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Thanksgiving
Today’s readings: Isaiah 63:7-9 – Psalm 145 – Colossians 3:12-17 – John 16:20-22 I think, over the past year, that God has been teaching me to be grateful. Not that I wasn’t a grateful person before, but maybe more that I am re-learning how to be grateful. As a pastor, there are whole new sets…
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This particular Gospel reading is sometimes difficult to hear, because I think it’s out of context enough that we could get the wrong idea about the relationship between Jesus and Mary. It almost seems as if Jesus doesn’t care about his mother, and his brothers – whoever they were – that’s a can of worms…
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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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The Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings The rather obvious and certainly oft-repeated application of today’s Gospel reading lies in the very literal interpretation of the word “talent,” at least as it appears in English. That interpretation goes like this: we have been given many talents, and it’s up to us to use them wisely for the benefit of the…
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Saint Martin of Tours/Veterans Day
Today we have the opportunity to celebrate some heroes. One hero is today’s saint, Saint Martin of Tours, who was actually a veteran and a fierce defender of our faith. The other heroes are our nation’s veterans, who have fought in wars to protect us and to protect our freedoms. St. Martin of Tours is…
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Monday of the Thirty-second Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings “Increase our faith,” indeed! How often have you had that same reaction to the marvels of God happening in your life? I think about the many times I have had the Spirit point out something I should have seen all along because it was right there in front of my face. Increase my…
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The Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time: The New Roman Missal
Yesterday morning on the news, I saw a brief story about the changes to the Mass that are coming up later this month. It was a pretty neutral piece and just made people aware that a new translation of the Roman Missal will be used beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27th. Of…
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The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
Gospel reading: Romans 8:31-39 I remember a trip I took a few years ago, not long after my dad died. I packed up early on Sunday and was out of the house by 6am, and took a 3 hour and 45 minute drive to see a friend, one of my classmates from seminary, who is…
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Today’s readings Wouldn’t we like to figure out what’s going on in God’s mind? Wouldn’t it be great to just be able to see the big picture as God sees it so that we can always do the right thing? But that’s just the point. The meaning of everything isn’t ours to know. God gives…
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The Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings For each of the deadly sins, there is also a life-giving virtue. Today, our readings focus on humility, which is the life-giving virtue that is the antidote to pride. Of the seven deadly sins, pride is usually considered the original and the most serious of the sins. Pride was the sin that caused…
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