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. 

November 30, 2025 Matthew 24: 37-44 The question for us this first Sunday of Advent is how do we wait? Waiting can take many forms. We can wait anxiously fearing some unfocused calamity or perhaps even one very focused that is closing in on us. It is even hard to wait for something good. Did you ever get a card or present with this note on it: ‘Don’t open until Christmas’? The question is will we actually follow those instructions? In fact, not wanting to wait has become a bu

November 23, 2025 Luke 23: 35-43 This is a story about an Irish King. He had no children to succeed him on the throne, so he decided to choose his successor from among the people. The only condition set by the King, as announced throughout his kingdom, was that the candidate must have a deep love for God and neighbor. In a remote village of the kingdom lived a poor but gentle youth who was noted for his kindness and helpfulness to all his neighbors. The villagers encouraged h

November 16, 2025 Luke 21: 5-19 Chapter 21 of Luke’s gospel begins with five verses not included in today’s gospel reading. These verses, also, take place in the temple, and are an important element to set the scene for the gospel we have just heard. They give the account of the poor widow’s contribution to the temple treasury. Jesus observes that the widow gives much more from her poverty than the wealthy give from their abundance, their surplus. Jesus notes, that “she from

November 9, 2025 John 2:13-22 We might well wonder why we are celebrating the dedication of a church building in Rome, Italy. And it’s not even the dedication of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. But actually this basilica is the Cathedral Church of Rome, the Pope’s cathedral as bishop of Rome. It was given to Pope Sylvester by Constantine and dedicated 0n November 9, 324 AD. This basilica has been destroyed by fire, earthquakes and attacks many time, but each time it as c

November 2, 2025 John 6:37-40 One of the most comforting truths is expressed in today’s gospel: “And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he sent me, but that I should raise it up on the last day.” The mission the Father sent his Son on is so personal to each of us, just as it is cosmic. We can say that it truly goes beyond all we could hope for; we are not simply promised eternal life, but that our lives continue beyond our finite

October 26, 2025 Luke 18: 9-14 In this chapter of Luke’s gospel, we are continuing with parables that are unique to Luke and stop us in our usual way of thinking. Even today we can feel some shock at what this parable holds up for us; but in our time it would be as if some really well-known and respected preacher would say, ‘A pope and a pimp, went into St. Peters’ to pray;’ or perhaps today, we would say ‘an insider trader on Wall Street,’ or, ‘a U.S. government official

October 19, 2025 Luke 18: 1-8 For several Sundays we have been reflecting in the gospels on how we are charged with furthering the Kingdom of God by our actions, by how we live. Today the message has a little different twist. Today we are reminded that part of our mission as a Christian, as Christ’s presence today, is in our prayer. It is not our actions or example alone that brings about the kingdom. We are told by Jesus to pray without losing heart. Our prayer often do

October 12, 2025 Luke 17: 11-19 In today’s gospel, what is the thing that made everything else recounted in it possible. Remember the scene is set with the Jesus on his way to Jerusalem by the alternate route through Samaria. As he goes on his way, 10 lepers beg Jesus to have pity on them. It is at this point that Jesus has a choice to make. First, will he help them; second, in what way? The lepers were about the most unwelcome people to any one at that time who did not

October 5, 2025 Luke 17: 5-10 In today’s gospel reading from Luke, we have a saying of Jesus and one of his stories The saying about the mustard seed appears in all of the gospels except John, the gospels we call the synoptic gospels. The story about the servant, or really slave in the text, appears only in Luke. Why do you suppose they are put together like this? We often complain that our faith doesn’t seem to be enough. I go to work; I work hard and long hours; I pray, but

September 28, 2025 Luke 16: 19-31 In the past, when I read today’s gospel, my thoughts were always on Lazarus and how his hardships won...

September 21, 2025 Luke 16: 1-13 Both the first reading from Amos and the gospel from Luke talk about dishonest business practices. But...

September 14, 2025 As we know the first symbol of Christianity was not a cross, but a fish. Perhaps it was the fish when the first...

September 7, 2025 Luke 14: 25-33 The Book of Wisdom is correct in telling us in the first reading that “Scarce do we guess the things of...

August 31, 2025 Luke 14: 1,7-14 What is the main point of today’s Gospel reading? Is it that we should carefully calculate the social...