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4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13 Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 5:1-12a January 29, 2017 The prophet Zephaniah wrote in the 7th century B.C. This is shortly before Jerusalem falls to the Babylonian…
Read More3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 8:23-9:3 Psalm 27:104, 13-14 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 Matthew 4:12-23 January 22, 2017 Paul had helped start the Christian community at Corinth. Now, he has heard about division and immorality going on…
Read More2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 49:3, 5-6 Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 John 1:29-34 January 15, 2017 Our first reading today is part of what are known as four “Suffering Servant Oracles” in…
Read MoreThe Epiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60;1-6 Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 5:1-12 January 8, 2017 Today we hear what we consider as the last piece of the Christmas story. Here come the magi. We don’t…
Read MoreToday (January 5th) is the Memorial of St. John Neumann. He was born in Bohemia in 1811. He came to the United States and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of New York in 1836. At that time, the…
Read MoreMary, the Holy Mother of God Numbers 6:22-27 Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21 January 1, 2017 One week ago we celebrated Christmas day but our Christmas season continues until next week. Today marks the eighth day…
Read MoreChristmas 2016 – Mass During the Night Isaiah 9:1-6 Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14 December 25, 2016 We are here to celebrate something very holy. We began with a song familiar to many, O Come All…
Read More4th Sunday in Advent, Year A Isaiah 7:10-14 Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (7c, 10b) Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24 December 18, 2016 Isaiah offers a sign to King Ahaz but the king refuses. He tries to make his refusal look noble by…
Read MoreI just finished reading two separate books on “Apologetics.” Before going any further I probably should provide a definition of what “apologetics” is. Patrick Madrid in his book How to Do Apologetics: Making the Case for Our Faith (Our Sunday…
Read More3rd Sunday in Advent, Year A Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10 Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-13 December 11, 2016 “Be patient.” These are the words of James offers to the recipients of his letter. What are they to be patient…
Read MoreToday we have our Advent Penance Service that includes First Penance for some of our children. Below I share my homily with you to encourage you to think about what the Sacrament of Reconciliation means. You will find a link…
Read More2nd Sunday in Advent, Year A Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3:1-12 December 4, 2016 Christmas is now just three weeks away. So, our gospel readings shift from the Second Coming to the time just…
Read MoreI just sent out a letter to all our parishioners at St. Michael’s with our Christmas Mass schedule. In what follows, I share with you the first part of the letter for your reflection as we prepare for Christmas. We…
Read More1st Sunday in Advent, Year A Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 November 27, 2016 It should be apparent that the seasons are changing. Outside it is evident from the snow we got this past…
Read MoreToday we celebrate a national holiday. There should be no surprise there as we have several national holidays. Most of them get us a day off from work or school. How much do we really do anything to celebrate some…
Read MoreRecently I received the following question, “How does a Catholic man survive in a sexless marriage? I love my wife very much.” This can be a very challenging situation. I commend the man for asking this because it tells me…
Read MoreChrist the King, Year C 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 November 20, 2016 Until the days when Saul became king, Israel had not had a king. There were leaders known as “judges” who lead…
Read MoreToday, November 15th, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He lived in the 13th century. He joined the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and became a teacher. His most famous student was…
Read More33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Malachi 3:19-20a Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 November 13, 2016 Our readings this week continue on the theme of what the End Times will be like. The question presented…
Read MoreIn mid-October, I went on retreat for a week. I was at a place in Pennsylvania on a quiet road surrounded by woods. It was very peaceful and I was able to do a lot of spiritual reading and fruitful…
Read More32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 15 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 Luke 20:27-38 November 6, 2016 When I arrived here just four months ago, we were all hot. That was summer. Now, summer…
Read More31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Wisdom 11:22-12:2 Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Luke 19:1-10 October 30, 2016 Zacchaeus is described as being “short in stature.” He was short enough that he couldn’t see Jesus…
Read More30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 October 23, 2016 Today Jesus tells us about two people praying, a Pharisee and a tax collector. One becomes…
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