Feast of Saint Matthew – Option 1 – September 21st Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Matthew, the Apostle and evangelist, and today’s Gospel gives us an excellent opportunity to reflect on our own vocations, as Catholics in general but especially as religious, and this in three aspects: first, the time at which […]
Wednesday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time – Option 1 – Lk 7:31-35 Although it’s not part of what we just heard, Luke gives a beautiful introduction to today’s Gospel in verses 29 and 30, as he says that “All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the
Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time – Lk 7:11-17 In today’s Gospel Luke recounts for us the raising of the widow’s son. The story is unique to his Gospel, and some commentators have called it “the loveliest story in the Gospels,”[1] because of how much it reveals Christ’s love for the people
Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time – Lk 7:1-10 Today’s Gospel presents us with the figure of the centurion who approaches Jesus and asks that his servant be healed. There are two things that catch our attention: first, we have the centurion’s great love for his servant; it’s amazing, first, that the centurion
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Sir 27:30—28:7, Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12, Rom 14:7-9, Mt 18:21-35 In today’s Gospel, we heard the parable of the unforgiving servant. Christ preaches this parable after Peter asks how often he needs to forgive someone who sins against him. We can consider two parts: first,
Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time – Lk 6:43-49 Today’s Gospel seems to have two distinct parts: the first concerns the fruit produced by trees and people, and the second concerns the foundations that houses and people build upon. However, as the saints of the Church point out, really both sections indicate the
Our Lady of Sorrows – Option 2 – September 15th Today we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, which falls on the day after the Exaltation of the Cross. It’s worth noting, though, that the feast also falls on the octave of Mary’s birthday, September 8th. Liturgically, then, today culminates what could be
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – September 14th Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The origins of this feast are not very clear, but it can be said that there are at least three events that are remembered in this celebration. First, according to a tradition,
Wednesday of the 23rd Week of Ordinary Time – Lk 6:20-26 In today’s Gospel, we heard Christ proclaim the Beatitudes. Over the centuries, the fathers and doctors of the Church have consistently pointed to the Sermon on the Mount, and especially the Beatitudes, as the “plan for the Kingdom of Christ.” As Saint Thomas Aquinas
Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary – September 12th Today, September 12th, we celebrate the optional memorial of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast was first instituted in order to celebrate the victory of the Christian forces over the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of
