September 22, 2023
Imagine this scene in today’s Gospel: Jesus travels from village to village proclaiming the “good news” of the Kingdom of God. Walking along with him are the twelve apostles and some women. The writer Luke also adds, “and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.” Now, does “many others” mean additional […]
September 21, 2023
Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle I… urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3) Celebrating Saint Matthew’s feast day, we are […]
September 20, 2023
Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim and the Korean Martyrs Today’s responsorial psalm proclaims, “How great are the works of the Lord.” Paul continues with that theme, asserting, “How infinitely good is the mystery of godliness.” Proof of that goodness is made infinitely clear in the Incarnation. God’s boundless love is made present in the person […]
September 19, 2023
I will walk with a blameless heart. Of mercy and judgment, I will sing; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise. I will persevere in the way of integrity; when will you come to me? (Psalm 101:1b) When I think I am doing well with my Catholic Faith and personal relation with Jesus, spending […]
September 18, 2023
When someone wants your attention, they call your name. Then they explain why they need you, explaining what’s so important. One of my all-time favorite prayers is the one we say together just as we prepare to receive Christ’s body and blood at the celebration of the Eucharist. “Lord,” we call out – now we […]
September 17, 2023
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the gospel passage today, Jesus answered a question Peter asked about the number of times we’re obliged to forgive our neighbor by spinning a lengthy parable about a servant who owed a huge amount of money to his master, the king. After listening to his plea for leniency, the […]
September 16, 2023
“…for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) How many times have we wished we could take back words hastily spoken? How many words others have said still echo in our hearts? Some of these words lift us up, yet many push us down. I was recently at a restaurant, and […]
September 15, 2023
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” Jesus here sees his mother standing at the foot of the cross with the disciple he loved, calling her […]
September 14, 2023
Why? We don’t do well with pain or the common cold. A premonition of an upcoming debilitation sends us into a dizzying spiral; we eventually may make our peace with this disturbance or choose ‘not to go gently into that good night’ (Dylan Thomas) because complacency and mediocrity have no place in our Christian lives. […]
September 13, 2023
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church The physical location is dramatically different when comparing Matthew’s and Luke’s Beatitudes. In Matthew’s account, Jesus overlooks the Sea of Galilee on the Mount of Beatitudes (between Tabgha and Capernaum). While Luke’s Gospel, which may have been written before Matthew, has Jesus with his […]