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The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today’s readings I think we’re so blessed that we get to come to church and celebrate so many of Mary’s feasts. Today is a very special feast because Mary, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States of America, and so she is very special to us. I think today’s…
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The Second Sunday of Advent: Be Reconciled
Today’s readings I don’t know about you, but this week, when I heard that New York was going to announce whether another police officer was indicted or not for the death of a suspect, I pretty much held my breath. After seeing all that has been going on in Ferguson, Missouri, I just feared the…
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Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Today’s readings One of the most difficult sins is to think we don’t need God: that’s the sin of pride. It’s a difficult sin because when we shut God out of the picture, we cut off any possibility of reconciliation. This kind of thing is what Isaiah is warning against in today’s first reading. Israel,…
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Monday of the First Week of Advent
Today’s readings Could you do that? You have someone close to you at home, and you know Jesus is near and one visit could heal her or him. Yet, you realize the unworthiness that you have, that we all have, for him to come under your roof. Would you have faith enough to tell him…
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The First Sunday of Advent
Today’s readings To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame. Those are the very first words in the Roman Missal’s Proper of Time. …
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Thanksgiving
Today’s readings A couple of years ago, my sister emailed me pictures of a storybook that my niece, Molly, wrote for a second grade school project. It was a story about an unnamed boy and girl – but we might as well name them, because it was clear to me that the girl was the…
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Saint Andrew Dŭng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Today’s readings St. Andrew Dŭng-Lạc was a priest in Vietnam in the early nineteenth century. He and his 116 companions, including Spanish Dominicans, members of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, and 96 Vietnamese, including 36 other priests, were all martyred around the year 1839. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 Catholics…
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Our Lord Jesus Christ the King of the Universe
Today’s readings I think this Gospel reading is wonderful because of the rather vivid picture that it paints. When I hear it, I can’t help but picture the king separating the sheep from the goats, making known their good works, or lack thereof, and ushering them into their version of eternity. It would seem that…
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Thursday of the Thirty-third Week of Ordinary Time
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,…
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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
Today’s Readings St. Elizabeth was the daughter of the king of Hungary, and she married Louis IV of Thuringia when she was fourteen years old. They were happily married and had three children together. Together, they tried to live the ideals of St. Francis, so they sold their possessions and gave the money to the…
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