Lenten Resources

  In our Gospel today, we hear that if our hand causes us to sin, “cut it off.” God is not talking about cutting our actual hand, but rather things that pull us away from Him. As Lent nears, I have been praying about what I should give up and what was holding me back…

  “Instead you should say, ‘If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.’” St. James warns us, in this first reading, of the dangers of relying on ourselves. How often do we tell ourselves we simply must “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” or “work a little harder?” How often…

  Today we honor the Chair of St. Peter, the first pope, given this office by Christ before His resurrection. Something undoubtedly worth noting on this feast is why Peter obtained this gift. On Good Friday, during the proclamation of the Passion narrative, we remember that Peter was the one who denied knowing Christ not…

  Today’s readings follow a theme of continual conversion. Although it can be difficult to acknowledge our sinfulness, we must do so for our conversion. How easy things would be if, like the boy in the Gospel, we would have outward signs of the impact of evil within us. He, possessed by a demon, foamed…

  The Gospel today uses the phrase all of us know and have heard many times, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” But do we live it? As Jesus relates to us in the Gospel, it is easy to love those we can get along with, but where is that…

  In today’s first reading, we hear how our mouth and tongue are “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Although we do acknowledge, “from the same mouth come blessing and cursing,” the reading focuses that our speech, along with the rest of our will, is in a fallen state due to the effects of…

  “For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” St James is severely critical of those who claim to be believing Christians but do not act as if they are. Sometimes we can think that this does not apply to us because we feel like we…

  “Who do you say that I am (Mk 8:29)?” Christ asks this of his Apostles today in the Gospel, but he invites us to answer him as well. Who would we say that Jesus is? Would we be quick to act like Peter and call Jesus the Messiah, or would we even be able…

  Today in the Gospel, we hear of Jesus curing the blind man. His sight was restored by having a personal encounter with Our Lord. Jesus is calling us to that same encounter, but we can all relate to this blind man in some way or another. What are we blinded by? What is blinding…

  It is a common occurrence for people to become discouraged throughout their day because of temptation or misfortunes. Oftentimes, this can lead to a certain cynical attitude towards Our Lord. We must be careful not to blame him for these things, as they are not caused by Him, but rather, by our own sins…

  In the first reading, we hear St. James exhort the Jews dwelling in the diaspora to be patient when they encounter various trials. Not only does he encourage patience, but he takes his advice a step further to the point of encouraging rejoicing when those trials are encountered. To our modern ears, we may…

  “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” This theme of hope is present in all of the readings and psalms for this day, which should stand out to us. Hope, one of the theological virtues, is essential in the life of a Christian. It is through hope that we can have faith that…

  “Then, taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute…” What is happening in our Gospel today is what we partake in every Sunday—the Eucharist. Every Sunday, crowds gather at church to sit, hear the Word of God, and be fed by God. The food we…

  “May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears, and profess the faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.” This is the prayer the priest says when he blesses with a…

  Today we celebrate the patron saint of Benedictine sisters, and patron saint of thunderstorms, St. Scholastica, twin sister of St. Benedict. Because of the feast, our Gospel reading is from Luke 10:38-42, the famous story of Martha and Mary welcoming Christ to their home. Mary sits listening to Jesus and has a holy conversation…

  “Hear me, all of you, and understand.” C’mon Jesus, they’re not going to get it. I’m sorry, I just had to say that. Don’t get lost in the words in the Gospel today. Let’s focus on two words from the passage; stomach and heart. To stay healthy persons, we have to eat. When our…

  In the first reading, Solomon addresses God and acclaims before the altar, “you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants.” Notice the language, “you keep.” It’s not, “you kept,” it’s not “you will keep,” it’s “you keep.” God’s covenant of mercy is an action, always in motion, always working. It is a wheel…

  After a journey on the sea, Jesus and his disciples dock their boat in Gennesaret. After hearing the news that Jesus arrived in their city, the people scurried to bring the sick to Jesus, so that he might heal them. Jesus healed many people that day. The sick people healed that day had the…

  On the television show, “The Deadliest Catch,” a camera crew follows crab fishermen out on dangerous seas and film and document their crab catches. The fishermen use big cages as their nets. These cages catch everything, not just crab. When these nets, these cages, are collected from the sea, the fishermen go through the…

  St. Agatha is honored today in the Roman calendar. She suffered martyrdom for the faith in the mid-third century. Yesterday I wrote about St. John the Baptist and witnessing for the Christian faith in a secular age. Today, I want to write about witnessing our faith in ordinary ways. That’s paradoxical because St. Agatha…

  John the Baptist’s fate is one of tragedy that stemmed from envy and anger. Herod had married the wife of his dead brother. He did this wrongly, and John called him on it. Herodias, his former sister-in-law turned wife, heard this criticism and “harbored a grudge” against John. Eventually, she prevailed upon Herod to…

  Reform and social change are ideas that come to the forefront at certain times in history. Change is not a bad thing. Social causes can lead to positive outcomes. An unfortunate outcome happens when social movements lose sight of their original ideals. The ideology of a social cause can make enemies out of people…

  Jesus is presented by his parents in the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph of Nazareth have brought their son to perform this rite as an obligation of their Jewish Faith. They saw it as their duty as parents, and their privilege, to raise their son in a life of faith. This is what…

  “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!” Today’s readings deal with losing a child, one of the hardest tragedies a person can endure. David’s son Absalom dies in the midst of war, and Jesus encounters a Synagogue official whose daughter is on the verge of death. This is a part of the…

  David the King faces the worst trial imaginable. He is running from a political rival to his throne, and the usurper is no other than his own son, Absolum. He flees with a loyal group of soldiers and advisors. As they are leaving Jerusalem they encounter Shimei, who mocks and taunts David and his…

  Jeremiah’s reading today is a description of divine intimacy between God and man, between the Creator and the created. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” God knows us through and through. One cannot hide from God, and need not even try. The Lord gives Jeremiah his strength. He “fortifies” Jeremiah…

  Today in the Gospel, we hear about the storm on the sea and Jesus sleeping. His disciples are filled with anxiety, saying, “‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then…

  In our alleluia verse today, we hear “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Recently I was at Sunday Mass with my family, and my 4-year-old nephew said to me, “Br. Max can we go to adoration?” I took my nephew…

  Reading today’s Gospel, I am reminded of the great sacrament of reconciliation when Jesus says to his disciples, “For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” Do you pour out your heart to God, especially…

  Today is the feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus. Like most of the Apostles, we don’t know too much about these two only that they were chosen by Jesus to lead his people. The responsorial verse for today is, “Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.” Like Timothy and Titus, we are called…

  On this great Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Alleluia verse reads, “I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” This little saying should make us feel good but also remind us that we have a mission to do! God chose us to…

  Today in our Gospel reading, there is one word that comes to mind, unity. Jesus tells the Scribes “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan…

  In the first reading today, we hear, “Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep… Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for…

  On this day, the anniversary of the court decision of Roe vs. Wade, we pause to pray for the legal protection of unborn children. The opening refrain of the liturgy is the desolate cry of the unborn child: “For the sake of your name, O Lord, give me life” Cf. Ps 143:11. The first…

  We commemorate today the early Christian martyr, Saint Agnes of Rome. The entrance antiphon for this day is a profound statement about the meaning of her martyrdom: “Blessed is the virgin who by denying herself and taking up her cross imitated the Lord, the spouse of virgins and prince of martyrs.” Agnes yielded to…

Foreword: During Ordinary Time, the entrance and communion antiphons of the Sunday liturgy are repeated throughout the week. In this way, the themes developed at the Sunday mass are enriched and expanded as they interact with the different readings found on each day of the following week in much the same way that a kaleidoscope…

  Foreword: During Ordinary Time, the entrance and communion antiphons of the Sunday liturgy are repeated throughout the week. In this way, the themes developed at the Sunday mass are enriched and expanded as they interact with the different readings found on each day of the following week in much the same way that a…

  On this opening day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (always one week before the Conversion of St. Paul), the first reading relates the story of the call of the young shepherd, David, to be the Lord’s anointed one (1 Sam 16:1-13). It is David whom God has chosen to unify the…

  Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Anthony of the Desert, a Christian monk from Egypt whose life of simplicity caused many to consider him as the Father of Monasticism. It is fitting that we open the liturgy with the refrain from Ps 92, “The just will flourish like the palm tree, and grow…

  The Christmas season officially ended last Sunday with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. However, today and through the coming weeks, our scripture readings continue to show us God revealing his glory through Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. The liturgy today opens with an antiphon that reminds us of Epiphany: “All the earth…