Saturday of Week 24 in Ordinary Time 1 Tim 6:13-16Lk 8:4-15 "...choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity." I’m not sure where I read this, but it speaks to this parable: The devil knows he has multiple opportunities to interrupt God’s work from the time we received the word... Continue Reading →
17 September , Friday – Where will your free will take you?
Sep 17 – Memorial for St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor St. Robert (1542-1621) wrote the most complete work of his day to defend Catholicism against Protestant attack. He also wrote a children’s catechism and a catechism for teachers. As cardinal-priest, he gave most of his money to the poor. At one point he used... Continue Reading →
16 September, Thursday – Love in action serves
Sep 16 – Memorial for Sts. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr; and Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr St. Cornelius (d. 253) was elected after a year-and-a-half period, during which persecutions were so bad that papal ascension was a quick death sentence. He worked to maintain unity in a time of schism and apostasy. He called a synod... Continue Reading →
15 September, Wednesday — Aligned with God in all things
Sep 15 – Memorial for Our Lady of SorrowsDifferent sorrows of Mary have been honoured in the Church’s history, but since the 14th century, these seven have come to be regarded as the seven ‘dolors’ (sorrows) of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 1. The Prophecy of Simeon2. The Flight into Egypt3. The Loss of the Child... Continue Reading →
20 July, Tuesday – What are you attached to?
Tuesday of Week 16 in Ordinary Time Ex 14:21-15:1Mt 12:46-50 Whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven We can only DO the will of God when we are unattached to all things, including (and especially) our own self. Only in this detachedness are we free to think only of God. Because of this detachedness, Mary... Continue Reading →
19 July, Monday – One More Sign
Monday of Week 16 in Ordinary Time Ex 14:5-18Mt 12:38-42 ...we should like to see a sign from you Sign: an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. So often when I am making a decision, big or small, I pray for God to give... Continue Reading →
18 July, Sunday – Dividing Walls
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 23:1-6Eph 2:13-18Mk 6:30-34 ….and he has broken down the dividing wall In Ephesians today we hear, “…For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility,…” The dividing wall is a metaphor taken from the wall that divided the... Continue Reading →
15 June, Tuesday – Stumbling into Grace
Jun 15 -- Tuesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time 2 Cor 8:1-9Mt 5:43-48 Pray for those who persecute you To walk the talk of Jesus — that is what my heart desires, but my feet stumble. Often. Daily. Some days, it seems all I do is stumble. C.S. Lewis has given me comfort in his... Continue Reading →
14 June, Monday – Living for Eternity
Jun 14 - Monday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time 2 Cor 6:1-10Mt 5:38-42 ...now is the day of salvation. Two years ago, I went on my second pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Israel. It is a time and a space unlike any I have ever known. An experience I couldn’t imagine. An encounter... Continue Reading →
18 May, Tuesday — Simply loving, no judging
May 18 – Memorial for St. John I, Pope and Martyr St. John (d. 526) was a priest in Rome, and became the 53rd pope in 523. Italy’s ruler then, Theodoric the Goth, was an Arian. For a while he left the Catholics alone, but in later life, he became suspicious of everyone, imagining conspiracies and attempts... Continue Reading →