The Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
2 Macc 7:1-2,9-14  +  2 Thes 2:16—3:5  +  Lk 20:27-38
November 6, 2016

“‘…He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.’”

We might take for granted what we profess in the Creed when we say that we believe in “the resurrection from the dead”.  But in the time of Jesus, this was a hotly debated question.  Certainly Christians believe in the Resurrection of Jesus, the celebration of which is the most important Sunday of the year.  But what about the resurrection of each believing Christian?  Why is this future event important, and what does it tell us about living a life of faith in the present moment? Continue reading →

Saturday – 31st Week – Ordinary Time [II]
Philippians 4:10-19  +  Luke 16:9-15
November 5, 2016

“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at Him.”

“You cannot serve God and mammon.”  This sentence of Jesus is sometimes falsely and simplistically interpreted to mean that you cannot have both God and money in your life.  In other words, this false interpretation says that there’s a sort of competition in your life between God and money which is a zero-sum game.  Or to use a picture metaphor:  this false interpretation says that there’s a see-saw in your life:  God and money are sitting at opposite ends of the see-saw.  If one goes up, the other goes down.  The holier you are, the less money you will have, and the more money you have, the less holy you must be.  This interpretation of Jesus’ words is false. Continue reading →

St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Philippians 3:17—4:1  +  Luke 16:1-8
November 4, 2016

“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.”

“Our citizenship is in Heaven”.  What would our lives look like if we believed these words sincerely?  Saint Paul is exhorting the Philippians neither to place their faith in this world, nor to use the things of this world for their own sake. Continue reading →

Thursday – 31st Week – Ordinary Time [II]
Philippians 3:3-8  +  Luke 15:1-10
November 3, 2016

“‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”

Jesus’ first parable in today’s Gospel is heartfelt, offering hope as we hear of God’s compassion for the wayward.  Jesus offers a “moral” to the parable in explaining that “there will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” Continue reading →

The Commemoration of All Souls
Wisdom 3:1-9  +  Romans 5:5-11  +  John 6:37-40
November 2, 2016

“The souls of the just are in the hand of God.”

The belief we celebrate today is part of the “communion of saints.”  That’s a familiar phrase—we recite it in the Apostles’ Creed—but the “communion of saints” isn’t just those who are canonized saints in Heaven, but also the members of the Church who are in Purgatory, and on earth.  Today we who are members of that third group pray for those in the second, so that joined through prayer, we all may become members of the first. Continue reading →