Most Recent Posts
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Running Out of Chances
Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, Third Tuesday of Advent, Year A: Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13, Matthew 21:28-32. Alongside the great promise of our covenant with God – that we will be saved and granted eternal life with Him – there is an ominous warning. If we don’t come to him with open hearts, if…
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Our Lady, Patroness of All Peoples
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab, Luke 1:26-38. The Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared to many people, although in my upbringing we generally considered her from a European context (with skin likely too white to be from Nazareth). Today is the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, a decidedly brown-skinned Mary…
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Getting into Gaudete Sunday
Third Sunday of Advent “Gaudete Sunday,” Year A: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11. Gaudéte in Dómino semper: íterum dico, gaudéte. Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice. This is the first line of the Introit to today’s Mass, marking the halfway point of Advent when we take a little break from…
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John is Elijah, Both Prepare the Way
Saturday in the Second Week of Advent, Year A: Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11, Matthew 17:9a, 10-13. Today’s readings shed light on a lesser-emphasized aspect of St. John the Baptist: the fact that he is Elijah returned. The prophecy in question was given to Micah: “I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible…
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How Receptive Are You?
Friday of the Second Week of Advent, Year A: Isaiah 48:17-19, Matthew 11:16-19. A few years ago, Thomas Nichols published a book entitled, The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters. It captures the zeitgeist of our age in regards to knowledge – everyone thinks he or she is an…
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Understanding the Immaculate Conception
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Genesis 3:9-15, 20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, Luke 1:26-38. I grew up in a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school, so veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a part and parcel of my faith. I never found it odd, or over the top, nor…
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Hope, Rest, and Renewal in Christ
Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Second Wednesday of Advent: Isaiah 40:25-31, Matthew 11:28-30. What soothing words of hope and security we find in today’s readings! With so many trials and difficulties in our lives, this reminder couldn’t come at a better time. As we prepare and wait for the Lord this…
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Carried in His Bosom
Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent: Isaiah 40:1-11, Matthew 18:12-14. Today’s gospel presents the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and Christ as the Good Shepherd is one of the oldest artistic representations we have from the early Christian Church. Clearly, this image resonates with us. But is it more than a nice metaphor? God the…