Feast of Saint James the Greater – July 25th – Mt 13:18-21 Today we celebrate the feast of Saint James the Greater, so-called the greater to distinguish him from Saint James the Lesser, a distinction perhaps based on height. It is this James the Greater who was the brother of Saint John, both of them […]
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Mt 12:38-42 In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers a very harsh rebuke to those scribes and Pharisees who ask for a sign. We can consider, first, what it was the scribes and Pharisees were asking for, and why it was so wrong, second, what makes Jesus’ rebuke
Sunday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Year A Wis 12:13, 16-19, Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16, Rom 8:26-27, Mt 13:24-43 Some of you might know this, but before I entered seminary I did different things in the medical field. One of those things brought me to a small hospital with an even smaller
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene – July 22nd Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. There’s a lot we could say about her, but we can point out just two of her virtues: her great penance and contrition, and, second, her great love for Jesus. Regarding the first, it is commonly
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Mt 12:1-8 Today’s Gospel presents us with an incident on the Sabbath with the disciples. Although the reading today omits the beginning of the first verse, which reads “At that time, Jesus was going through a field of grain,” Saint Thomas Aquinas says that this
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Mt 11:20-24 In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us three very comforting verses. He tells us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Option 2 – Mt 11:25-27 Today’s brief Gospel presents us with Jesus rejoicing and addressing the Heavenly Father, and then, seemingly, His disciples. The Gospel hinges on the theme of childlikeness, and that God reveals Himself to the simple. Today, then, we can simply consider
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – July 18th, 2021 – Mt 11:20-24 Today’s Gospel reminds us that the stakes are very high when we decide to serve God, and that it’s not simply miracles that we see that bring us to salvation. As Matthew recalls for us, Jesus harshly rebukes the
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time –Odd Years – Mt 10:34-11:1 With today’s first reading, we move from the book of Genesis into the book of Exodus, the next phase of salvation history. The author tells us that “a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” Biblical scholars
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Is 55:10-11, Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14, Rom 8:18-23, Mt 13:1-23 Today’s Gospel presents us with the well-known Parable of the Sower. It’s a parable that we find in the three synoptic Gospels, meaning, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in all three, there’s something really special
