Happy Church New Year! As we begin a new Church Year, we begin a cycle of readings from the Gospel of St. Matthew. This means that all year we will read through the Gospel of Matthew, though sometimes we will also read some of John’s Gospel. Since there are three...
Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. Before I speak about our readings today I need to reemphasize one of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. That is, that the Sacred Scriptures are the Holy and Infallible word of God. They are not simply a collection of moral writings....
A mother says to her ten years old son, “If you study hard all year and you get passing grades, next summer, I will buy you a new bicycle.” In other words, if her son does not study hard all year and he does not get passing grades, he will...
One of the most moving passages demonstrating fidelity to God is today’s First Reading. In it a mother and her seven sons testify that their faith in God and their fidelity to him are absolute. King Antiochus tries to get them to renounce the rules of their religion, promising them...
Everyone at some time in their life has been “too short to see”. I don’t know anyone, Jesus included, who was born into this world at 6 foot plus in height. When you were a child, you probably shuffled your way through the crowd to get to front to see...
The gospel account we just heard is famous, one with which we are all familiar. It tells the well-known story of the sinner who sat in the back of the Temple beating his breast while seeking mercy and the Pharisee who sat up in front reminding God what a laudable...
Jesus tells a story that is all too true – a defenseless widow is taken advantaged of and refused her rights. There are two characters in Jesus’ parable: they are complete opposites. First, there is the judge, “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” He took no responsibility for...
Gratitude is like a rare flower found in a wintry landscape. Our human nature tends to take for granted favors and gifts, especially those that come from God. An Israelite slave girl belonging to Naaman, a Syrian official who had contracted leprosy, told her master about the prophet of...
Faith. This is a word that we throw around a lot in religion. But what does it mean? Before we look at today’s readings, let’s perhaps review its meaning. Faith is about the future. It is about belief, and it is about trust and loyalty. If we look at faith...
It is no sin to be rich, even though Jesus did say that the rich would have a harder time getting into heaven than the rest of us would. But there’s no virtue in being poor either, even if Jesus once did call the poor “blessed.” Today’s Gospel story helps...