Lenten Resources

The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

December 29, 2023

  Merry Christmas! Our Savior is born! In today’s gospel, we see the Holy Spirit’s promise fulfilled. The Holy Spirit told the holy, devout, and righteous man Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the Christ. After waiting for what seemed like forever, Simeon sees the Christ in the temple when…

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Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

December 28, 2023

  Merry Christmas! Our Savior is Born! Guilt by association… those were the words that I used in my reflection for St. Stephen’s Feast Day a couple of days ago. The Deacon Stephen knew what could happen to him when he associated himself and professed a faith to the Christ. Today, we remember and honor…

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Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

December 27, 2023

  Merry Christmas! Keep listening to that Christmas music! On this third Octave Day of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, author of John’s gospel, AND the disciple whom Jesus loved. The gospel we hear today is of John and Simon Peter running to Jesus’ tomb after Mary Magdalene told them…

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Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr

December 26, 2023

  Merry Christmas! Our Savior is born! Keep those Christmas decorations up. We’ve got 40 days to celebrate the Messiah’s birth! On this first day after Christmas, we are reminded of the cost of the Christian life. Today, we honor and celebrate a deacon of the early Church, St. Stephen. He was martyred because of…

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The Nativity of our Lord (Christmas Day)

December 25, 2023

 Puer natus est nobis et filius datus est nobis. A child is born for us, and a son is given to us. These words of the Introit for the Mass of Christmas Day have announced this feast and mystery for centuries. A child is born for us; a son is given to us. These…

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Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 24, 2023

  Well, here we are, it’s Christmas Eve, and we’ve just participated in one of the shortest Advent periods. But before jumping into tonight’s celebration, let’s look at what our readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are trying to tell us. From our first reading from Second Samuel, we hear how King David is…

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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

December 23, 2023

You aren’t the Messiah, and I am not the Savior. Now that we have that established, let’s focus on who we are and what we are to do. Based on the Scripture readings, our role is fairly clear: to prepare the way. For an entire year, I told a seminarian whom I was working with…

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Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

December 21, 2023

  An authentic encounter with the Lord brings joy. Mary does for Elizabeth what she does for every Christian who seeks her intercession. Mary puts us in proximity to Jesus. Mary does it physically as she carries Jesus in her womb and His presence is acknowledged by John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb.…

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Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

December 20, 2023

  Mary pondered. She pondered and allowed her heart to move to a place of acceptance of God’s will. It’s often the case in life that we will experience things we do not understand, do not like, or cannot change. Every moment like this is an opportunity to ponder—which is to say, reflect in silence.…

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Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

December 19, 2023

  An angel of the Lord appears to Manoah’s wife and promises that she will conceive and bear a son. Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord visits the lowly and humble. God comes in the small and ordinary circumstances when we call upon Him with great faith. Greatness isn’t measured in popularity and worldly esteem but…

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Monday of the Third Week of Advent

December 18, 2023

  There are countless examples in the Bible of humanity not listening: Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, Pharaoh hardened his heart to God and did not listen, and the Chosen People, once freed from slavery in Egypt the people’s grumbling and complaining, which can also be seen as their refusal to listen.…

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Third Sunday of Advent

December 17, 2023

  Many of my friends, especially those with young children, have mixed feelings about the holiday season. On the one hand, they look forward to the time spent with family and friends, the anticipation of preparing and celebrating Christmas. But, they also feel overwhelmed by the pressures to buy more, or try to accomplish everything…

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Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

December 16, 2023

  Elijah and John the Baptist were like fire; their words were like a flaming furnace. As the saying goes, the truth hurts, and the prophets’ vocation was to point out the truth of people’s sin they hoped to ignore. Fire is destructive, yes, but fire is also purifying. We know that the lifecycle of…

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Friday of the Second Week of Advent

December 15, 2023

  A little mystery is a good thing. However, as a pastor and as an administrator in a seminary, I have found under-communication can be a serious mistake. When you don’t connect the dots, people can, and will, speculate wildly. And misunderstanding often causes the confused to assume the worst about you. When Jesus cleanses…

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Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

December 14, 2023

  What a shift we have had in Isaiah’s prophecy! We heard about a worldwide banquet in God’s presence, with enemies in the animal kingdom becoming friends. By contrast today: “O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel.” In fairness, the context is: “Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel. I will help you, says the…

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Feast of St. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr

December 13, 2023

  Isaiah tells us today that our God is strong if we are weak, and in fact, He makes us strong when we are weak. This is essential to remember. Why? Because sometimes we like to cling to our problems. This must sound crazy. Why would anyone want to stay in pain, sin, or resentment?…

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Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 12, 2023

  In my iconography class at the seminary, we paint sacred icons in a traditional Byzantine-Slav style. Christ and Mary are depicted as persons with Mediterranean appearances, corresponding to the places where the original artworks developed as much as trying to be culturally sensitive. However, I have been asked if Jesus and saints could be…

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Monday of the Second Week of Advent

December 11, 2023

  The Advent season presents us with images of the Messianic Age. Today, it is the highway for the Lord. What made empires strong in the ancient world were their roads. The spread of the gospel happened rapidly in the Roman Empire because of the well-paved and protected roads that epitomized the Pax Romana. Yet,…

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Second Sunday of Advent

December 10, 2023

   Here at the seminary, we are entering finals’ week. I look around at students’ glazed-over faces. It seems like there is never enough time in a day to get everything done. For parents, between work and children’s seasonal programs, it’s particularly hectic. For the elderly, doing anything takes all day it seems. For…

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Saturday of the First Week of Advent

December 9, 2023

  “Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, … proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, … At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were ….like sheep without a shepherd.” The New Interpreter’s Study Bible comments on the context here: “[Jesus’] actions manifest God’s powerful…

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Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

December 8, 2023

  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” Our Basilica, the abbey to which we belong, the congregation of Benedictine monks we belong to ,and the country we live in—all are under the patronage of…

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Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop & Doctor of the Church

December 7, 2023

  “…like the wise man who built his house on rock.” In our first reading, from Isaiah, we learn of this rock: “The Lord is an eternal rock.” Is my life built upon this rock? The Sacred Scriptures teach us that the solidity of such a building comes through the ear: Jesus tells his hearers…

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Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

December 6, 2023

  “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.” There was a synod on evangelization in 1974. In the document preparatory to the synod, evangelization was defined as “bringing people to the mystery of Christ.” The Advent Season reminds us of three comings of Christ: in history, in mystery, and at the end of…

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Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

December 5, 2023

  “Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.’” In our day, when we hear so many things, so quickly and with so much interpretation,…

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Monday of the First Week of Advent

December 4, 2023

  “…[Jesus] was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith…’” This centurion, a foreigner in Israel, in his act of faith, stands for all those people we have come across, in person, in reading, in media viewing—outsiders whose faith puts…

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First Sunday of Advent

December 3, 2023

   We wait in order to learn the hiddenness of redemption and holiness. In today’s readings, we have two fine Scriptures to guide us to our hidden God. Isaiah says in the first reading: “You have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt.” Paul tells us: “You are…

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Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

December 2, 2023

  Today, Saturday of the 34th week of Ordinary Time is the last day of the liturgical year. Tomorrow, with the First Sunday of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year. Now if we look at the gospel passages for today and tomorrow we will notice something interesting. Today’s Gospel (Lk 21:34-36) we are told…

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Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

December 1, 2023

  The Gospel passage today ends with a very interesting thought from Jesus, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” In the prologue of the gospel of John, John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A few…

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Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

November 30, 2023

  Today we celebrate the Feast of the Apostle Andrew. In the Gospel passage for this feast (Mt 4:18-22), we see Andrew, along with his brother Simon Peter, being called by Jesus as they fish in their boat. Shortly after we see the brothers James and John also called by Jesus as they mend their…

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Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 29, 2023

  In today’s gospel, Jesus presents us with a very interesting contrast. He begins by speaking about coming persecutions that members of the Church will face (and we certainly have throughout history). He speaks of us being hauled before courts, and he concludes by saying that some of us will be put to death. That…

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Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 28, 2023

  In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of the coming destruction of the temple (this actually occurred in 70 AD). People’s curiosity is aroused, and they ask him for the signs that will show that this is about to happen. The signs that Jesus lists are interesting: nations rising against nations, wars; plagues, earthquakes, famines, and…

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Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 27, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, Jesus greatly admires the poor widow who puts all of her money into the collection box at the temple. He says of her that she put in more than all of the rest, who were giving out of their surplus. We should all strive to be like her in our own…

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The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

November 26, 2023

  Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King (next Sunday we begin Advent with the First Sunday of Advent). For me, the definitive statement of Christ’s Kingship is actually found in Mt 28:18, when Jesus approaches the Eleven on the mountaintop in Galilee after the Resurrection and says to them: “All power in…

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Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

November 25, 2023

  The Psalms may often be considered too poetic, too repetitive, and perhaps lacking an obvious storyline that the Gospels or other books of the Bible present. Still, the Psalms can be a powerful means of prayer and reflection about one’s relationship with God and how we are to live as Christians. Today’s responsorial psalm…

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Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

November 24, 2023

  In all three of today’s readings, there is a message of reassurance of God’s love for us and His promise never to leave us. There is also a message of thanksgiving for the countless blessings and graces the Lord has bestowed upon us. This message is very fitting for the day after Thanksgiving. To…

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Thanksgiving Day

November 23, 2023

  “Jesus, Master have pity on us,” the ten cried out. “And as they were going they were cleansed.” This familiar passage reminds us to give thanks to God. Ten lepers were healed, yet only one returned to Jesus to give thanks. How often do we fail to give thanks to God? How many times…

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Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

November 22, 2023

  In the first reading today, we hear of a family who had great courage in the face of tremendous pain. The second book of Maccabees tells us that seven brothers died for the sake of God and to keep His commands. Their mother witnessed the death of her sons, but she had great courage…

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Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 21, 2023

  There is a surprising connection between our Old Testament reading and our Gospel reading for the day. Both describe similar events, but they appear contrary to each other. Eleazar faces martyrdom because he refuses to take up the practices of an alien religion. Jesus faces ridicule because “he has gone to stay at the…

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Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

November 20, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, we hear of a blind man sitting by the road as Jesus and the crowd walk past. As he walks past, the blind man calls out to Jesus hoping to be healed, and yet the crowd tries to silence his pleas. As our society slowly becomes more anti-God and anti-faith, it…

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Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 19, 2023

  In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares with his disciples a parable of a master and his three servants. The master gives the first servant five talents, the second servant two, and the third servant one. The first servant immediately goes out and makes another five talents, and the second servant makes another two. However, the…

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