Today’s readings Our worshipping in these last days of the Church year is often difficult, I think, because these readings are just hard to hear. The readings from Revelation this week have been confusing, to say the least, and maybe even a little frightening. And even if we could ignore the fright of the Revelation, well the… Continue reading Thursday of the Thirty-third Week of Ordinary Time
Month: November 2020
The Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings I’ve often heard stories of those who grew up in the great depression. Many years later, they still had deeply engrained in them the scrupulous care for everything they have that was etched into their very being during that horrible time in our history. They spent a lifetime wasting nothing, which was a good thing,… Continue reading The Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Today’s readingsMass for the school children. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was called “Mother Cabrini” during her life, was a humble woman of great faith and fortitude. Because of poor health, she was refused entrance to the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, the religious community that had educated her. But in 1880, along with seven other young… Continue reading Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today’s readings Today we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome. Most people think of St. Peter’s Basilica as the pope’s church, but that’s not completely true. As the Bishop of Rome, his Cathedral Church is the Lateran Basilica, once dedicated to our Savior, but now named for Saint… Continue reading The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
The Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings So here’s one of those occasions when we have what seems to be a pretty odd parable in the Gospel reading. It’s a story that challenges our notion of who Jesus is and what he was about – it almost seems in this story that he’s being “un-Jesus-like” in the story. But hang on to… Continue reading The Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Remembrance Mass for the Souls of All the Faithful Departed
Tonight, we have come together to do what the writer of the books of Maccabees insist is a holy and pious thing: to pray for the souls of the dead. We have come together also to do what the Liturgy of the Rite of Christian Burial tells us to do: to pray also for ourselves. We gather… Continue reading Remembrance Mass for the Souls of All the Faithful Departed
Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Go out to the highways and hedgerowsand make people come in that my home may be filled. Way back on Friday, we began hearing the story from Saint Luke’s gospel about the time Jesus was invited to a dinner at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. At that time, Jesus performed a… Continue reading Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week of Ordinary Time
The Solemnity of All Saints
Today’s readings I think we all bristle, unfortunately, at the idea of being a saint. Saints are those super-holy folks who are depicted in artwork and glorified in amazing stories. We are just ordinary people who struggle with our holiness, at best. But today, the Church is asking us to think about saints in a broader way. Yes, we… Continue reading The Solemnity of All Saints