Today’s readings Satan uses all sorts of things to trip us up, and he can be seen front and center in today’s readings. In the first reading, he has this curious dialogue with God about Job, who will suffer much in the readings to come this week. Satan points out that it is no big… Continue reading Monday of the Twenty-sixth Week of Ordinary Time
Month: September 2016
The Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Devising Our Own Accompaniments
Today’s readings The past two weekends, we have had the first reading come from the book of the prophet Amos. I love Amos. He doesn’t mince words, and you can usually tell what he’s getting at right away. Today, though, I think it’s a little harder to understand what he means. The line that jumps… Continue reading The Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Devising Our Own Accompaniments
Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Today’s readings In the 1800s, Andrew Kim became the first native Korean to become a priest when he traveled 1300 miles to seminary in China. He managed to find his way back into the country six years later. When he returned home, he arranged for more men to travel to China for studies. He was… Continue reading Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings I love the little line in the gospel reading that says, “Take care, then, how you hear.” It almost seems like a throw-away line, but really, I believe, it’s an essential instruction from Jesus. We disciples are to take care how we hear. Not what we hear, although that’s probably part of it,… Continue reading Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week of Ordinary Time
The Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings What an odd parable we have in today’s Gospel reading! To our modern ears, this makes no sense; it’s almost as if Jesus is extolling immoral conduct. But, whenever we find a piece of scripture that bothers us, I always find that it means I should pay attention, because the Lord has something… Continue reading The Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Saint John Chrysostom
Today’s readings Saint John Chrysostom was known to be a prolific, well-spoken and challenging preacher. The name “Chrysostom” means “golden-mouthed.” He spoke eloquently of the Scriptures, of which he had an extensive understanding, and applied their words to the times of his day. He was known, actually, to often preach for two hours or more!… Continue reading Saint John Chrysostom
The Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time: It’s All About Mercy
Today’s readings Mercy. It’s all about mercy – thank God. You may have heard that little voice that tries to tell you how unworthy you are. “You’re a sinner, how can you sit there in church?” “Don’t tell me how to live my life; you’re worse than I am!” “How can you even ask God… Continue reading The Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time: It’s All About Mercy
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today’s Readings Matthew’s account of the genealogy of the Lord is unusual for many reasons, but most notable among those reasons, and the reason it was chosen for Mass today is because it contained the name of five women. This might not seem all that amazing to us today, but back in Matthew’s day, genealogies… Continue reading The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings I’ve heard it said that the only one of the disciples Jesus called that day who was actually fit for his job was Judas Iscariot, and we all know how that worked out. We don’t know what God considers qualification for discipleship, we just know that somehow, for some reason, we have all… Continue reading Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week of Ordinary Time
Labor Day
Today’s readings: Genesis 1:26-2:3; Psalm 90; Matthew 25:14-30 One of the things that I remember vividly about my childhood is how hard my parents worked. My Dad worked more than one job at a time for several years. And in his main job, he was with the company for well over forty years, finally retiring… Continue reading Labor Day