Mass Readings – Saturday of the 6th Week of the Year
On the mountain Jesus is transfigured, appearing to three disciples as he stands in Heaven. His transfiguration offers us hope, that as we carry our crosses and face the challenges of life we will have the strength and guidance we need.
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Mass Readings – Friday of the 6th Week of the Year
Jesus invites us to “take up our Cross” and follow him. While God does not will suffering, the Lord permits it for the sake of a far greater commandment: Love one another. As we carry our crosses today, we do so out of love for one another, as the Lord – who shows his love on the Cross – loves us.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 6th Week of the Year
As Jesus heals the blind man in the Gospel today, he shows how healing is often an intimate process that leads back to our relationships at home. May we set before the Lord whatever is wounded in our lives, trust in his process of healing, and renew the relationships within our families and friendships.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 6th Week of the Year (Sts. Cyril & Methodius)
Jesus recalls how a little yeast can transform dough – making it grow larger into something new. In our spiritual lives this process can work for both good or evil, and we are invited today to embrace God’s grace into our hearts, changing us into daughters and sons of God.
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Study: Reflect on a moment when you felt completely and entirely loved. How did that experience shape your life?
Pray: Is there a person in your life right now who is difficult to love? Ask the Lord for an infusion of grace!
Serve: How can you say “I love you” with an action? How can you show others the love in your heart?
Mass Readings – 7th Sunday of the Year
A couple of major themes surface in our readings this week:
In the first reading and Psalm we see the Lord’s command to love one another. This might catch some people by surprise; after all, the Old Testament is filled with examples where the people of God are anything but loving to those they encounter! Point: love of neighbor is a clear commandment of God.
The Gospel of Matthew sets the bar higher as Jesus builds on this command and calls us to conversion. We are not only called to love our neighbors and family, but we are also called to love our enemies and persecutors! Like last week, Jesus takes the commandments of the Old Testament and moves far beyond them. We are called to love with our whole heart…loving one another the way God loves us.
The second reading goes in a different direction. We hear from St. Paul that our bodies are temples of the living God, and as such we encounter the Spirit of God in the person of everyone we meet.
A consideration for today: put the love of God into practice! We are cherished, treasured, forgiven and esteemed by the Lord – who loves us even on our worst days. Following this example we can act accordingly…loving those around us with the love of Jesus Christ.
Mass Readings – 6th Sunday of the Year
The Book of Sirach, the Psalm response, and the Gospel of Matthew all highlight the crucial power we have to choose the course of our lives. May we put Christ at the center of our hearts, so that everything we say and do will be touched by his grace.
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Mass Readings – Saturday of the 5th Week of the Year
Adam and Eve experience the natural consequences of sin as they face new challenges in their lives and leave the Garden of Eden; Jesus looks on the crowd with pity and responds to the natural consequences of their needs with compassion – inspiring us to face the consequences of our own sins with the compassion of Christ.
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Mass Readings – Friday of the 5th Week of the Year (St. Scholastica)
The temptation of Adam & Eve illustrates for us how sin can erode our relationships with God and one another. As we come to understand their temptation, we seek the Lord in our moments of trial, asking for the grace (and when necessary, forgiveness) of Jesus Christ.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 5th Week of the Year
A Greek woman who is Syrophoenician by birth expresses a mother’s love through her simple and direct faith in the healing power of Christ. Her one line response to Jesus inspires us to embrace our faith with conviction and power as we face the challenges in our lives.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 5th Week of the Year
Jesus points out that it is within our hearts that destruction and defilement take place. The solution? Turn away from sin, making a change of heart so that the grace of Christ can make us whole.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 