Be Prepared
A reflection on the Readings for Sunday, November 12 — The Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Every time we are going to start something—a new project, a rehearsal, a new chapter—it always requires of us that we prepare properly to...
Category: Scripture Reflection
Humble Service: The Antidote to Spiritual Worldliness and Clericalism
A reflection on the scripture readings of November 5, 2023, the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. The audio, when available, will be posted here. It is not the easiest of times to be a Catholic priest. On the one hand,...
Love is the Greatest Commandment
Reflection on the readings of October 29, 2023, the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Friends, in the past couple of years, Catholic media has been agog with anything newsworthy about Pope Francis. Some have reported correctly and have sought to...
Cardinal Burke, the Dubia, and the Gospel
In today’s gospel reading, Matthew recounts an attempt by the Pharisees to force Jesus into a no-win situation. They ask him, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17). Their ulterior motive was obvious...
Choosing the Way of Christ
A reflection on the scripture readings for Sunday, August 22, 2023 — the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time I want to reflect on a simple quote from St. Augustine of Hippo regarding today’s gospel reading: “We are God’s money. But...
“Here comes everybody!”
A reflection on the readings of Sunday, October 15 — the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time In last week’s Gospel, we heard the parable of the wicked tenants of the vineyard. Not only did they withhold from the landowner the share...
Cultivating good fruit
A reflection on the Readings for Sunday, October 8 — The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time A couple days ago, I took some time to visit the classrooms of our parochial school. As you can imagine, there were jokes, laughter,...
Have You the Same Attitude?
A reflection on the readings of October 1, 2023 — the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. When available, the audio of this homily will be available here. For three Sundays in a row, including today, we have had a different parable:...
Why the workers in the vineyard are like us
A reflection on the readings for September 24, 2023, the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time The first book of the Bible, Genesis, contains the story of the first set of brothers — Cain and Abel. In the tale, Cain is...
Mercy is not a “Get out of Jail Free” Card
A reflection on the readings of September 17, 2023 — the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time. In a reflection I recently read on today’s Gospel, the author did some math to try to put the two debts we just heard...
Homework for the life of our community
Reflection on the readings for Sunday, September 10, the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the last few weeks, many families have reached the end of the summer break and have returned to school. I’ve talked to many people in...
God, Humanity, Suffering: A New Paradigm
A reflection on the readings of September 3, 2021 — the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. When available, the audio of this homily will be available here. I could be wrong, but I think one of the things we might...
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