Category Archives: Catholic

Jan 26 2021

Our Families and God’s Family

Click here for daily readings Families are messy. From the outside, a family can appear ideal but underneath it all, every family, even the one that seems perfect, has issues by virtue of the fact that all families are co...

Jan 25 2021

Our Damascus Events

Click here for daily readings One of my favorite images of the Conversion of St. Paul is found in the Apostolic Palace and is pictured here. It was painted by Michelangelo between 1542 and 1546. January 25 is a big deal ...

Jan 24 2021

Teach Me Your Ways, O Lord

Click here for daily readings In this Sunday’s readings, three particular lines stand out to me. In the First Reading, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.” Too commonly do we rely on our own understandin...

Jan 23 2021

Jesus Heals

Click here for daily readings In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, crowds of people surrounded Christ and His disciples. They approached Christ because they heard that He had healed many. They, too, wanted to...

Jan 22 2021

Following Christ

Click here for daily readings Sometimes when I read the Twelve Apostles’ names, my mind wonders what did Jesus see in each one of these men that drew him to invite them to be his followers? Did Jesus see a light in ...

Jan 21 2021

There is Nothing I Shall Want

Click here for daily readings Desire: it can often be geared towards holy and beautiful things, but how often do our desires become absorbed in the culture around us? Do we let the world convince us of what should be most...

Jan 20 2021

Choosing Not To Choose Is Choosing

Click here for daily readings There is a battle going on in today’s Gospel, but Jesus is the only one who speaks! The Pharisees don’t need to open their mouths – in fact, they willfully remain silent &n...

Jan 19 2021

Hope

Click here for daily readings There is a light snow falling as I write. It covers the dulled yellow and green grasses that are still visible here in West Michigan, making things look fresh. Snow on roadways can be quite ...

Jan 18 2021

New Wine and Fresh Wineskins

Click here for daily readings On December 12, 2020, I gave my life to God. Again. Reflecting upon this realization that I was promising to do God’s will, not my own, yet another time in my life, I wanted to co...

Jan 17 2021

Steps to Spiritual Growth

Click here for daily readings In twelve-step programs, one of the tools used for spiritual growth is the “three A’s”: Awareness, Acceptance, and Action. Each of our readings today highlights one or more...

Jan 16 2021

He Knows Me So Well

Click here for daily readings There’s an obscure moment in an equally obscure musical during which two women, both in love with the same man, sing a duet titled I Know Him So Well. Oddly enough, this is the song th...

Jan 15 2021

The One Who Heals

Click here for daily readings If you have spent any time listening to or reading the Gospels, you are aware of the discord between Jesus and the Pharisees. His preaching called into question the status quo and that made t...

Jan 14 2021

Forgiveness

Click here for daily readings “Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it should not be an endless preoccupation. You must dwell also on the glad remembrance of God’s loving-kindness; otherwise, sadness will h...

Jan 13 2021

Driven By Desire…For What?

Click here for daily readings What gets you out of bed before dawn? We push ourselves beyond our superficial comforts for things that we value. Some people seem to focus on fun or competition and stay up late gaming. Som...

Jan 12 2021

Childlike Awe

Click here for daily readings As a working mom, I make it a point to spend individual time with each of my kids as often as I can. They take turns having mommy “dates” and treasure their time with me just as m...

Jan 11 2021

Come Follow Me

Click here for daily readings Today we read about the day that Christ called to Simon and Andrew, saying: “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers of people.” Christ called to these men, and they...

Jan 10 2021

Baptism Equips for Mission

Click here for daily readings Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Confusingly, this happened when Jesus was an adult, and not as a child. So why does the church celebrate it here at the end of the Christmas seaso...

Jan 09 2021

Do We Trust?

Click here for daily readings I always like to read through the entire reading for the day and pray through it a little before writing a reflection. Well today, the line that stood out the most was right at the beginning...

Jan 08 2021

Love is the Victor

Click here for daily readings The First Reading today begins, ‘the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, is indeed, victor over the world, through the Spirit, water and Blood of Christ.’ The Catech...

Jan 07 2021

He First Loved

Click here for daily readings “We love because he first loved us.” Think about that for a second and really let it sink in. God loved us first. I know for a lot of my life, especially in high school, it somet...