OrdinaryTime
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Discerning Caesar
The gospel reading today has much to tell us about discernment. The end, the goal, of discernment is the identification of the best or truest outcome, and the determination to do what is necessary to achieve it. Last week, the parable of the wedding feast was also about discernment. The wedding banquet was not limited Continue reading
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The Laborers’ Gift
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. Mt 20:1 The grumbling by the workers at the end of the day is sometimes the main thing that we take away from this story. I want today to look at it from a different angle. Continue reading
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Be a Fool for Christ
Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Do you think Peter really understood what he said? It’s a true statement, but like Peter we do not really know the full truth of that statement. It’s Continue reading
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Worship Obedience and Trust
Last week we read the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, when God made his presence known on a mountain, and the disciples responded. It was a big dramatic manifestation of God, with Moses and Elijah, and a voice coming from the cloud. And the disciples were frozen in fear. Jesus gave them instructions as Continue reading
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NFP and the Human Person
NFP is an invitation to acknowledge who you really are; in other words, NFP is part and parcel of the central teaching of Christianity. Continue reading
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Life in the Spirit
From the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, “you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the spirit of God dwells in you.” And from the Gospel, come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke Continue reading
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Our Sacrifice in the Mass
The readings today speak to a cry for justice by the one enduring persecution. Jeremiah was a prophet sent to tell the Israelites that they were about to be sent into captivity because they had abandoned the ways of God. The Psalm today is a Psalm of Good Friday and is a cry of the Continue reading
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Blessed are the Meek
The eight Beatitudes from the sermon on the Mount that we receive today in the Gospel according to St. Matthew are eight paradoxes about our faith. A paradox is a thing that is true even though we have trouble believing it because it seems to go against common sense. The heart of the life of Continue reading
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Three Necessary Things
“Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: –St. Thomas Aquinas Continue reading
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Fancy Dinners
Last Sunday, we read how Jesus was asked if only a few people would be saved, and Fr. Neil used that Scripture to remind us that hell is real, and it is a real possibility for everyone. This week we move forward a chapter in the gospel of Luke, and we get a parable on Continue reading
Bound in Love 