Category Archives: Dakota Leonard

Oct 20 2019

Pray Without Ceasing

Click here for daily readings At first, it seemed pretty easy to follow what today’s Gospel is asking us to do: pray without ceasing. Be like the persistent widow who continuously bothers the judge until he finally deliver...

Sep 18 2019

Our Teacher

Click here for daily readings After reading the Gospel for today, I told my husband, “Now I know why they called Jesus ‘Teacher’. This reading feels like a day in my life!” Now hear me out–I’...

Aug 13 2019

Children and the Kingdom of God

Click here for daily readings Today’s Gospel is truly one of my favorites! Perhaps it’s because I’ve worked in schools for 3 years. But my favorite thing about being around kids, no matter what age they are, ...

Jul 24 2019

The Parable of the Sower

Click here for daily readings In today’s Gospel we hear a parable that I’m sure we’re all familiar with: the Parable of the Sower. If you continue to read Matthew 13, you will find Christ’s explanation th...

Jun 29 2019

Faith of the Martyrs

Click here for daily readings Today is the last day of the U.S. bishop’s annual “Religious Freedom Week”. This week is a recognition of the importance to pray, reflect, and take action on Religious Freedom. It...

Jun 13 2019

Faith and Charity

Click here for daily readings Today is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church. While we know him as St. Anthony of Padua, he is from Lisbon, Portugal. Lisbon, understandably, takes great pride in bei...

May 25 2019

Seek What Is Above

Click here for daily readings Today is my wedding day so the readings I hear at Mass will be different than the ones heard at a normal Saturday Mass. I chose this day on purpose because, in looking at the readings I thought to ...

May 02 2019

Witnesses to Glory

Click here for daily readings In today’s readings, we hear what God is calling us to, as Christians. We are called to be witnesses to the Truth, no matter what the cost. I love the season of Easter because we get to read ...

Apr 19 2019

Perfect Love

Click here for daily readings “Christ became obedient to the point of death, Even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him And bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.” As a little ...

Apr 12 2019

Witness to the Gospel

Click here for daily readings As we approach Holy Week and the Passion of our Lord, the Gospels tell us more and more about the tensions that existed surrounding Jesus. In today’s Gospel, we hear that the Jews want to sto...

Mar 26 2019

My Chains Are Gone

Click here for daily readings In the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid Spain, Pope Benedict XVI said, “God never tires of forgiving. We all need forgiveness…It brings a hope-filled future” and, at another time, ...

Mar 14 2019

Ask, Seek, Knock

Click here for daily readings When reading today’s Gospel, the first thing I thought of was my mom. Throughout my life, every time I go to her and say, “Why didn’t this happen even though I prayed for it? I th...

Feb 23 2019

A Light in the Darkness

Click here for daily readings In today’s Gospel, we hear of the Transfiguration of Christ. In a homily on this same Gospel, St. John Paul II said: “We, pilgrims on earth, are granted to rejoice in the company of the ...

Feb 09 2019

Our Good Shepherd

Click here for daily readings Today would have been my grandmother’s 85th birthday. She died 14 years ago when I was 10 but I still miss her fiercely every day. The first reading comes from the closing verses of Hebrews an...

Jan 28 2019

A Kingdom United

Click here for daily readings Both the reading from Hebrews and today’s Gospel deal with God’s judgment and the salvation of souls. In the first reading, we hear of Christ’s new covenant with mankind, that we n...

Jan 12 2019

He must increase; I must decrease

Click here for daily readings “The truly humble reject all praise for themselves and refer it all to God.” -St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori In today’s readings, we receive a lesson about humility. In 1 John we a...

Dec 12 2018

God’s Delay is not God’s Denial

Click here for daily readings My mom has always told me “God’s delay is not God’s denial”. The readings today reminded me of her and I thought about how true that saying is in our daily lives but esp...

Nov 28 2018

Remain Faithful

Click here for daily readings “To suffer and to be despised — what bitterness, but what glory!” -St. Therese of Lisieux Being Catholic is not easy; following the way of Christ is not easy. But if we think about...

Nov 02 2018

Hope Of The Faithful Departed

Click here for daily readings “May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.” It’s something my family has said at the end of every prayer before we eat since I was very y...