate at Christmas that …
In the Light with St. Thomas Becket St. Thomas Becket is perhaps the most famous martyr of the middle ages. He was Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry II …
Who’s Side Are We On? It’s hard to imagine that anyone could see a little baby as a threat, yet that is what we see recounted in our gospel today. …
The Example of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph On this day when we honor the Holy Family, we might be temped to merely look at Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a …
Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace Our first reading from Isaiah gives us those beautiful and familiar words, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; …
A House for God The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament represented the presence of God to the Israelites. It was his dwelling place. As they journeyed through …
Unplanned Pregnancies Saved the World Today’s gospel tells of the birth of John the Baptist. You might remember the gospel from a few days ago in which little John was …
Christmas and the Solstice For those of us in the northern hemisphere, one of the rather nice connections with Christmas and the natural world is that the celebration of Our …
Discover the unique relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary as spouse of the Holy Spirit and the qualities of married love.
A Date With History In the ancient world, years were often reckoned according to the reign of the current leader. The current year might be given as “The 7th year …
A Star to Guide Our Way Today’s first reading tells of the little known prophet Balaam. He is best known for his prophecy foretelling that “A star shall advance from …
A change of mind leading to a change in action. That is what we are called to do this Advent, to think differently so as to act differently.
Being in Tune with God The Gospel today speaks of children who are upset because people aren’t dancing along with the various tunes they are playing. Society plays many tunes …
Catholic Predestination We might think of predestination as a Calvinist idea that rightly no Christian could hold. While this is true of Calvin’s and many Protestant understandings of predestination, there …
A Little Help From Our Friends Today Jesus shows us in the Gospel that he has the power to forgive sins. He also shows us that sometimes we need a …
This season can become so busy with all the extra things we add. What we need is to slow down, take time for prayer, and simplify our lives.
Following Jesus Even When We’re Blind Today’s Gospel tells of two blind men who, despite not being able to see, are described as “following” Jesus as he passes by and …
Taking the Gospel to Scotland and Beyond St. Andrew is best known in the Gospels as being the brother of St. Peter. He is in fact the one who introduces …