Posts by Brianna Moran
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
As young kids, what were we told when we did something wrong? Weren’t we told, “don’t do that again?” In our first reading today, the Apostles were thrown into the jail cells because the Sadducees said that the Apostles were doing wrong! God’s soldiers, the angels, freed the Apostles from their jail cells and…
Read MoreMemorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
What is the easiest, shortest route to take? Isn’t that the question we ask ourselves when we go on a journey? It is for me. And when I’m giving driving directions to someone, it’s exactly what I consider. In our gospel, I think this is what Nicodemus is trying to look for. He’s basically…
Read MoreMonday of the Second Week of Easter
Jesus uses an expression with Nicodemus today in our gospel that Nicodemus finds puzzling. Jesus tells him that one must be born from above to the enter the Kingdom. This was an image Jesus was using to communicate the newness one will experience when they take on this new identity, this new form that…
Read MoreSunday of Divine Mercy
When a child does something wrong, and they know that they have done something wrong, what does the child do? They go and hide. Why does a child hide? Because the child knows what they did was wrong and they are scared of getting punished and being embarrassed because they’ve been caught red handed.…
Read MoreSaturday in the Octave of Easter
Jesus’ appearances to his disciples following his resurrection were very powerful and emotional moments. To have a loved one return from the dead would bring out in us reactions very similar to Mary Magdelene’s, the two travelers to Emmaus, and the disciples. But the long-term effect would be deeper and more meaningful. St. Paul,…
Read MoreFriday in the Octave of Easter
Jesus frequently comes to persons through normal everyday events. A simple conversation while fishing. A suggestion to try something different to improve the chances for a catch. Breakfast afterwards. All of the senses (sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell) combine to gradually unveil the truth: Jesus is in our midst. He has now appeared…
Read MoreThursday in the Octave of Easter
News about the resurrection of Jesus spread very slowly. Mary Magdelene was the first to hear and then to see him. The realization eventually also dawned upon the travelers to Emmaus. The disciples in Jerusalem came to know of both events. Still they, too, were startled, terrified, and troubled when Jesus appeared to them.…
Read MoreWednesday in the Octave of Easter
The burial of a loved one is sobering. When the body is lowered into the tomb and earth covers it, reality sets in. Two men were still trying to make sense Jesus’ death as they walked to Emmaus. He was really gone. Why did all these things happen? And now there are rumors that…
Read MoreTuesday in the Octave of Easter
St. John’s telling of Mary Magdelene at Jesus’ tomb lacks some of the drama of St. Matthew’s version yesterday. In place of a great earthquake, Mary is simply weeping. The depth of her grief over the empty tomb is such that she is neither startled by two angels who are nearby, nor does she…
Read MoreMonday in the Octave of Easter
The Gospel readings at Mass this week will be taken from each of the four Evangelists. Through them, we will relive what the followers of Christ experienced immediately after his crucifixion and burial. The first readings at Mass this week are all from the Acts of the Apostles, and they begin after the Holy…
Read MoreEaster Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord
In the reading from Isaiah in this morning’s Easter Vigil, we heard: “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thought; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in…
Read MoreHoly Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter
His Cross stands empty in a world grown silent Through hours of anguish and of dread; In stillness earth awaits the resurrection While Christ goes down to wake the dead. (The first verse of the Hymn for Lauds and Vespers of Holy Saturday at Conception Abbey) We stand before the empty cross still stained…
Read MoreGood Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Today the beloved Son of God—the Eternal King before all ages, the one True Prophet, the one True Holy Priest of God, the Eternal Word of God from whom all life sprung forth, our beloved Jesus—has died on a Cross of torture. We stand gazing up at our beloved Jesus beaten and pierced for…
Read MoreThursday of Holy Week
“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” These words of Jesus are profound, for he is calling us to become His presence in the world. We are called to embody Christ and bring his divine love and humility into the world.…
Read MoreWednesday of Holy Week
“‘Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’ Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely it is not I Lord?’” How often do we say “Surely it is not I, Lord?” We are placed in the presence of Jesus and have entered into union…
Read MoreTuesday of Holy Week
In today’s Gospel we hear that, “After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.” “And it was night.” Judas was in the presence of the one true light, Jesus, but was blind to that light out of selfishness and greed. So, after receive the morsel from the light he turned away from the grace…
Read MoreMonday of Holy Week
In today’s Gospel, we see two very different points of views and motivations. Jesus comes to visit his friends in Bethany and out of love for him Mary anointed his feet with costly perfumed oil and uses her hair to dry them. You can see in her a deep love for Jesus, a love…
Read MorePalm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Today is a very popular day in the liturgical year and is one of my favorites. I think this is because we are dropped into the very life of Jesus. We gather in excitement awaiting the entrance of our Beloved into our very lives. We pick up our palms and begin to wave them…
Read MoreSaturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
“Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, ‘What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?’” My grandmother, Bernice Migliazzo,…
Read MoreFriday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Things are starting to get rough for Jesus. The Jews want to stone him because he is claiming himself to be like God, but they are blind and only worried about themselves! The healings that Jesus has performed physically, spiritually, and yes even mentally, is something that they can’t comprehend. People hate change, and…
Read MoreThursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
In today’s gospel, Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” As many of you know I am a big TITANIC buff! I love the ship and everything about her. I even have a lump of coal from the ship—probably the only time…
Read MoreWednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
I remember in the great movie “The Song of Bernadette,” Dr. Dozous asked the little girl Bernadette, who was suppose to be stupid, “’My dear, do you know what a sinner is?’ she replied back to me, ‘certainly monsieur, a sinner is one who loves evil.’ Mind you she said one who loves and…
Read MoreTuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten [by the serpents] will live.” “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM!” In the first reading we have the prefiguration of the cross. The…
Read MoreMonday of the Fifth Week of Lent
“No one arrested Jesus, because his hour had not yet come.” The hour is his passion. In a way, this shows the power and authority that Jesus has. We hear it over and over again in the gospels, especially within the coming days when either no one could lay a hand on him because…
Read MoreFifth Sunday of Lent
Let’s take a deep breath, shall we? How are we doing on our Lenten observances? Have we been doing good and moving forward? Or have we sort of fallen off course after… Ash Wednesday? Sadly, for me it is the latter. But I am not going to be too hard on myself because, as…
Read MoreSaturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The Pharisee Nicodemus appears three times in the Gospel of St. John, and his journey shows a gradual movement from curiosity to deeper faith. Originally came to Jesus at night (wishing not to be seen) wanting to see for himself who Jesus was. He acknowledged that Jesus must have come from God, and Nicodemus…
Read MoreFriday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The chilling voice of the speaker from in the Book of Wisdom is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’ famous novel, The Screwtape Letters, which presents a series of letters from the seasoned demon “Screwtape” to his inexperienced nephew Wormwood, and offering guidance on how to tempt a human person away from Christianity and towards damnation.…
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