Today’s readings Our first reading today is filled with kind of intense drama. The disciples, ever since Jesus rose from the dead and sent them the gift of the Holy Spirit, have been going around and preaching in the name of Jesus. This is obviously attracting the attention of the religious leaders, and they’re not… Continue reading Friday of the Second Week of Easter
Category: Homilies
Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Today’s readings I always like to say that today, this octave day of Easter Sunday, this Sunday of Divine Mercy, is the feast day for those of us who sometimes question things, and the apostle, Saint Thomas, is would then be our patron saint. And so today we can give Thomas a hard time for… Continue reading Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Our Lord
Today’s readings There’s certainly a flurry of activity in today’s readings, isn’t there? Especially in the Gospel, we see Mary Magdalene run from the empty tomb to get the Apostles. And then Peter and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” ran to the tomb. This flurry of activity centers around a crisis in their faith, a… Continue reading Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Our Lord
The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
Today’s readings Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡Él ha resucitado! ¡Aleluya! If anyone’s counting, this has been a very long Mass so far. And I don’t mean just the blessing of the fire and the candle, the singing of the Exsultet, and the rather extended Liturgy of the Word that… Continue reading The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord
Today’s readings I think if we had to sum up the Liturgy today with a contemporary quip, it might be, “Well, that escalated quickly!” In the first Gospel we heard, during the blessing of the palms, Jesus triumphantly enters into Jerusalem for the festival. He enters in humility, on a colt, not a horse signifying a warrior… Continue reading Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s readingsMass for the school children. Sometimes it seems like everyone is against us. Maybe you’ve felt that way sometimes. Maybe someone was telling lies about you and trying to get others to work against you, or maybe they were looking for any time you did the slightest thing wrong, or messed up in any… Continue reading Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s readings “When you lift up the Son of Man,then you will realize that I AM…” Today’s Liturgy of the Word is an exposition of being lifted up. In the first reading, Moses lifted up an image of a saraph serpent so that people could look to it and be healed. In the Gospel, Jesus… Continue reading Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today’s readings I am so glad that Pope Francis declared this the year of Saint Joseph, because I think we, as a Church, as the people of God, have been needing to be stronger in our devotion to Saint Joseph for a long time now. Saint Joseph is the intercessor and the model for all of… Continue reading The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
Today’s readings Traditionally, today is Laetare Sunday – laetare being the Latin word for “rejoice.” On this Sunday, we wear rose-colored vestments, rather than the Lenten violet. Laetare Sunday reminds us that even in the “heaviness” of Lent, there is reason for rejoicing. And today’s readings do deal with some heavy topics, but clearly and always through the lens of rejoicing… Continue reading The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
The Third Sunday of Lent
Today’s readings Most of us have probably experienced at least one time in our lives when it seemed like our whole world was turned upside-down. If not, we certainly will. It might be the loss of a job, or the illness or death of a loved one, or any of a host of other issues. … Continue reading The Third Sunday of Lent