Today’s readings Have you ever had to deal with people working against you? Most of us have. Most of us have experienced people spreading lies about us, trying to get others to work against us. And today we find ourselves in good company. Today’s readings find the prophet Jeremiah, king David and Jesus all in… Continue reading Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Month: March 2012
The Annunciation of the Lord
Today’s readings Fear keeps us from doing all sorts of things the Lord wants for us. If we would truly let go of our fear and cling to our God, just imagine what he could do in us and through us. Ahaz was King of Israel, a mighty commander, but yet was so afraid of… Continue reading The Annunciation of the Lord
The Word from Father Pat
May this water receive by the Holy Spirit the grace of your Only Begotten Son, so that human nature, created in your image, and washed clean through the sacrament of Baptism from all the squalor of the life of old may be found worthy to rise to the life of newborn children through water and… Continue reading The Word from Father Pat
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus Christ
Today’s readings On today’s feast, we celebrate the faithfulness of Saint Joseph. When he became betrothed to Mary, he got more than he could ever have bargained for. It certainly would have been easy to divorce her quietly when the news of her pregnancy became known, and it certainly would have been difficult to continue… Continue reading Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus Christ
The Word from Father Pat
How could we sing the song of the LORD in a foreign land? Psalm 137 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This quote from Psalm 137 may seem like a quaint reminiscence from history, but I think it is actually a foundational aspiration of the spiritual life, and as such, a worthy aspiration for Lent.… Continue reading The Word from Father Pat
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s readings This week, the Scriptures have been warning us not to avoid the truth. Today is no exception. Today we see that the way we tend to avoid truth is often through obfuscation, trying to confuse the facts. It’s a case of “the best defense is a good offense,” where we attack the truth… Continue reading Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s readings Why is the human heart so opposed to hearing the truth and acting on it? I remember as a child I used to hate it when my parents would tell me something and turn out to be right. If the truth be told, I probably still struggle with that a little today. Who… Continue reading Monday of the Third Week of Lent
The Word from Father Pat
“The Word from Father Pat” is the name of my bulletin column. I’ll be posting these from time to time. “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I have been enjoying, as I often do, the Scripture readings that we have during Lent. These readings tell us what… Continue reading The Word from Father Pat
The Third Sunday of Lent [B]
Today’s readings Most of us have probably experienced at least one time in our lives when it seemed like our whole world was turned upside-down. Maybe it was the loss of a job, or the illness or death of a loved one, or any of a host of other issues. It probably felt like the… Continue reading The Third Sunday of Lent [B]
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s readings Aren’t the Lenten readings challenging? They’re supposed to be. They speak of what it means to be a disciple. We have to be willing to have our whole world turned upside-down; to do something completely against our nature; to let God take control of the life we want so much to control. “For… Continue reading Monday of the Second Week of Lent