Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent: Jeremiah 11:18-20, John 7:40-53. Today’s readings display the evil plots of those who willingly disbelieve. In the Old Testament and New, we see those with hardened hearts speak ill of and plan the destruction of the righteous. We must beware of this tendency …
Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30. I don’t know about you, but I get a clear sense of inertia drawing us towards the Passion and Holy Week in today’s readings. I’ve always found the rejection Jesus experiences in St. John’s gospel to …
Thursday in the Fourth Week of Lent: Exodus 32: 7-14, John 5:31-47. Today’s readings give us the iconic scene in Exodus where God sees the Israelites waiting for Moses at the base of Mt. Sinai making “a molten calf and worshiping it.” God utterly rejects this, noting, “they have become …
Solemnity of the Annunciation: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10, Hebrews 10:4-10, Luke 1:26-38. God has poured out His grace on us all, most especially Mary, on this holy day! Today we celebrate one of the greatest miracles, the Annunciation that God will dwell in humanity, and Mary’s resounding yet humble “yes.” Today’s …
Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, John 5:1-16. Water figures strongly in today’s readings. Water is the great bringer of spiritual purification and cleanliness. God’s law prescribed that Jews must ritually purify themselves in water before partaking in everything from meals to sacrifice before the Lord. …
Monday in the Fourth Week of Lent: Isaiah 65:17-21, John 4:43-54. Compared to some of the well-structured parables we’ve been hearing this Lent, today’s readings are a bit vague. Perhaps “transitional” is a better way to describe them. But maybe that’s the point. We are waiting for Easter in our …
Fourth Sunday in Lent: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41. Today’s readings reveal to us how differently from us that the Lord sees, and how Jesus came to both reveal the blindness in us and reverse it through Himself. The dialectic of light vs. darkness is another …
Saturday in the Third Week of Lent: Hosea 6:1-6, Luke 18: 9-14. Today’s readings give us a stunning prophecy of the Christ event some 780 years earlier and urge us to remain steadfast to the Lord in our faith and humility. The short Book of Hosea continues to surprise me. …
Friday in the Third Week of Lent: Hosea 14:2-10, Mark 12:28-34. Today’s gospel reading should be very familiar to us. Not only is it one of Jesus’s most straightforward sayings, it’s the answer to what is the “greatest commandment,” which is shorthand for saying, “cut to the chase, what do …
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16, Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22, Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a. Today we honor the faithful foster-father of Jesus. In his homily this morning, Bishop Robert Barron calls St. Joseph “the most powerful heavenly friend we have” after …
