Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

  Everyone in this country recalls the horror of the attacks of 9-11-2001 on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and fields of Pennsylvania. Many watched on TV as the tragedy unfolded before our very eyes. Many people died that day. Others died later because of the attacks. And things changed that day and thereafter. Sunday’s…

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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

  There is something in the Gospel that is important for us to get and not overlook. It has to do with how Jesus is present to us. Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” When we speak of the Eucharist (the…

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Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest

  Where did you come from? Paul is reminding the Colossians of who they were before they became new again through Christ. Why did Paul feel he had to remind them of this? The past is the past, right? Maybe it’s to show them that they have grown in their faith. Maybe it’s that he…

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Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

  What a Motley Crew! Today we celebrate the Feast Day celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Gospel for this great Feast is the Genealogy of Jesus. Today you’ll learn how well your parish priest pronounces biblical names. This Gospel passage is one of my favorites because it shows a royal…

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Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

  Jesus orders Simon to cast his net to sea to catch some fish. Simon tells Jesus that they’ve been out fishing all night and have caught nothing! Even though he’s doubtful, Simon still casts the net. The net caught so much fish that it started tearing. Because of this particular gospel passage today, I’m…

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Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

  In our gospel today, Simon’s mother-in-law is healed from her severe fever after it was scared away by Jesus’ rebuke. Our gospel doesn’t tell us that she was happy after this happened. Our gospel doesn’t tell us that she had tears of joy. Our gospel doesn’t tell us that she was so overjoyed from…

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Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

  He comes to save the living and the dead! In our first reading, Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians about their deceased family members and friends. If this is something that Paul is addressing, then it was very likely a great concern of the people. They had worries about what would happen to the…

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Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

  Jesus is a true friend to us. He is a friend that loves us enough to tell us the truth. Last week and now this week in our gospel, we see the character Peter. Last week, Jesus gave him The Keys and told him that he is the rock. Quite a big honor Jesus…

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Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

  Aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 St. Paul encourages the church at Thessalonica to “aspire to live a tranquil life.” Calm. Serene. Peaceful. Sounds nice. But I wonder how many Christians today wish they could…

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Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

  This is the will of God, your holiness! 1 Thessalonians 4:3a “What does God want me to do in this situation?” “What does God want from me?” “What is or was God’s will for my life?” God wants us to be holy. Period. Whenever you wonder what God wants you to do, say to…

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Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

  We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters, in our every distress and affliction, through your faith. 1 Thessalonians 3:7 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had to get out of town because they were being threatened and persecuted by Jews and Greeks alike. After a few months passed, naturally these Christian missionaries became worried…

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Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

  Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:9b So far this week in the First Readings of the Mass, we have been hearing from a letter that was written by the legendary missionaries Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. They were…

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Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist

  On this bright Tuesday morning, we are faced with the dark story of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. He was the forerunner and blood relative of the Lord Jesus who lived in the desert, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins. He was “the voice” crying out: “Prepare the way of the Lord,…

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Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

  I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family. Isaiah 22:23 Today, Conception Abbey and Seminary College hosts our third annual Seminary Open House for our friends and benefactors. We’re all under a big, white tent like you’d see at a wedding reception.…

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Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

  In the first reading for the Masses for yesterday and today, we are given basically a summary of the entire Book of Ruth. In Friday’s passage, a famine strikes the land of Judah so Naomi travels with her husband and two sons to Moab. The family stays here for 10 years, and the two…

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Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

  In today’s Gospel passage, we are given the Great Commandment and the one that is like it. The Great Commandment is we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. The command that is like this one is to love our neighbor as ourselves. So first…

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Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle

  Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostle, St. Bartholomew. In our first reading for this feast, from the book of Revelation, the holy city Jerusalem is described. Of particular note for us for this feast is the description of the twelve foundation stones of the holy city, on which are inscribed the names…

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Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

  Today we have the parable of the workers in the field. The owner of the field goes out and hires more workers to collect his harvest hour after hour throughout the day. Until finally the last group of workers only works for an hour in the field. Finally, at the end of the day,…

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Memorial of St. Pius X, Pope

  In today’s gospel, a young man approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to attain eternal life. Jesus first encourages him to keep the commandments. When the young man tells Jesus that he has kept these from his youth, Jesus challenges him further: “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what…

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Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

  We have all come to know Jesus as kind and loving, gentle, merciful, and forgiving. We expect to see these qualities when we read or hear about him in the Gospels. However, there are occasions in the Gospels when Jesus acts in unexpected and surprising ways, ways that seem out of character for him.…

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Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

When Joshua gathers the people of Israel together, he tells them what is required of them if they wish to serve the LORD by saying, “Fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely.” If we decided to follow the Lord we must love and serve him with our entire being, for Jesus says, “Love…

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Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  In today’s first reading, we see Joshua gathering all of Israel together to deliver the message of the LORD. The LORD reminds the people of the many graces he has done for them out of love for his people Israel. When Balaam came to curse them, God didn’t listen to Balaam but rather he…

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Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  “Peter approached Jesus and asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.’” This answer of Jesus reveals to us that we are called to forgive as Jesus forgives, to love…

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Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  In today’s Gospel, we see the passion and persistence with which Jesus calls to bring our brothers and sisters into right relationship with us as individuals, with the community, and thus with God. Jesus first tells us, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”…

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Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

  In today’s Solemnity, Our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, gives us an example of how to live in the graces we receive. After receiving the message of the angel and conceiving our Lord and God by the power of the Holy Spirit, she doesn’t exalt herself but rather travels to visit her cousin and…

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Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest & Martyr

  “And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and server the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.” What is it that God asks of us? What does it mean to fear…

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

  In today’s readings, two themes jump out at me; being called, and encountering and dealing with distractions from our calling. In today’s first reading, we see Elijah being called to “go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” Standing on the mountain, he experiences many things;…

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Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  We end this week with two tender but powerful Scripture readings. The combination of tenderness and power is an unusual pairing for our modern sensitivities since they are normally in opposition to one another. Perhaps a closer look will strengthen our appreciation of each. Today’s words of Moses suggest the words of a wise…

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Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin

  Our first reading today coming from the Book of Deuteronomy almost sounds like God’s litany of favors the Hebrew people have received since their covenant relationship. Why would they need to be reminded? Why do we need to be reminded of all the blessings we’ve received? The short answer is we human beings have…

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Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr

  The power of the seed to spring into new life is fascinating. Just mention that to the farmer, the gardener, or anyone sensitive to the beginnings of new life. It opens up an attitude of wonder and personal humility in the presence of a mystery that defies full understanding. Jesus uses the agricultural image…

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Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  Even a quick dip into the Old Testament, especially the Pentateuch, soon convinces the reader that the Chosen People and their leaders had a volatile relationship with God. God’s Covenant of promised faithfulness was meant to anchor a wandering people to the same kind of fidelity. It was God who continually called the people…

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Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest

  Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew is clearly an extension of yesterday’s description of Jesus feeding the hungry crowds. We can almost hear his words and feel his relief as He dismissed the people on that day: “At last, I can tell my disciples to go fishing and I can go up to…

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Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  Suffering the loss of a loved one is exhausting in every way, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. The closer one has been to the deceased, the greater the emotional cost and need for rest. Today’s Gospel reveals the human emotions of Jesus grieving the death of John the Baptist and needing to take his small…

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Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

  Who has not been mystified by a magician making something disappear or reappear right before your eyes? Our immediate question is: “How did they do that?” Magic is great entertainment but we can fall into the mindset of always trying to figure out how a surprise happens rather than accepting the fact and meaning…

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Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

  Yesterday, we read St. Matthew’s account of the rejection of Jesus by his own people of Nazareth. They lacked faith in him because he seemed too “ordinary” to be the Savior of Israel that they expected. This story of non-acceptance opens the fifth part of St. Matthew’s gospel. It is followed immediately by a…

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Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest

  In today’s gospel, Jesus experiences rejection by the people of his own hometown. His fellow villagers “took offense at him” because he was too well known to them and they found it difficult to believe that the son of a carpenter could be capable of such wisdom and mighty deeds. St. Matthew concludes the…

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Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

  The scripture passage from Exodus today recalls the building of the meeting tent which housed the ark of the covenant and was the visible Dwelling place of God among his people. So important was this Dwelling that the Lord gives Moses very specific and detailed instructions concerning its fabrication with special pedestals, columns, bars,…

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