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

January 25, 2026 Matthew 4: 12-23 One of the first things we may notice about today's Gospel is that Jesus quotes from the reading from Isaiah. By doing this Jesus underlines that he is continuing the work of salvation deeply rooted in God’s involvement with humanity, with us. Jesus is calling the same people John the Baptist was: “the people who sit in darkness...those overshadowed by death.” And he brings to them the very things Isaiah is talking about: “[these] people...ha

January 18, 2026 John 1: 29-34 We have just celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Sunday, and already John the Baptist appears in our Gospel today.  John the Baptist can seem a much overlooked and overshadowed figure.  Sometimes it is even difficult to see him as a real person at all.  We think of him as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus who is the Christ.  We think of him as just a shadowy and necessary person who gets the stage and the people ready for Christ. He is a

January 11, 2026 Matthew 3: 13-17 Jesus’ Baptism is truly a very significant moment in his earthly life, more than we might think at first glance.  You could say that it is his first public moment.  John the Baptist tries to tell Jesus that Jesus should not be baptized by John, but that it should be the other way around:  Jesus should be baptizing John.  But no.  Jesus refuses this by saying:  “Allow it for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” And

December 28, 2026 Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 At Christmas time we often see peaceful, quiet scenes of the Holy Family on our Christmas cards, Nativity scenes in our homes, or in front of our churches. This but only one aspect of the reality of the Holy Family. It is a valid aspect that emphasizes the enormity of what is taking place at the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior: the uniting of God with the human race which he so loved. The strains of Silent Night, Holy Night a

December 21, 2025 Matthew 1: 18-24 Today’s gospel passage concludes the long genealogy of Jesus.  Unlike Luke, Matthew does not center on Mary in Jesus’ birth, but rather highlights Joseph, a son of David.  If Luke gives us the Annunciation to Mary, Matthew gives us the Annunciation to Joseph.  Why is Joseph important?  For two reasons:  first, he is the son of David;  and second, Joseph is given a special mission by God.  After accepting this mission, Joseph disappears from

December 14, 2025 Matthew 11: 2 - 11 What is the difference in the image of John the Baptist that we get this Sunday in Matthew’s gospel as compared to the picture of John in last Sunday’s gospel?  Last Sunday John seems to be a very dynamic or vigorous man;  he is confident, tells it like it is, he is very assertive in preaching repentance because the judgment of God in near at hand.  Probably because John did tell it like it is, no matter the consequences or effects of what

December 7, 2025 Matthew 3: 1-12     The first reading today from Isaiah gives us the background for the appearance of John the Baptist.  Isaiah is pointing to the day when “a root shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.  The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.”  Isaiah goes on the state the qualities of this messiah:  full of wisdom and understanding, full of strength and knowledge of the Lord, who will judge the poor with justice.