St. Josaphat, Bishop & Martyr
3 John 5-8  +  Luke 18:1-8
November 12, 2016

“‘But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?’”

In the first verse of today’s Gospel passage, St. Luke the Evangelist is unusually direct in explaining the exact meaning of Jesus’ parable.  “Jesus told His disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.”  It is important to note that this parable is about one specific type of prayer to God:  prayer of petition. Continue reading →

St. Martin of Tours, Bishop
2 John 4-9  +  Luke 17:26-37
November 11, 2016

“‘Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.’”

To His disciples, Jesus speaks of “the Son of Man”.  Regarding the Son of Man, Jesus explains that His presence is elusive, like lightning that “flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other”.  Jesus downplays the desire somehow to “pin down” the Son of Man. Continue reading →

St. Leo the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church
Philemon 7-20  +  Luke 17:20-25
November 10, 2016

“‘But first He must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.’” 

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus describes the phrases “the Kingdom of God” and “the Son of Man”.  The meanings of both are elusive, and that’s Jesus’ point. Continue reading →

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12  +  1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17  +  Jn 2:13-22
November 9, 2019 

“…you are the temple of God….”

Today’s Gospel passage shows us God’s passion for His temple, and for the sacrifice offered there.  Priests often hear people confess anger, and it’s usually necessary to ask questions when someone confesses “getting angry”.  In light of Jesus’ action in this passage, it’s important to remember not only that merely “getting angry” is not necessarily a sin.  Also, even acting in anger is not necessarily a sin.  Acting in anger, or fostering anger in oneself or others, certainly can be a sin.  But Jesus acts in anger in today’s Gospel passage, and with good reason.  When reflecting on a state of anger, and actions that flow from it, it’s important to ask what the object of one’s anger is.  This object can make all the difference in the morality of such an act. Continue reading →

Tuesday – 32^nd Week – Ordinary Time [II]
Titus 2:1-8,11-14  +  Luke 17:7-10
November 8, 2016

“The just shall possess the land / and dwell in it forever.” 

During the last weeks of the Church year—which more or less correspond with the month of November—the Church asks us to turn our attention to what she calls the “Last Things”.  The four most important of the “Last Things” are Heaven and Hell, death and judgment. Continue reading →

The 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
II Macc 7:1-2,9-14  +  2 Thes 2:16—3:5  + Lk 20:27-38
November 6, 2016

“‘It is for His laws that we are dying.’”

You would not have heard about their case from most secular news sources.  But an order of nuns in the United States was recently forced by the government to pay for artificial contraceptives for their members.  What the government thought these nuns were going to do with the contraceptives is anybody’s guess.  But the Little Sisters of the Poor—that’s the name of their religious order—have found themselves in much the same predicament as the seven brothers in today’s First Reading:  forced by a secular government to act against their religious principles.

At last month’s diocesan Clergy Conference, the Bishop of Wichita encouraged his priests to speak about the issues that are at stake in Tuesday’s elections.  Religious liberty is chief among these. Continue reading →

Monday – 32^nd Week – Ordinary Time [II]
Titus 1:1-9  +  Luke 17:1-6
November 7, 2016

“Such is the race that seeks for Him, that seeks the Face of the God of Jacob.”

The refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm is a good one to memorize and use throughout the day for repeated recitation and reflection.  “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your Face.” Continue reading →

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 →