Ordinary Time: Cycle A

Reading I: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Reading II: 1 John 3:1-3 GOSPEL: Matthew 5:1-12a Trick or Treat? Jesus began his Sermon on the Mount by clearly listing the Beatitudes – a roadmap for “perfect happiness or blessedness” – and I’m sure his liste...

Reading I: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a Reading II: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 GOSPEL: John 6:51-58 Food for Thought Remember the part in the bible when Burt Reynolds says to Dom DeLuise that "man can't live on bread alone"? Then Dom says,"I can....

Reading I: Jeremiah 20:10-13 Reading II: Romans 5:12-15 GOSPEL: Matthew 10:26-33 Be Willing to Share I have known many people throughout the course of my life and a good number of them consider themselves Christians. They're good people, they...

Reading I: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16A Reading II: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 GOSPEL: Matthew 10:37-42 Jesus Christ: Home Wrecker? Who do you love most deeply? Your mom? Your dad? Your spouse? Your sister or a brother? Well – be careful what you answer. J...

Reading I: Zechariah 9:9-10 Reading II: Romans 8:9, 11-13 GOSPEL: Matthew 11:25-30 The Yoke's on You! All right gang, it's story time! Once upon a time, there was a carpenter. No, not Jesus – a different carpenter. This carpenter had the task o...

Reading I: Isaiah 5:10-11 Reading II: Romans 8:18-23 GOSPEL: Matthew 13:1-9 The Ground of the Community The parable of the sower is most often used to illustrate the hearts or lives of individuals. The discussion centers on whether or not the...

Reading I: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Reading II: Romans 8:26-27 GOSPEL: Matthew 13:24-43 The Power of Storytelling Do you remember Paul Harvey? Depending upon how young you are, the name may mean nothing to you. But for those of us who grew up in the...

Reading I: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Reading II: Romans 8:28-30 GOSPEL: Matthew 13:44-52 All Things Work for Good This Sunday's second reading from Romans contains one of my favorite lines from Scripture: "We know that all things work for good for those...

Reading I: Isaiah 55:1-3 Reading II: Romans 8:35, 37-39 GOSPEL: Matthew 14:13-21 Don't Settle for a Fishwich! Most everyone has heard the story of the loaves and fishes. It is one of those tales with which even non-Christians have become familiar....

Reading I: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13 Reading II: Romans 9:1-5 GOSPEL: Matthew 14:22-33 Finding God in All Places Does life today seem to be very noisy? Is peace and quiet hard to find? This weekend, the Gospel and the Old Testament readings will help...

Reading I: Isaiah 56:1,6-7 Reading II: Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21-28 The Choice is Yours Have you ever had one of those "salvation" debates? You know – the kind where you pit two different groups against each other? For example, w...

Reading I: Isaiah 22:19-23 Reading II: Romans 11:33-36 GOSPEL: Matthew 16:13-20 An Ageless Question Most of us have heard today's Gospel many times. Jesus is asking his disciples what people are saying about him – who do people think he is. Fo...

Reading I: Jeremiah 20:7-9 Reading II: Romans 12:1-2 GOSPEL: Matthew 16:21-27 Heaven is Coming Last Sunday, Peter received the Keys to the kingdom. This week, Jesus tells him, "Get behind me Satan." Peter gets a lesson from Jesus on what one must...

Reading I: Ezekiel 33:7-9 Reading II: Romans 13:8-10 GOSPEL: Matthew 18:15-20 The Morality Police I'd venture to guess that every one of us has known at least one judgmental, self-righteous individual during our lives. In fact, perhaps we even...

Reading 1: Sirach 27:30—28:7 Reading 2: Romans 14:7-9 Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35 Our Lives Belong to the Lord In the second reading this Sunday, St. Paul tells us that, as true Christians, we don't live for ourselves. It's an idea that can become l...

Reading I: Isaiah 55:6-9 Reading II: Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a GOSPEL: Matthew 20:1-16a The Mystery of God's Ways In the readings today, we see a God who is mystery – whose ways are so beyond ours that we can't understand, though we can see some o...

Reading I: Ezekiel 18:25-28 Reading II: Philippians 2:1-11 GOSPEL: Matthew 21:28-32 Being Sick? For the entire week before writing this reflection, I was sick with a cold. I don't do “sick” well. The stubborn part of me refuses to be mastered by ...

Reading I: Isaiah 5:1-7 Reading II: Philippians 4:6-9 GOSPEL: Matthew 21:33-43 The Big Picture It's a fact of life – sometimes we get too focused on the task at hand and we lose sight of the bigger picture. It's a problem that all of us will face a...

The children of Israel may be the chosen people, but the Lord has invited us all to the banquet - so we need to respond in a timely manner!

Reading I: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b GOSPEL: Matthew 22:15-21 Our God is an Active God God just won't get lost. Even when I try to fill my life with work, movies, and music, God still finds a way to be there. God is the...

The Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed about the right way to practice their religion and sometimes disagreed so strongly they actually got into violent fights. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus seems to say that if you attack people who don't believe what...

Reading I: Wisdom 6:12-16 Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 GOSPEL: Matthew 25:1-13 Make the Wise Choice! In today's fast-paced, work-a-day world, it's far too easy to get caught up in the minutiae of our secular lives and forget about our spiritual...

Reading I: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 GOSPEL: Matthew 25:14-30 Multiply Your Gifts We are all blessed with different gifts, talents and abilities. Some are high profile and obvious to others, but some of these...

Reading I: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 Reading II: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 GOSPEL: Matthew 25:31-46 Babe, the Shepherd-King? Have you ever seen the movie Babe? It’s an oldie but a goodie - mid-90s - but if you spend much time around small children, y...

Reading I: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9< Reading II: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 GOSPEL: John 3:16-18 How Does God See the World? How does God see the world? What does he see when he looks out over his creation, which he set in motion oh so long ago? Does...