Today’s readings The great sin of the rich man may not have been the sin of neglecting poor Lazarus, although that was certainly bad. His greatest sin, though, was that he trusted in himself and not in God. He had everything he needed in life, because he was able to trust in himself to get… Continue reading Thursday of the Second Week of Lent: Mass for the Pope
Month: February 2013
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s readings Today’s Gospel reading is one that gives me pause, to say the least. The whole notion of the measure that we use will be the measure that God uses to measure is more than a little a little scary. Think about it: how often do we fail to give people a break? How… Continue reading Monday of the Second Week of Lent
The Second Sunday of Lent [C]
Today’s readings One of the best Lenten reminders that I can think of comes in today’s second reading. Here, Saint Paul tells the Philippians that “our citizenship is in heaven.” We know how true this is. We may have made homes here, and experienced our lives thus far here on earth, but the truth is… Continue reading The Second Sunday of Lent [C]
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Today’s readings Have you noticed that the readings for these early days of Lent have been teaching us how to accomplish the various disciplines of Lent, which really are the various disciplines of the spiritual life? Today’s discipline then, I think, would be persistence in prayer. In the first reading, we have Queen Esther, who… Continue reading Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Today’s readings Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. People often balk at the mere suggestion of being called to personal holiness. Oftentimes, this is wrapped up in a misplaced and false humility, that kind of humility that says that since I’m good for nothing, and so there is no way I… Continue reading Monday of the First Week of Lent
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Today’s readings When it comes right down to it, we have a choice. We can choose life or death, blessing or curse, the way of the Cross or the way of the world. The choice that we make has huge consequences, eternal consequences. The stakes are big ones, and we must choose wisely. Many of… Continue reading Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Today’s readings Behold: now is the acceptable time! Behold: now is the day of salvation! This is the way the prophet Joel calls the Israelites, and all of us, to repentance. Repentance is an important spiritual theme for Lent: in fact, if it were not for our need for repentance, we wouldn’t need Jesus, he… Continue reading Ash Wednesday
Our Lady of Lourdes/World Day of the Sick
Today’s readings Bernadette Soubirous was a sickly young woman. But on February 11, 1858, her entire life changed when a beautiful lady, clothed in white, with a rosary over her arm and a yellow rose on each foot, appeared to her and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” In the years since, the site of… Continue reading Our Lady of Lourdes/World Day of the Sick
The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time [C]
Today’s readings The parts in brackets were done at the 5pm Mass which included the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of the Catechumenate. Today’s readings remind me of one of my favorite theological facts: we were all created for something. I think it takes the better part of our lives sometimes to see what… Continue reading The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time [C]