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Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
Today’s readings What we are celebrating in today’s feast is the fact that prison bars cannot silence truth. John the Baptist was not asked to renounce his faith; indeed Herod was probably very interested in John’s faith and may have even asked him about it on occasion. Not that he wanted to convert, mind you,…
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St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Today’s readings Life’s lessons are most often clearer in hindsight. Toward that end, St. Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians today with almost a litany of thanks. He thanks God for all of the members of the Church who have responded to his tireless preaching of the Gospel. For Paul, thankfulness was the only…
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Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Today we have readings urging us to pay attention. Paul tells the Thessalonians in our first reading today not to freak out if they hear about the second coming of Christ. Rather, they should be in the moment and live as they have been taught and formed in the Gospel which Paul preached…
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Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Back when I was selling computers, they always taught us that one of the first good rules of sales was never to ask a question to which you didn’t already know the answer. I think teachers get taught that principle as well. I can’t help but think that Jesus’ question to the disciples…
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St. Pius X, pope
Today’s readings St. Pius would have been a great organizer of the feast that our Gospel tells us about today. The whole point of the feast is that all are welcome, but some choose not to come, or don’t come worthily. Jesus was speaking pointedly to the Jewish rulers who should have had the place…
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Tuesday of the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings These are hard readings today, aren’t they? More than that, I think; they are harsh readings. But that’s probably a good thing, because they make a point that we all need to hear from time to time. Sometimes when people think about what the greatest sin would be, they might point to a…
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Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings As we have been reading from Matthew’s Gospel this year, we have seen various levels of faith: “lacking faith” as seen in the Jewish community, most particularly in the Pharisees and Sadducees, “little faith” as seen in the disciples, and particularly in the Twelve, and “great faith” as seen in surprising places, like…
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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today’s readings “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Those words, spoken by St. Elizabeth to Mary, summarize what is so important about celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary’s faith, to me, is remarkable. She could never have known where doing the…
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St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
Today’s readings Maximilian Kolbe became a Franciscan novice at the age of 16. Earlier in life he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin offering him two crowns, a white one of purity, and a red one of martyrdom. Maximilian said “I choose both.” The Blessed Virgin smiled and departed from him. Maximilian devoted his…
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Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings Jesus tells us today that we must become like children if we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven. Now when I stop to think about that, I wonder what it is about children that makes them so eligible for the kingdom. Anyone who’s spent quality time with a bunch of three year…
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