November 3, 2024
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time The question posed in today’s gospel by “one of the scribes” concerning which is the first or greatest commandment appears in all three synoptic gospels. However, from a different context in Luke, a lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is the same in […]
November 2, 2024
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) In a Letter to Mrs. Mathilde Giraud-Jordan, Saint Peter Julian Eymard wrote: “I was really sorry to learn about the death of your relative… Although he died suddenly when he fell, he had time to recommend himself to God, …an act of contrition is quickly made […]
November 1, 2024
Solemnity of All Saints What we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This feast began as a way of acknowledging all those who had shed their blood for the faith. Today, it celebrates […]
October 31, 2024
Today, many people around the world celebrate Halloween. This highly commercialized, secular holiday dates back thousands of years through to the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, a pagan festival celebrating the end of summer and its harvests with people lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off ghosts and demons associated with the oncoming dark […]
October 30, 2024
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” We humans are curious individuals. When toddlers learn to talk almost immediately, they ask endless questions; it seems never-ending. Then, somewhere in the teens, the questions slow, but as adults, we again are confident enough to ask questions. I doubt the unidentified person asking this question of […]
October 29, 2024
A Year with Father Eymard – Day by Day, the quote says: A soul that belongs to God finds its whole life in these two laws: God wills it, or God does not will it. The perfection of love consists entirely in doing each thing as God wills it and in God’s spirit. These words […]
October 28, 2024
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles If ever you visit the Abbey church at Portsmouth Priory in Rhode Island, be sure to look at the Latin inscription on the main door of the church, a passage from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which is the second reading every time we celebrate the feast […]
October 27, 2024
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Rejoice, humility, and compassion are themes intertwined in today’s readings. Jeremiah, known for being a prophet of gloom and doom, prophesies a message of hope and joy. Those who have survived the exile are returning home, and Jeremiah pays particular attention to the marginalized, the blind, the lame, and mothers. […]
October 26, 2024
Take time to read Ephesians 4:7-16…. slowly. These verses tell us that we are to build up the body of Christ to attain unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Take a moment and ask yourself – am I doing this? Am I helping my spouse, children, neighbor, and friends not to be tossed […]
October 25, 2024
What a way of life to espouse: to live with humility and gentleness, patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to build community where we can, to be a peacemaker, to be a person of hope. In today’s first reading, Saint Paul urged the community in Ephesus – and us – to be one […]