Are you ready, like Thomas, to face Jesus and proclaim, “My Lord! My God!”?

This Easter, Jesus invites you and he invites me to look at the results of our Lenten sacrifices and, by the grace of God, to nail our sins to the cross so that we can experience the liberating freedom of the resurrection. The great challenge of Easter is of course how the resurrection will bear fruit in our lives, and that leads us to our homework.

ReadingsGospel at the Procession with Palms: Luke 19:28-40 Reading 1: Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24Reading 2: Philippians 2:6-11 Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56 Today we celebrate Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ disciples during the scene described by Luke today? People were cheering and clapping and celebrating. They … Continue reading "Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion"

The great lure of sin is that it traps us in a never-ending cycle of sin. How many of find that we keep repeating the same sins over and over and over again? So, the goal of reconciliation is to try to commit to sin no more. Lent is wonderful time to come to terms with the things we’ve done wrong in our lives that have damaged our relationship with God, or family and our friends. In the Catholic tradition, this is an excellent time to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation and experience the grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

This story about these two brothers and the father is about us. It’s about both sides of our ego. One side wants to run after pleasure – think the mid-life crisis complete with new model car and partner. The other side takes the moral high ground and feels justified in condemnation.

Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.

Readings First Reading: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14 Second Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1 Gospel: Luke 9:28B-36 Jesus…led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them…they became frightened. They fell silent. (Luke 9:28B-36) The readings about the Transfiguration of Jesus comes at an important time in Lent. As … Continue reading "Second Sunday of Lent"

First Sunday of Lent 2019 First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 10-15 Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13 Gospel: Luke 4:1-13 “…I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People were walking along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without … Continue reading "First Sunday of Lent 2019"

Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time First Reading: Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm: Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Gospel: Luke 6:39-45 Remove the wooden beam from your eye first, (Luke 6:42). Hello, my brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us, his disciples, some practical advice for living our lives. He challenges us … Continue reading "21 Remove the Log from Your Eyes"

Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time First Reading: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103: 1-4, 8-10, 12-13Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We hear the Golden Rule (v 31) proclaimed in today’s Gospel as we pick up from last week: … Continue reading "20 Do Unto Others"