Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Hebrews 11:32-40  +  Mark 5:1-20
February 4, 2019

…they began to beg [Jesus] to leave their district.

Demonic possession is an extremely serious matter.  While some today dismiss it, suggesting that all reported cases of possession are in fact psychological disorders, the Church takes today’s Gospel passage at its word. Continue reading →

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Jer 1:4-5,17-19  +  1 Cor 12:31—13:13 [or 13:4-13]  +  Lk 4:21-30
February 3, 2019

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

While the readings of any given Sunday’s Mass generally build up to the passage from the Gospel, this Sunday the Second Reading is more likely to grab our attention.  This passage of Saint Paul, so commonly heard at weddings, has much to teach us, but only if we resist the tendency to interpret it according to our own standards.  Instead, we need to allow it to lead us to the heart of the Gospel, where God’s standard is far greater:  more demanding, but also more fulfilling. Continue reading →

St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor of the Church
Hebrews 9:15,24-28  +  Mark 3:22-30
January 28, 2019

“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

Jesus’ parables most often describe the Kingdom of God.  But today He preaches about the Kingdom by what in theology is called a “via negativa”:  that is, defining someone or something by what he, she or it is not, rather than what he, she or it is.  Jesus today shapes our understanding of what the Kingdom of God is not in rebutting the claims of the scribes. Continue reading →

The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Neh 8:2-4,5-6,8-10  +  1 Cor 12:12-30 [or 12:12-14,27]  +  Lk 1:1-4;4:14-21
January 27, 2019

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

Today’s Gospel passage is unusual in that it’s taken from two non-consecutive chapters.  The two sections from Luke don’t seem related at first hearing.  The first section is the first four verses of Luke.   It’s a prologue, in which St. Luke gives his rationale for you to listen to his Gospel account. Continue reading →

St. Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
Hebrews 5:1-10  +  Mark 2:18-22
January 21, 2019

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

Today’s Gospel passage might seem confusing to those who wish to be devout Christians.  Along with the contrast between Jesus and John, there is a contrast between feasting and fasting.  Jesus’ disciples in this passage do not fast because He is with them.  Should Christians today, then, take part in the discipline of fasting?  Or would fasting imply a denial of Jesus’ presence and power in our lives? Continue reading →

The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Isa 62:1-5  +  1 Cor 12:4-11  +  Jn 2:1-11
January 20, 2019

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory….

Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana tells us many important things.  For example, the fact that there were six ceremonial water jars, each holding about 25 gallons, tells us that Jesus produced 150 gallons of wine for this wedding celebration, which in turn tells us that this… was a Catholic wedding. Continue reading →

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Hebrews 1:1-6  +  Mark 1:14-20
January 14, 2019

“This is the time of fulfillment.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Today is a day of beginnings.  Today as we begin the season of Ordinary Time we hear from the beginning of the Gospel account of Saint Mark.  It points us in the direction of God the Father. Continue reading →

The Baptism of the Lord [C]
Isa 42:1-4,6-7  +  Acts 10:34-38  +  Lk 3:15-16,21-22
[or Isa 40:1-5,9-11  +  Ti 2:11-14;3:4-7  +  Lk 3:15-16,21-22]
January 13, 2019

“You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.”

Why would God choose to get baptized?  He certainly didn’t need what baptism gives to a person like you or me.  When you were baptized, you changed in three ways. Continue reading →

Christmas Weekday
1 John 3:22—4:6  +  Matthew 4:12-17,23-25
January 7, 2019

I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.

In this final week of the Christmas Season, the Epiphany of the Lord continues to reverberate through the Sacred Liturgy.  In fact, while we tend to equate the Epiphany only with the narrative of the “three wise men”, the Church actually holds up two other Gospel narratives along with that of the “three kings” when she reflects on the meaning of Jesus’ Epiphany. Continue reading →