Category Archives: Erin Madden

Jun 04 2021

Hope for Healing

Click here for daily readings Today’s First Reading tells a beautiful story of healing with a powerful and yet often-overlooked role player – the archangel Raphael. When it comes to the three archangels, Mich...

May 21 2021

Sheep Being Fed

Click here for daily readings “Simon, son of John, do you love me? … Feed my sheep.” Today’s Gospel has had an impact on my life for many years now … at least 13, if my memory serves me co...

May 10 2021

How He Speaks

Click here for daily readings Upon first reading of, well, the First Reading, it would appear that it’s just another story of Paul sharing the Good News and building up the early Church. That’s all well and good (I...

Feb 13 2021

Why Lent? Why the Cross?

Click here for daily readings Don’t look now but Ash Wednesday is around the corner. Are you ready for Lent? My guess is that there are some of us still scrambling to decide what it is we will give up for Lent. Whi...

Jan 29 2021

Finding Hope in Suffering

Click here for daily readings It is said that the only two constants in life are death and taxes. I would add a third to this list – suffering. Suffering is a natural part of human life. We all suffer at some point...

Dec 30 2020

Admiring Anna

Click here for daily readings Who is this mysterious woman we hear about in today’s Gospel (and this past weekend’s Gospel, for that matter)? Anna only appears one time across all four Gospels, in thi...

Dec 10 2020

Listen and Heed His Help

Click here for daily readings “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” What aren’t we hearing, then? So often we miss the memo, miss the message – whether from the Lord or from others in our own life. Why...

Nov 25 2020

Christ Over Cancel Culture

Click here for daily readings Cancel culture is something we’ve become all too familiar with in our current, well, culture. But, for those of you who may not know what cancel culture is – on dictionary.com, ca...

Nov 17 2020

Finding a Way to See the Lord

Click here for daily readings The story of Zacchaeus has been following me around lately, between Gospel readings and Lectio Divina reflections and opening prayers at Confirmation sessions. So I have to wonder – wha...

Oct 27 2020

Doing a Lot with Just a Little

Click here for daily readings Have you ever Google searched a mustard seed? Or have you ever seen one in person? Those things are pretty dang tiny (and even that might be an understatement). That’s why I’ve al...

Oct 12 2020

Open Up The Old Testament

Click here for daily readings Salvation history is a story, a story of how God revealed Himself to be a Father, a story of how God invites each and every person to be a part of His family. It’s a beautiful story, we...

Sep 22 2020

We Are Family

Click here for daily readings “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Today’s Gospel is one of the ones that critics use to argue against Mary’s perpetual vir...

Sep 05 2020

Sabbath Rest

Click here for daily readings The Pharisees are at it again – trying so hard to catch Jesus “in the act,” committing some sort of crime for which they could bring Him down. This time (much like every tim...

Aug 27 2020

Wake Up Your Faith

Click here for daily readings Before you read any further, pause. Take a few minutes to evaluate your spiritual life. How is your relationship with God? Are you on fire, full of zeal for the Lord? Are you keeping the Lor...

Aug 09 2020

Faith Over Fear

Click here for daily readings Ask any one of my friends – I’m a worrier. Maybe it’s a direct result of growing up with ever-changing Ohio weather and heartbreaking Cleveland sports that I tend to assume ...

Jul 26 2020

Discipleship Has a Price

Click here for daily readings What is our mission as Christians? You might respond by quoting Matthew 28:19-20, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, ...

Jul 14 2020

Saintlike Courage

Click here for daily readings “Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail.” This line, from today’s first reading, perfectly sums up the saint whose memorial we celebrate today &nd...

Feb 29 2020

Conversion Moment

Click here for daily readings What even is the whole point of Lent? Why do we take 40 days to prepare for Jesus’ Resurrection at Easter? Why do we embrace penance and suffering during this season? As I prepared my high sch...

Feb 21 2020

A Hard Take on Discipleship

Click here for daily readings When I interviewed for my current youth ministry job, my now-coworkers asked me, “So what do you know about St. Peter Church?” Thanking the Lord I had spent time looking at the parish we...

Feb 06 2020

Disciples Making Disciples

Click here for daily readings How often do we forget our call, our vocation, as Catholic Christians? We might get hung up on the word “vocation,” thinking that, “I’m living out my marriage/priesthood/reli...