The Psalm response today serves as a powerful reminder about our fundamental orientation toward the Lord. Offering our lives, we strive to do God’s will with a joyful heart.
Mass Readings -Thursday of the 2nd Week of the Year
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Tag Archives: Mass
Daily Mass: The Lord grieves over our hard hearts. Catholic Inspiration
The Lord heals a man with a withered hand and is angry and grieved when he encounters a lack of charity and hardness of heart from the crowd.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 2nd Week of the Year
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Photo Credit: Jesus of Nazareth, 1977.
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3rd Sunday of the Year: The Spirit of the Lord
Study: What is your favorite way to read Scripture – a devotional, chapter-a-day, daily Mass readings, or just a bookmark in the Bible?
Pray: Consider using a little bit of Scripture as part of your daily prayer – think of it as a “spiritual multivitamin” for your health!
Serve: How is God’s Spirit directing your life – is there a task or opportunity that you feel prompted to act?
Mass Readings – 3rd Sunday of the Year
The readings this week are filled with power as we hear how God’s Word and Spirit touch our hearts.
- 1st Reading – The Israelites hear the Word of God with joy
- Psalm – God’s Word is Spirit and Life
- 2nd Reading – The Lord’s Spirit works through us in many different ways
- Gospel – The Spirit of the Lord is fulfilled in Jesus Christ
I suggest two thoughts for your consideration this week. First, God’s Word continues to proclaim Good News in our world today, and we are invited to embrace the Lord’s message – allowing the mercy, love, joy, and peace of the Gospel to soak into our hearts.
My point here is about actively seeking the Lord in our daily life, making God’s Word a part of our regular spiritual diet. By dwelling on the Good News we foster our Christian perspective to engage the challenges of daily life with courage and wisdom. We know that there are plenty of difficulties and obstacles; we feast upon God’s Word for the strength to engage life at full power.
Second, with God’s Word in our hearts we live our faith as part of a larger community – sharing our particular gifts and talents for the good of all. No one person possesses all gifts; rather, we cooperate (like Paul’s example of the parts of a body) and contribute our skills so that all might be blessed.
That means we:
- Claim our gifts
- Use our gifts
- Recognize the gifts of others
- All for the glory of God!
So, three final questions for your reflection:
- How are you allowing God’s Word to touch your heart?
- How is the Spirit of the Lord calling you this week?
- How might you be prompted to share your life with others?
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
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Note: This post was first published on January 18, 2016.
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2nd Sunday of the Year: What’s your gift? Catholic Inspiration
The 2nd Letter to the Corinthians reminds us that we have all been blessed by God with unique gifts and talents. What’s your gift? And will you share your gifts to help build up the Body of Christ today?
Mass Readings – 2nd Sunday of the Year
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Daily Mass: Giving and receiving God’s help. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus heals a man who is brought to him on a stretcher by four men. The image profoundly illustrates a crucial point: sometimes we give help and sometimes we receive it. May the Lord help us in both cases!
Mass Readings – Friday of the 1st Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Take advantage of today. Catholic Inspiration
Citing Psalm 95 the Book of Hebrews reminds us to make the most of today. Sometimes we can take life for granted…today is our chance to live our faith!
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 1st Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Preaching, healing and driving out evil. Catholic Inspiration
The active ministry of Jesus is marked by preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and driving out demons. As we call upon the Lord we can continue this ministry in our lives as with proclaim the Good News, offer comfort to the afflicted and stand up against evil.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 1st Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: The authority of Christ. Catholic Inspiration
The authority of Jesus is witnessed in Capernaum as he teaches and drives out an unclean spirit. The Lord’s authority, however, is also present in our lives, leading and directing our actions as disciples.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 1st Week of the Year
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2nd Sunday of the Year: God’s Goodness
Study: Reflect on a time when you experienced something profoundly good. How did it shape you?
Pray: Are there needs in your life or in someone you know? Ask the Lord to touch and bless them with goodness.
Serve: How can you bring abundant goodness to another today? How can your service make a real difference in someone’s life?
Mass Readings – The 2nd Sunday of the Year
This week’s readings proclaim God’s goodness in a variety of ways:
- 1st Reading – God calls Israel his “Delight”
- Psalm – the people proclaim the “marvelous deeds of the Lord”
- 2nd Reading – the Spirit showers us with rich and varied gifts
- Gospel – Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana
We often talk about the Lord’s commandments as things we should NOT do. While this is often true and helpful, we can sometimes miss the point about all the ways our lives can DO things that are inspired (and indeed, commanded) by God. We are called:
- to live joyfully
- to proclaim God’s Good News
- to engage the gifts we have been given for others
- to change and transform the world around us with God’s grace and blessing
Simply put, God’s goodness to us inspires us to share this abundant goodness with each other. We are invited to take hold of our lives and make the most of each day – loving and serving, forgiving and helping, blessing, healing, rejoicing, and renewing. We have been given the gifts of life and faith….let’s live them with power!
The gut check in all this flows from our fundamental attitude: do we live our faith with love, joy, and peace? Do people see goodness in the words we say and the actions we perform? Is our Christian witness evident in the manner and conduct of our interactions with others? May God’s goodness empower our lives to burn like a blazing torch – leading others closer to God and one another.
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The Wedding at Cana, Paolo Veronese; 1562, Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
Note: This post was first published on January 11, 2016.
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The Baptism of the Lord: We are blessed and beloved by God. Catholic Inspiration
The baptism of Jesus reveals the power of the Holy Trinity. As the Father calls Jesus his beloved Son, we recognize that through our baptism we are configured as sons and daughters of God, beloved children who are empowered to bring Christ’s light to the world.
Mass Readings – The Baptism of the Lord
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks- All Saints: We learn from the saints how to shine with the light of Christ
- Daily Mass: Jesus teaches about humility
- Daily Mass: We serve the Lord in a variety of wonderful ways
- Daily Mass: Jesus sets his sights on Jerusalem
- Daily Mass: Christ calls us by name
- Daily Mass: Jesus offers two parables about the Kingdom of God
- Daily Mass: Jesus heals on the sabbath
- Study, Pray, Serve: All Saints
- 30th Sunday of the Year: When filled with God's love, we can love one another
- Daily Mass: The Lord urges us to repent
