Category Archives: Deanna Bartalini

Mar 15 2023

Staying on the Straight and Narrow/ Mantenerse en el Camino Recto

Click here for daily readings We are in the middle of Lent. How is it going? Phenomenally great? Meh? Either way, we continue to move forward, and today’s Gospel is a big help. Jesus tells us what we need to do to b...

Feb 23 2023

Losing Yourself / Perderte a Ti Mismo

Click here for daily readings There are seasons in life when it seems we are losing. I think back to when I was the mother of babies – I lost: sleep, quick trips to the store, quiet at Mass, clothes that stayed clea...

Jan 12 2023

Harden Not Your Heart / No Endurezcas Tu Corazón

Click here for daily readings Life does not go well for us when we go against God. Yet we go against him. It may not be overtly or even intentionally, but it happens. Paul is speaking about what happened in the desert whe...

Dec 19 2022

An Answer to Prayer / Respuestas a las Oraciones

Click here for daily readings Both readings today present us with dramatic answers to prayers. I think this is why we get our hopes up so high when we pray. We want a big answer, sign, and response so we can be sure. We w...

Nov 19 2022

God is “I Am” / Dios es “Yo Soy”

Click here for daily readings Many years ago, I heard a priest speak about God as the God of the present. He tells Moses, “I AM.” Not that he was or will be, but I AM. As in, now, the present. When I read both...

Oct 19 2022

Jesus is Coming, Look Busy / Ya Viene Jesús, Luzca Ocupado

Click here for daily readings Jesus is coming but we do not know when. And our goal as Christians is not to simply “look busy” but to be about the work that is ours. Many years ago I heard the acronym for &lsq...

Sep 19 2022

The Light of Christ / La Luz de Cristo

Click here for daily readings I had a slightly cheeky thought when I read today’s Psalm Response, “The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord.” It’s easy to be just living on the Lord&rs...

Jun 20 2022

Leave the Judging to God

Click here for daily readings It really is easy to judge others. And often we cloak it as help or worry or wanting what is best for the other person. Why aren’t we to judge others? It’s simple, we are not God....

May 19 2022

Got Joy?

Click here for daily readings “Are you happy?”, asks Henry, repeatedly, until he receives an affirmative answer from whoever he sees near him. Henry is four. Who knows where Henry first heard this question or ...

Apr 23 2022

Be Bold, Speak Truth

Click here for daily readings Happy Easter! I love how we celebrate during the Octave and continue on to Pentecost. In both Acts and Mark’s Gospel passage for today we find belief and unbelief. Mark tells us that Je...

Mar 23 2022

Rules Matter

Click here for daily readings We are halfway through Lent if my math is correct. I checked with my math teacher, deacon husband – I counted correctly! The words of Moses and Jesus hang together quite well today. The...

Feb 16 2022

Stop Deluding Yourself

Click here for daily readings The Letter of James is short and to the point on how we are to behave. There are points made about anger, the word of God and action. However, as I read it, I came to see that it is about lis...

Dec 30 2021

Turning Ourselves Toward God

Click here for daily readings I hope that your Christmas season is full of joy! As I read today’s readings, I was struck by the last verses in both the First Reading and the Gospel. They both point to doing the will...

Dec 04 2021

What Does It Cost?

Click here for daily readings “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give” (Mark 10:8b). Gratitude. Humility. Thankful. Sacrifice. Share. Prayer. Authority. Heal. These are all words that com...

Nov 19 2021

Hanging on Jesus’ Words

Click here for daily readings The last line of the Gospel, “all the people were hanging on his words’ (Luke 19:48b) strikes me as a very good way to live. Hanging on the words of Jesus. Jesus cleansing the tem...

Oct 19 2021

Vigilant Waiting

Click here for daily readings Do you ever have those days when you wish Jesus would return – now? The world often seems like it is permanently opposite day where right is wrong, up is down and near is far. And in th...

Oct 09 2021

Saying The Right Thing Is Not Enough

Click here for daily readings I’m not going to lie, which is good considering I’m writing a reflection on the word of God! I had to look up these verses in the Sacra Pagina commentary. These verses have long p...

Sep 19 2021

Putting the Gospel into Practice

Click here for daily readings Last. Who wants to be last? When I was in elementary school, I was not very athletic; well, that hasn’t changed much to be honest. At any rate, when it was time for games in the schooly...

Sep 09 2021

Reflect Love and Mercy

Click here for daily readings Today’s readings are full of instructions on how to live and love and be rewarded. St. Paul starts by giving us a list of virtues he invites us to “put on” and then cover th...

Aug 17 2021

Give up my stuff?

Click here for daily readings Is Jesus asking us to renounce all our worldly goods? Maybe. Jesus suggests the ideal, give up house and family and land for his name. He certainly would like us to be less attached to them i...