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The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Salt and Light
One of my professors in seminary used to tell us all the time, “Brothers, Christianity looks like something, the Christian looks like something.” His point was that if we are Christians, we needed to conform ourselves to Christ, to be more like Christ, to do what Christ called us to do in this life, so…
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The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s readings We have this little Ordinary Time break between Christmas and Lent. Ordinary Time means ordered, or numbered time, not just “ordinary” in the sense it’s nothing special. Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, which is, of course, very special! In these numbered Sundays, we learn how to be…
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Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Today’s readings Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the pre-eminent philosophers and theologians of our Church. At the age of five years old, Thomas was promised to the famous Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino. His parents were hoping that one day he would become the abbot of that community, which…
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Saint Agnes, Virgin Martyr
Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Agnes, a virgin and martyr of the Church. She is thought to have lived and died in the third century, but little is really known of her life. She is mentioned in the first Eucharistic Prayer in the list of saints: “Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all the…
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Funeral Homily for My Mother, Julia Mulcahy
In my funeral homilies for mothers, I have often reflected on how hard it is to lose a mother. It turns out I was right! From the very earliest moments of our existence and for many years, our mothers are our lifelines. They provide food and sustenance first in the womb, then as we grow. …
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The Epiphany of the Lord
Today’s readings Today’s feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is the traditional “twelfth day of Christmas” and we celebrate it on January 6, or the Sunday nearest that date. Many of our Orthodox brothers and sisters celebrate this as we do Christmas, with the giving of gifts as the astrologers brought gifts to the…
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Saturday of the Second Week of Christmas
Today’s readings As we get ready for the solemnity of the Epiphany tomorrow, we actually have one of the three traditional Epiphany stories in today’s Gospel reading. We always think about the three Kings as the Epiphany story, and that is, indeed, the first and most remembered of them. But there are two other stories…
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Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Mary is the mother of God the Word, according to his human nature. That’s the formula that my Christology teacher in seminary, Sister Sarah, made sure that we memorized about the nature of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s relationship with her son, Jesus. I’ve been thinking a lot about motherhood in these days. These are some…
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Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Today’s readings Our Liturgy today gives us some appropriate readings for the last day of our calendar year. We have the end and the beginning in the Scriptures, just as our minds and hearts are reflecting on the end of this year and the beginning of the year to come. In the reading from the…
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent: O Key of David
Today’s readings We humans put up all sorts of barriers. Some are necessary, like the walls of prisons, or the sound barriers along a highway. Some are sad, like the old wall that used to separate East and West Germany. Others are exasperating, like the wall along the frontier into Mexico. The physical barriers that…
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