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Saint Alphonsus Liguori, priest and doctor of the Church
Today’s readings Interestingly enough, and rather coincidentally, we have readings today that show two very different leaders. Moses has had just about enough, thank you very much. He is discouraged and cannot bear the leadership of the people. Certainly God will come to his aid, but he seems to have despaired of that, and it’s…
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The Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings I love these readings today; they are so filled with rich imagery. We can imagine the scrumptious banquet described in our first reading; we can just picture the picnic that Jesus provided in the gospel. These are images that perhaps resonate with us as we spend our summertime attending family reunions, picnics, and…
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Saint James, apostle
Today’s readings “Can you drink the chalice of which I am going to drink?” What does that even mean for us? We know what Jesus’ chalice was like: it led him through sorrow, and abandonment, and ultimately to the cross. If we have ever been in a situation in which we have felt intense grief,…
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The Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings Think about it. God comes to you in a dream and says that you can have anything you want. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What would you ask for? What is the one thing you’d give anything to have? I think the reason Solomon was even asked that question was because God already knew…
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The Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings Many of us have planted gardens, maybe you’ve put in some plants this year. But I’m always astounded when I’ve planted some seeds. Here is this tiny, dead-looking thing: how can it ever give life to a large plant? But that’s just what happens, isn’t it? We carefully plant the seeds and then…
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Homily for Independence Day: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Famously begins the Declaration of Independence, signed by representatives of the American colonies on July 4, 1776. Sometimes, I think,…
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Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]
Today’s readings I have to say, this is a slightly odd selection of readings that we have today. Zechariah’s prophecy in the first reading sounds like something from Palm Sunday, which in fact it is. This is the reading quoted in the Gospel of Matthew that we had at the beginning of the Palm Sunday…
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The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Today’s readings I remember when I was growing up, often visiting my dear grandmother. She and I were best friends in so many ways. I remember when we visited that she had a beautiful framed picture in the living room, given a spot of honor where everyone could see it, and that picture was of…
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Monday of the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Today’s first reading has always intrigued me, ever since I can remember hearing it as a child. God intends to destroy the city of Sodom because of its pervasive wickedness. Abraham, newly in relationship with God, stands up for the innocent of the city, largely because that was where his nephew, Lot, had…
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Vespers for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 During World War II, the officers of the Third Reich’s secret service forcefully recruited many 12- and 13-year-old boys into what was called the Junior Gestapo. The harshly treated boys were given only inhumane jobs that they were to perform without rest or complaint. After the war ended, most had lost…
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