And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. (Luke 1:35) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23) Pentecost, A Time to Say Yes to the Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives Scholars tell us that the first Pentecost took place during the Jewish Feast of Weeks. This was a festival at which the […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3,6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20) Saying Yes to Jesus’ Call to Proclaim the Gospel to Others Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel. (Mark 16:15) What a simple, but immense, charge Jesus gave to his disciples! He even told them that […]
This is the second article on the theme, “He Has Risen, Alleluia! We Have Risen With Him, Alleluia!” Isn’t this what this grace-filled Easter Season is all about? For this second article, I am using the opening words of the book, The Binding of The Strong Man, The Teachings of St. Leo the Great by […]
Sixth Sunday of Easter Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; Psalm 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17) Growing in Hope and Joy during this Grace-filled Easter Season “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) It […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; Psalm 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17) Growing in Hope and Joy during this Grace-filled Easter Season “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) It was one o’clock in the morning […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 9:26-31; Psalm 22:26-28,30-32; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8) Allowing Ourselves to be Pruned by God, To Bear Fruit for his Kingdom “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) How comforting it is to know that we do not walk […]
When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 4:8-12; Psalm 118:1,8-9,21-23,26,29; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18) Knowing and Experiencing the Love of Our Heavenly Father “We are God’s children.” (1 John 3:2) What a radical statement! How awesome it is that we mere mortals are children of the eternal, almighty God! What could be […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 3:13-15,17-19; Psalm 4:2,4,7-9; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48) Opening Our Minds and Hearts to Jesus and the Scriptures “He opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” (Luke 24:45) We all love to have our minds stretched in new directions. There is nothing more exciting than listening […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31) Opening Ourselves to Receiving God’s Divine Mercy This is the one who came through water and blood. (1 John 5:6) “Throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 10:34,37-43; Psalm 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9) Allowing the Resurrection of Jesus to Strengthen Our Faith They did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. (John 20:9) What a humble statement! Here is John, the beloved apostle, admitting that he […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9,17-20,23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1–15:47) Opening Ourselves to God as We Contemplate Jesus’ Passion Crucify him! (Mark 15:13) St. Francis de Sales once wrote: “I especially commend earnest mental prayer . . . upon the life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate […]
Ezekiel, caught up in the Spirit of God, has a vision of the Temple. Water pours from beneath the Temple threshold. This water is clean and live-giving, restoring everything it touches. It flows east, east toward Eden, so that the garden may be purified and man redeemed. Ezekiel does not realize that this Temple is […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:3-4,12-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33) Bearing Much Fruit for the Kingdom of God “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (John 12:24) Have you ever […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23; Psalm 137:1-6; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21) Thanking and Praising God for his Great Love and Mercy “God, who is rich in mercy.” (Ephesians 2:4) Heavenly Father, how great is your love! I am amazed at the depth of your mercy toward me. Your love […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19:8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25) Being Angry toward Injustice without Sinning “He made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple area.” (John 2:15) Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was angry. But just a little more than a […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18; Psalm 116:10,15-19; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10) Knowing and Living the Gospel Message that God is for Us “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) With these ten words, Paul begins to summarize the points he has been making so far […]
The beginning of Mark’s gospel contains a revealing and prophetic encounter between Jesus and a leper. We are told: “And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down said to Him: If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus having compassion on him, stretched forth His hand; and touching him, […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25:4-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15) Lent, A Time to Experience Victory in our Battle Against Temptation and Sin It is … an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” (1 Peter 3:21) While St. Peter is describing the Sacrament of Baptism here, he […]
Action! Saint James tells us that we must demonstrate our faith with actions. As Catholics, that means taking up our crosses and following the Lord. “Faith of itself, without works, is dead,” James says (2:17). His teaching comes directly from the Lord. At Mass word and deed connect. The Scriptures offer the affirmation that […]
The cure of the leper in this morning’s Gospel was more than a miracle of physical healing; it was a moral resurrection of a man who suffered from la disease that made him an outcast from society, doomed to crying out, as the first reading indicates, “Unclean, unclean,” in order to warn people in the […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24-25; Psalm 41:2-5, 13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12) Journeying together as Brothers and Sisters in Christ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5) Did you catch that? Jesus forgave this man and healed […]
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. […]
