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The Second Sunday of Advent
Today’s readings This fall, it was a real pain trying to get in and out of my driveway at the rectory, let alone into our parking lot here at church. The village had torn up the streets in order to rebuild them. It was a huge inconvenience then, but the streets are nice to travel…
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Saint Francis Xavier, Priest, Diocesan Patron
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 16:15-20 We celebrate the memorial of St. Francis Xavier as a feast today, because he is the patron saint of the Diocese of Joliet. Francis Xavier was a sixteenth century man who had a promising career in academics. He was encouraged in the faith by his good friend, St. Ignatius of…
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The First Sunday of Advent
Today’s readings Sometimes I think when it was time to pass out patience, I was in some other line. Waiting can be a real challenge for me, and I usually fill up the waiting time with worrying or something equally pointless. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that. None of us likes to wait:…
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Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Jesus says to us today, “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” This includes all of us, past, present and future. We will all live, in some way, to see the end of days, either here on earth, or from the joy of heaven. So what will…
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Thanksgiving Day
Today’s readings: Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 145; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 17:11-19 Lately, I have had to take a step back and look at how blessed I am. Being the only priest assigned to this parish, things can get a little hectic. I can get caught up in all the stuff I have to do administratively, I…
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Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Very often, when we hear this story about the widow’s mite, the story is equated with the call to stewardship. That’s a rather classic explanation of the text. And there’s nothing wrong with that explanation. But honestly, I don’t think the story about the widow’s mite is about stewardship at all. Yes, it’s…
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Thursday of the Thirty-third Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings If the readings today stir up feelings of anxiety in us, well, that’s to be expected. These are not readings of comfort and peace – anything but! And that’s just how the Lectionary is arranged. Every year at the end of the Church year – which this is – we have readings about…
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Monday of the Thirty-third Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Right at the end of today’s first reading is one of the most chilling lines in all of Scripture: “and they did die.” The people’s faith was sorely tested: would they give in and worship the false gods of the people around them so that they could have some kind of peace and…
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Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Today’s readings St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was called “Mother Cabrini” during her life, was a humble woman of great faith and fortitude, who stayed with her mission. She was refused entrance to the religious order that had educated her. So she began working at an orphanage, eventually becoming a sister in the religious order…
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