You Cannot Serve God and Mammon"
Today's Mass Readings
In the first reading for today, Paul lists many companions of his who have aided him in spreading the Gospel. It’s easy to think about St. Paul, sometimes, as an individual on his own traveling from place to place and bringing the Gentiles to Christianity in its very early stages. At the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul identifies with the Roman community (which he has not yet met) by making connections to those in the community. The list of names is staggering. Staggering not just because of how many there are, but also because of the Gentile names, the Jewish names, the women, the men. We see that almost immediately the Good News of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection had universal, even cosmic significance. We see also how the Church, even from its earliest days, transcended national, linguistic, class, and gender boundaries.
Today's Mass Readings
In the first reading for today, Paul lists many companions of his who have aided him in spreading the Gospel. It’s easy to think about St. Paul, sometimes, as an individual on his own traveling from place to place and bringing the Gentiles to Christianity in its very early stages. At the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul identifies with the Roman community (which he has not yet met) by making connections to those in the community. The list of names is staggering. Staggering not just because of how many there are, but also because of the Gentile names, the Jewish names, the women, the men. We see that almost immediately the Good News of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection had universal, even cosmic significance. We see also how the Church, even from its earliest days, transcended national, linguistic, class, and gender boundaries.
The Temple of God, which You Are, is Holy"
Today's Mass Readings
The readings for today are so appropriate to commemorate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which is the official church of the pope. Most people think St. Peter’s Basilica is the pope’s official basilica, but in reality the Lateran Basilica, which is where most of the previous popes before modern times lived, is actually the official basilica of the bishop of Rome, the pope.
Today's Mass Readings
The readings for today are so appropriate to commemorate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which is the official church of the pope. Most people think St. Peter’s Basilica is the pope’s official basilica, but in reality the Lateran Basilica, which is where most of the previous popes before modern times lived, is actually the official basilica of the bishop of Rome, the pope.
Whether We Live or Die, We are the Lord’s"
Today's Mass Readings
“For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord,” says Paul in today’s powerful first reading. We are the Lord’s. The gospel reflects a similar theme of belonging to God. Jesus uses two parables – one about a lost sheep, and the other about a lost coin.
Today's Mass Readings
“For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord,” says Paul in today’s powerful first reading. We are the Lord’s. The gospel reflects a similar theme of belonging to God. Jesus uses two parables – one about a lost sheep, and the other about a lost coin.
Love and Hate"
Today's Mass Readings
At first glance today’s readings appear perplexing. In the first reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we are told to “love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Yet in the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus tells the great crowds following him, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” What sense can be made of these seemingly opposite commands? Doesn’t the fourth commandment tell us to honor our mother and father? Didn’t Jesus tell us to love even our enemies? How can we honor our parents and love our enemies and yet hate the members of our own family? Can a Christian both love and hate?
With closer inspection, the answer to the paradox of today’s readings may be found in the passages themselves. However, without a proper understanding of love, the answer will elude us.
Today's Mass Readings
At first glance today’s readings appear perplexing. In the first reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we are told to “love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Yet in the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus tells the great crowds following him, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” What sense can be made of these seemingly opposite commands? Doesn’t the fourth commandment tell us to honor our mother and father? Didn’t Jesus tell us to love even our enemies? How can we honor our parents and love our enemies and yet hate the members of our own family? Can a Christian both love and hate?
With closer inspection, the answer to the paradox of today’s readings may be found in the passages themselves. However, without a proper understanding of love, the answer will elude us.
In You, O Lord, I have Found My Peace
Today's Mass Readings
In this passage from today’s Gospel reading taken from Luke’s Gospel, we find Jesus explaining the kingdom of God in an unexpected way. Often Jesus' hearers, ourselves included, have a false image of what the kingdom of God will be like. In this instance, one individual talks to Jesus about how blessed one would be to feast in the kingdom of God. The word for “blessed” here can also be translated as “happy,” and perhaps that is the best way to handle that word in this context. “How happy will be the one who gets to dine in the kingdom of God,” we might paraphrase.
Today's Mass Readings
In this passage from today’s Gospel reading taken from Luke’s Gospel, we find Jesus explaining the kingdom of God in an unexpected way. Often Jesus' hearers, ourselves included, have a false image of what the kingdom of God will be like. In this instance, one individual talks to Jesus about how blessed one would be to feast in the kingdom of God. The word for “blessed” here can also be translated as “happy,” and perhaps that is the best way to handle that word in this context. “How happy will be the one who gets to dine in the kingdom of God,” we might paraphrase.
The LORD Hears the Poor"
Today's Mass Readings
The gospel reading for today is a very challenging one – one we are likely to dismiss as unrealistic or try to explain away using a spiritual understanding. Could it be that Jesus really wants us to include such undesirables – the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind – at our dinners and lunches? How would we even go about doing such a thing? It’s such a foreign concept in our way of life, as it would have been for the Pharisee who was hosting Jesus.
Today's Mass Readings
The gospel reading for today is a very challenging one – one we are likely to dismiss as unrealistic or try to explain away using a spiritual understanding. Could it be that Jesus really wants us to include such undesirables – the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind – at our dinners and lunches? How would we even go about doing such a thing? It’s such a foreign concept in our way of life, as it would have been for the Pharisee who was hosting Jesus.
Today Salvation has Come to this House"
Sunday Mass Readings
In the first reading today, the author of the book of Wisodm says"
"But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!" (Wisdom 12:2)
Sunday Mass Readings
In the first reading today, the author of the book of Wisodm says"
"But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!" (Wisdom 12:2)
One Who Humbles Himself will be Exalted”
Today's Mass Readings
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk 14:11).
In St. Luke’s Gospel, our Lord asks us to consider humility and it’s opposite – pride, the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. Why is it that we are called to humility? Isn’t pride a good thing? It seems that in all places we see pride held up as the ideal – pride in one’s country, pride in one’s achievements, pride in one’s status. Does this mean that we are called to fly under the radar? To not be noticed? In a certain sense, yes. But, as we learn in the Gospel today, when the time is right, we will be called forward. To respond to God’s call is not to be prideful, but rather to be truly humble.
Today's Mass Readings
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk 14:11).
In St. Luke’s Gospel, our Lord asks us to consider humility and it’s opposite – pride, the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. Why is it that we are called to humility? Isn’t pride a good thing? It seems that in all places we see pride held up as the ideal – pride in one’s country, pride in one’s achievements, pride in one’s status. Does this mean that we are called to fly under the radar? To not be noticed? In a certain sense, yes. But, as we learn in the Gospel today, when the time is right, we will be called forward. To respond to God’s call is not to be prideful, but rather to be truly humble.
"The Lord is My Shepherd; There is Nothing I shall Want"
Today's Mass Readings
All of the readings for today, All Souls Day, which commemorates all of the faithful departed, work together to emphasize the connectedness of all these faithful souls in the Communion of Saints. In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we see a reflection of God’s eternal care for the souls of the just. Wisdom mentions how the foolish thought these souls were dead, since their bodies had in fact died, and yet these people who have died live on with God. “They are in peace,” Wisdom tells us, even those who went through Purgatory: “because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them.”
Today's Mass Readings
All of the readings for today, All Souls Day, which commemorates all of the faithful departed, work together to emphasize the connectedness of all these faithful souls in the Communion of Saints. In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we see a reflection of God’s eternal care for the souls of the just. Wisdom mentions how the foolish thought these souls were dead, since their bodies had in fact died, and yet these people who have died live on with God. “They are in peace,” Wisdom tells us, even those who went through Purgatory: “because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them.”
Lord, this is the People that Longs to See Your Face"
Today's Mass Readings
We are always surrounded by the saints, and today is one time in particular when we reflect on the fact that our Church includes both the living and the dead. Today’s readings give us a beautiful and complex picture of the saints.
Today's Mass Readings
We are always surrounded by the saints, and today is one time in particular when we reflect on the fact that our Church includes both the living and the dead. Today’s readings give us a beautiful and complex picture of the saints.
My hope, O Lord, is in Your Mercy"
Today's Mass Readings
Who among us will be saved? It is a question as relevant today as it was in Jesus’ own day. Despite the many easy formulas and quick-fix remedies presented in the popular media and on the shelves of our bookstores, the Cross is a stark reminder that salvation is no easy affair. There is no 30-day path to guaranteed holiness. St. Paul tells us in the first reading that “we do not know how to pray as we ought,” and Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel that even those who eat and drink in the Lord’s company may be condemned as “evildoers.” Perhaps it was this realization that led the individual in today’s Gospel to ask, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
Today's Mass Readings
Who among us will be saved? It is a question as relevant today as it was in Jesus’ own day. Despite the many easy formulas and quick-fix remedies presented in the popular media and on the shelves of our bookstores, the Cross is a stark reminder that salvation is no easy affair. There is no 30-day path to guaranteed holiness. St. Paul tells us in the first reading that “we do not know how to pray as we ought,” and Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel that even those who eat and drink in the Lord’s company may be condemned as “evildoers.” Perhaps it was this realization that led the individual in today’s Gospel to ask, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
Thy Kingdom Come"
Today's Mass Readings
In today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, we see that one of the images Jesus uses to describe the Kingdom of God is that of a mustard seed. The mustard seed is known for its small seeds, and yet mustard plants grow into large bush-like trees which can shelter birds. The mustard plant grows relatively fast and has an almost weed like tenacity in the proper environment. Similarly, a little bit of yeast has a proportionately huge effect on its environment.
Today's Mass Readings
In today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, we see that one of the images Jesus uses to describe the Kingdom of God is that of a mustard seed. The mustard seed is known for its small seeds, and yet mustard plants grow into large bush-like trees which can shelter birds. The mustard plant grows relatively fast and has an almost weed like tenacity in the proper environment. Similarly, a little bit of yeast has a proportionately huge effect on its environment.
Our God is the God of Salvation"
Today's Mass Readings
In today’s reading the leader of a particular synagogue is upset with Jesus for curing a woman on the Sabbath, because he thought of such curing as the type of work prohibited by the Ten Commandments. In the diverse Judaism of Jesus’ day, this was actually an open question. What constituted “work” was hotly debated between Jewish scholars of the time.
Today's Mass Readings
In today’s reading the leader of a particular synagogue is upset with Jesus for curing a woman on the Sabbath, because he thought of such curing as the type of work prohibited by the Ten Commandments. In the diverse Judaism of Jesus’ day, this was actually an open question. What constituted “work” was hotly debated between Jewish scholars of the time.
The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor"
Sunday Mass Readings
There are many reasons why people pray to God. There are those who pray to God because, they have no other means of support but the Lord. As the first reading (Sir 35:12-14, 16-18) suggests, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” Through their prayer such people express their dependence on God. Others, like the Pharisee in today’s gospel reading (Lk 18:9-14), pray because they can show-off. They pray because they think its their prayer that saves them while it is actually God who saves us. They pray to justify themselves.
Sunday Mass Readings
There are many reasons why people pray to God. There are those who pray to God because, they have no other means of support but the Lord. As the first reading (Sir 35:12-14, 16-18) suggests, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” Through their prayer such people express their dependence on God. Others, like the Pharisee in today’s gospel reading (Lk 18:9-14), pray because they can show-off. They pray because they think its their prayer that saves them while it is actually God who saves us. They pray to justify themselves.
Lord, this is the People that Longs to See Your Face"
Today's Mass Readings
St. Paul begins the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans with an exclamation that God has done what humans were unable to do. In Christ Jesus the law of sin and death has been conquered by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Though Jesus was crucified in the manner of a common Roman criminal by the express sinfulness of human beings, this was not the end of the story. We know that he was raised, conquering death so that we may have life in the Spirit of God. We now live in that life according to the Spirit; the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated, but we will not know it in its fullness until Christ comes again. We are still a pilgrim Church, still “the people that longs to see [God’s] face” in the words of today’s Psalm.
Today's Mass Readings
St. Paul begins the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans with an exclamation that God has done what humans were unable to do. In Christ Jesus the law of sin and death has been conquered by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Though Jesus was crucified in the manner of a common Roman criminal by the express sinfulness of human beings, this was not the end of the story. We know that he was raised, conquering death so that we may have life in the Spirit of God. We now live in that life according to the Spirit; the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated, but we will not know it in its fullness until Christ comes again. We are still a pilgrim Church, still “the people that longs to see [God’s] face” in the words of today’s Psalm.
Who will Deliver Me from this Mortal Body?"
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s first reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans is one of the most moving discussions of a Christian’s battle with sin. Although original sin has been removed through Baptism, concupiscence remains, which inclines us to sin. Although concupiscence in itself is not sin, we must fight against this inclination to sin. This can be very difficult. St. Paul explains the difficulty by contrasting his desire to do good and his flesh which leads him to sin. He describes this “war” within himself. He feels that he is enslaved to sin. At the end he cries out, “Who will deliver me from this mortal body?” And his answer is Jesus: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s first reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans is one of the most moving discussions of a Christian’s battle with sin. Although original sin has been removed through Baptism, concupiscence remains, which inclines us to sin. Although concupiscence in itself is not sin, we must fight against this inclination to sin. This can be very difficult. St. Paul explains the difficulty by contrasting his desire to do good and his flesh which leads him to sin. He describes this “war” within himself. He feels that he is enslaved to sin. At the end he cries out, “Who will deliver me from this mortal body?” And his answer is Jesus: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I Have Come to Set the Earth on Fire"
Today's Sunday Mass Reading
Today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of Luke is a difficult one for many of us to read. Jesus says that He has “come to set the earth on fire.” Fire is often used in the Bible to describe the presence of God. Theologians sometimes joke that if the saints in heaven were to step into hell they would freeze to death. Certainly the Bible sometimes describes hell with the imagery of fire, but far more often God is described as fiery. The angels closest to God are called seraphim, flaming ones.
Today's Sunday Mass Reading
Today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of Luke is a difficult one for many of us to read. Jesus says that He has “come to set the earth on fire.” Fire is often used in the Bible to describe the presence of God. Theologians sometimes joke that if the saints in heaven were to step into hell they would freeze to death. Certainly the Bible sometimes describes hell with the imagery of fire, but far more often God is described as fiery. The angels closest to God are called seraphim, flaming ones.
You Also Must be Prepared"
Today's Mass Readings
There is a popular saying, attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, which advises Catholics to “Pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended on you.” Indeed, we even find this quote cited in the section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which discusses the only prayer Jesus ever taught us: the Our Father (CCC, 2834). The saying is a powerful reminder that although we are saved by God’s free gift of grace through Jesus Christ, we are nevertheless responsible for cooperating with God and preparing for our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Hence St. Paul tells us to “pray always” (Eph. 6:18), while St. James reminds us equally that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
Today's Mass Readings
There is a popular saying, attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, which advises Catholics to “Pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended on you.” Indeed, we even find this quote cited in the section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which discusses the only prayer Jesus ever taught us: the Our Father (CCC, 2834). The saying is a powerful reminder that although we are saved by God’s free gift of grace through Jesus Christ, we are nevertheless responsible for cooperating with God and preparing for our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Hence St. Paul tells us to “pray always” (Eph. 6:18), while St. James reminds us equally that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
Here I am, Lord; I Come to Do Your Will"
Today's Mass Readings
Inasmuch as he came expressly to do God’s will on earth, and althoug he was the Son of God, Jesus serves as a powerful model for us ordinary human beings. Although his life involved many pains and sorrows, Jesus never failed in incessant prayer nor in doing many good works (including miracles) out of his great love for God and for God’s people. This faithfulness of Jesus, even unto his death on the cross, is a beautiful illustration for Christians, that is, we who are called to imitate Christ.
Today's Mass Readings
Inasmuch as he came expressly to do God’s will on earth, and althoug he was the Son of God, Jesus serves as a powerful model for us ordinary human beings. Although his life involved many pains and sorrows, Jesus never failed in incessant prayer nor in doing many good works (including miracles) out of his great love for God and for God’s people. This faithfulness of Jesus, even unto his death on the cross, is a beautiful illustration for Christians, that is, we who are called to imitate Christ.
One’s Life Does Not Consist of Possessions.”
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s gospel reading and the message contained therein is very much a part of our furniture. In other words, we are used to hearing thiis gospel proclaimed in Church, and we know that as Christians we are not supposed to be attached to our possessions . And yet, though we know this reading, and see why God calls the man a “fool,” we nonetheless often live our lives as though we wanted just to rest, eat, drink, and be merry. Especially in the United States where our country is so richly blessed with material resources, and so constantly bombarded by advertisements, we are susceptible to this message of materialism and consumerism.
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s gospel reading and the message contained therein is very much a part of our furniture. In other words, we are used to hearing thiis gospel proclaimed in Church, and we know that as Christians we are not supposed to be attached to our possessions . And yet, though we know this reading, and see why God calls the man a “fool,” we nonetheless often live our lives as though we wanted just to rest, eat, drink, and be merry. Especially in the United States where our country is so richly blessed with material resources, and so constantly bombarded by advertisements, we are susceptible to this message of materialism and consumerism.