June 14, 2026 Matthew 9:36-10:8 We have recently completed the liturgical cycle that takes us from Holy week, through Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and finally, the Body and Blood of Christ, commemorating the abiding presence of Jesus in our midst until he comes again. And yet, with the readings for this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A, we are back at the beginning off Jesus’ ministry to bring redemption to the human race and to each of us individually. A

June 7, 2026 Matthew 5:13-16 We have often heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” This is certainly true; what we eat and drink can strengthen with a healthy body, and there a healthy soul, or it can weaken us, sometime to the point where neither body or soul function well. But when we take care of our body, our soul can thrive, and we are able to accomplish much. This even more so when we eat and drink the body of the Lord. An example of this for us to consider the life o

May 31, 2026 John 3:16-18 Our Epistle today, St. Paul greets people in the Holy Trinity, saying: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Notice St. Paul is not trying to explain the Trinity as an idea or dogma, but he is wishing a blessing in the name of three persons who make up the Trinity as one God, a reality of persons. The theologian, Fr. Karl Rahner, was once asked by a pastor how to explain th

May 24, 2026 John 20:19-23 In a Reader’s Digest’s article, Fr. Simplicio Apalisok in his book, tells how of a child, was captivated by the sight of an old man prayerfully peering into an old cistern. Intrigued about what the old man was looking at, so the boy edged up to the cistern and tried to see over the ledge. The old man held him with his shovel-like hands helped him over the ledge of the wheel. “Do you know who lives there?” the old man asked. The frightened boy shook

May 17, 2026 Matthew 28: 16-20 A beautiful old story tells of how Jesus, after his Ascension into Heaven, was surrounded by the angels who began to inquire about his work on earth. Jesus told them about His birth, life, preaching, death and Resurrection, and how he had accomplished the salvation of the world. The Archangel Gabriel asked, “Well, now that you are back in Heaven, who will continue your work on earth?” Jesus said, “While I was on earth, I gathered a group of peop

May 10, 2026 John 14: 15-21 In today’s gospel from John, Jesus emphasizes again that the only thing necessary for life is to love Jesus, and if we do, we will observe his commandments. It seems so simple. Of course, the key thing is the way we do love Jesus. That is the crucial thing for salvation. Next, Jesus tells us that we will not be left orphans, that is fatherless, or without the Lord as our Leader or Rabbi. He says that he will leave us for a while and then be with us

May 3, 2026 John 14: 1-12 It seems as if the disciples refused to be comforted. They seem to refuse to take in what Jesus is telling them now and has been telling them for the past few years; Jesus spoke not only with his words, but also with his actions. And yet, the disciples do not get it. We have seen this all through our meditations through Holy Week; in fact the misunderstanding of the disciples is clearly present at the point Jesus turns his face to Jerusalem as he tra

April 26, 2026 Acts 4:8-12; John 10: 11-1 In today’s gospel, Jesus proclaims that he is the good shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep. He is not the unworthy shepherd who is a hired hand and has not real love or care for his sheep, and certainly would not put his life in danger to protect them. Jesus does not work for pay, but rather is the shepherd who has been entrusted with the sheep by his Father and loves them to the point of death. Just as the Father love this

April 19, 2026 Luke 24: 35-48 Why is it that at least some of the disciples present in the upper room were terrified when Jesus appeared so abruptly in their midst? I mean, the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus had just finished telling the others about their experience. They had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Everyone there had just heard about this; and yet when Jesus wished them ‘peace,’ “...they were startled and terrified and thoug

April 12, 2026 John 20: 19-32 We have a picture in our minds of the disciples on the evening of that first Easter Sunday. They knew that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. Mary Magdalene had said that she had seen the Lord risen. But they really did not know what to think. They gathered in a locked room, very possibly the same room in which they ate the last supper. They were afraid; they listened to any sound on the other side of the locked door; would the Sanhedrin send soldi

April 5, 2026 John 20: 1-9 The conclusion of the gospel reading from John in certainly inconclusive! It tells us of Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb to finish the hurried burial rites early in the morning; it was still dark. She found the tomb empty. What must her mood have been? Burdened with sorrow, grieving, filled with a sense of loss; trying to do one last thing for the Lord she has so recently and brutally lost. And, she finds the tomb empty. She must have panicked. Wh

March 29, 2026 Mark 14: 1- 15: 47 The day begins on a high note: Jesus enters Jerusalem seated on the colt of an ass which had never been ridden. The disciple’s cloaks had been piled on it back. People from all over the city lined the streets, indeed people from all over the Empire there for the Passover wanted to see Jesus also. They spread leafy branches all over the road in front of Jesus to honor him. Everything seemed right for the coming of the kind of Messiah for which

March 22, 2026 John 11: 1-45 The elephant in the room is Lazarus. In a sense he is a focal point of this passage, and yet we never think too much about him. His name is a from of the Hebrew Eleazar meaning “God is my help.” Who was he? And, more importantly, what does he tell us about Jesus? And finally, what does Lazarus and his relationship with Jesus tell us about ourselves? Although we hear of Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, we only learn of him in the Gospel of John.

March 15, 2026 John 9: 1-41 The first reading from the First Book of Samuel helps us to be ready for today’s Gospel from John. The Lord tells Samuel that he has chosen a new king for Israel among the sons of Jesse. So Samuel goes to Jesse and asks to see his sons. They come and are all fine looking men, any of which could have been a king. But, as each son is presented to Samuel, God tells him, ‘this is not the one.’ When Samuel asks if there are any others, Jesse sends for h

March 8, 2026 John 4: 5-42 The unnamed Samaritan woman is a key figure in today’s gospel from John. On the surface we know very little about her, except that she came to draw water in the middle of the day, she was surprised to find Jesus talking with her; she had 5 husbands, and the man she had at that moment was not her husband. But in reality we know a bit more. It was odd that the woman was coming to the well in the middle of the day. The village women usually came in ear

March 1, 2026 Matthew 17: 1-9 This week the gospel from Matthew recounts the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain. He appears to Peter, James, and John in the presence of Moses and Elijah. We must remember that in the chapter just before this one, Jesus tells his disciples that he is on his way to Jerusalem to suffer at the hands of the high priests, scribes and elders, be killed, and rise on the third day. And then Jesus tells his disciples that they must take up the cro

February 22, 2026 Matthew 4: 1-11 The first two readings give us the beginning and the end of humankind’s need for salvation and redemption. We begin in Genesis with the story of humanity's creation and how our first parents soon came to confrontation with the devil. They had everything going for them, and yet when evil comes into the picture as a temptation against what God has decreed, our parents fold under the attraction of power. After all, who would not want to be equal

February 15, 2026 Matthew 5:17-37 I wonder what was in the minds of Jesus’ listeners in today’s gospel passage? Jesus is asking them to be better than the religious professionals of his day. He is asking them to go beyond the letter of the Law. He is asking them to be radical in their approach to living life. They must have been amazed. The unsettling thing is that that is exactly what Jesus is asking us today also. I wonder what examples Jesus would use with us today? He to

February 8, 2026 Matthew 5:13-16 Right away, it is clear in this gospel that Jesus is talking to his own disciples, not to the crowd or those outside his inner group. He tells them that they are already now the salt of the earth and light of the world. They are different from other Jews or the gentiles. They, and we, are a critical necessity for the spread of the Kingdom, just like salt and light are for life. In the world of Jesus, salt seasons, preserves, purifies; it is us

February 1, 2026 Mark 5:1-20 Did you ever notice that the Beatitudes are all reflected in Jesus’ life? We really live when we live in Jesus Christ for others. The Beatitudes show to us the heart of the gospel where Jesus turns everything the world sees as important upside down. Today’s Gospel gives us a snap shot of the meaning of the Beatitudes. They call us to live beyond ourselves. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples that things are not always as they seem. He