Category Archives: Ordinary Time

Nov 22 2021

Altruism and Two Small Coins

Click here for daily readings The Gospel today has the second account of the widow and her two small coins. I find this quite fitting on the Monday before Thanksgiving. The widow’s offering is the definition of alt...

Nov 21 2021

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King Of The Universe

Click here for daily readings If you give too much attention to the news, to social media, or to the murmurings of the masses, you will find endless reasons to be confused, afraid, even despondent. But if you contemplate...

Nov 20 2021

When the Bad Guys Win

Click here for daily readings As I mentioned in my last reflection, I—and millions of other Christians – have been listening to Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast since January 1st. As it happ...

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...

Nov 18 2021

Shed Some Tears

Click here for daily readings At significant moments in the Gospels, Jesus weeps. He weeps at the sight of his friend Lazarus dead in his tomb. He weeps when praying in the garden the night before his crucifixion. It is ...

Nov 17 2021

The Apple of God’s Eye

Click here for daily readings I was born to a Catholic couple and raised in a Catholic family. I lived in a Catholic house on the same block as a Catholic school, a half a block away from a Catholic church. I was baptized...

Nov 16 2021

Zacchaeus, A Conversion That Impacted An Entire Community!

Click here for daily readings “The Son of Man has Come to seek and save what is lost.” The Gospel today shares the powerful story of Zacchaeus and how Jesus touched his own heart and his whole family, as Jesu...

Nov 15 2021

It’s a Comin’!

Click here for daily readings I grew up in Texas, which is south but not what I would call THE South. Texas is its own kind of south since there are so many western influences (see: cowboy references). It also has its own...

Nov 14 2021

Be Vigilant at all Times

Click here for daily readings I opened the Divine Office today, more specifically the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours, for additional insight on the readings for today. St. Augustine wrote, “We ...

Nov 13 2021

Turning to God in Prayer

Click here for daily readings As my family walked down the aisle to receive Holy Communion, I noticed my three-year-old approach the Eucharistic Minister with hands folded. When he reached her, he looked up at her with pl...

Nov 12 2021

Preparing Daily

Click here for daily readings “They were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building.” Today, maybe Jesus would say, “They were eating, drinking, watching, posting, zooming, working.” The...

Nov 11 2021

Stay on Target

Click here for daily readings In the first Star Wars movie made, “A New Hope,” the rebel forces (the good guys) are trying to destroy the formidable Death Star. On a mission to fire a shot into its only signif...

Nov 10 2021

An Examination of Blessings

Click here for daily readings In today’s gospel, Luke tells the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. All the lepers walk away, and only one returns to thank Him. Jesus says to him, “Ten were cleansed, were they ...

Nov 09 2021

Perfect Justice and Perfect Mercy

Click here for daily readings The National Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. is the largest church in the western hemisphere. The Byzantine structure rises high above the DC skyline, which ...

Nov 08 2021

Asking for Faith

Click here for daily readings What even is faith? More than just a blind leap to things we can’t know, faith is an acknowledgement that God is above us and we should trust him in the things he reveals. If the truth...

Nov 07 2021

Giving What We Are

Click here for daily readings I love the widow’s mite, even as it challenges me every time to give of my substance and not my surplus. It is no act of great trust to give only what is left over AFTER I take care of...

Nov 06 2021

The Humility of Christ

Click here for daily readings Today’s Gospel Acclamation is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” In this ...

Nov 05 2021

The (Dis)honest Steward

Click here for daily readings Why would the master commend the dishonest steward? And what did the steward do that would be considered prudent? If you are like me, you are probably confused by today’s Gospel and may find...

Nov 04 2021

Looking Down On Others

Click here for daily readings It is hard not to “look down on” other people when they disagree with us. This is especially true when our opinions are well supported by facts and expert opinions. Those who hol...

Nov 03 2021

Love and Law

Click here for daily readings Imagine with me for a second the scenario of a group of friends playing soccer on the top of a cliff. The cliff rises high above the treacherous waters below and one slip would cause a fall ...