When Jesus asks his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gets it right. Jesus is the Christ, the Lord, the one who saves us from our sins and empowers us as Sons and Daughters of God. Our acceptance of this reality transforms our lives with his light and power!
Mass Readings – Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
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Photo Credit: Son of God, 2014.
Suffering, for all its challenges and burdens, is a part of human life. How do we face it? How do we find the strength and wisdom to keep going? When we bring our faith in Jesus Christ into the center of our lives we find the courage and conviction to continue on as the Lord guides us through this life to the life to come.
Mass Readings – Sunday of the 5th Week of the Year
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After the praise of Anna in the Temple, Mary and Joseph return home to Nazareth where Jesus will grow in strength and wisdom. It’s a good reminder about the power of a family to foster faith, encourage goodness and build lasting bonds of love. May we dedicate ourselves to building up our own families each and every day.
Mass Readings – The 6th Day in the Octave of Christmas
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With the joy of Christ’s birth ringing in the air we celebrate today the death of St. Stephen, the first martyr. Why? To help us see the connection between the Christ’s birth and saving death as we offer our lives for the Lord. Thus, the Christmas spirit gives us hope to face the sacrifices of this life with the conviction that the Jesus Christ will guide and lead us to Heaven.
Mass Readings – Feast of Stephen, first martyr
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We rely heavily on our sense of sight to understand and navigate through this life. Light also plays a crucial role in our spiritual lives, and we look to the birth of Jesus Christ – the Light of the World – as the source of our hope that through Christ we will find the grace we need to make our way to Heaven. Merry Christmas!
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The Lord calls us to be vigilant – against drowsiness, anxiety, and drunkenness – as we pray for the strength to face our challenges in this life. For always remember: one day we will stand before the Son of Man.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 34th Week of the Year
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The prophet Daniel speaks of the Lord’s everlasting dominion, and Jesus affirms that his words are everlasting. In the midst of the distractions and frantic pace of life, may we remember the permanence and strength we receive when we join our hearts to Christ.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 34th Week of the Year
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Study: Recall a time when you recognized God as the center of your life; a time when you hung on to faith – perhaps because other things were struggling.
Pray: Call upon the Lord to rule and guide your heart.
Serve: What is the King’s command for you today? How is the Lord directing you to help and serve another?
Mass Readings – The Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe
This weekend brings the Church liturgical year to a close. Next week begins Advent, and we will start a new liturgical year with the cycle of “B” readings in the Lectionary for Mass.
Why do we end the year with the notion of Christ the King? Why do we place this feast here? What’s the point?
The feast has several levels of meaning. By calling Christ our King we are making a statement that Jesus is the Lord of our lives. It means that we place Christ first, and that we serve the Lord Jesus with the allegiance of our hearts, minds, and bodies. We belong to Christ, who rules us.
In addition, to claim Christ as our King means that we are members of his kingdom. Through our baptism we are called to the community of faith, the Church, and we possess an inheritance that is ultimately not of this world. We are citizens who have a responsibility to work together – for this world and the world to come.
Furthermore, the King will come at the end of time to call His faithful people home to heaven. We believe that the world will end on a future, unknown day (and once again, let me stress it is an UNKNOWN date…). This feast reminds us that in the end we belong to one home or the other, one Lord or another.
Finally, to say that Christ is our King reminds us that all our power, strength, hope, and direction come from Him. The skills and talents we possess are from the King (who made us). The forgiveness we cherish is from the King (who died for us). The life of the Holy Spirit which sustains us was sent by the King (who asked the Father on our behalf).
Therefore, to claim Christ as our King is to make a statement about who we are. As followers of this King we offer our lives in service to the one who is our Lord. We make this King our first priority in all things, and we look upon Jesus Christ as both the beginning and end of our existence.
This is a good time for us to search and prepare our hearts. As this Church year comes to an end we begin to make ourselves ready for the Lord who comes to us, that he might find us alert and watchful for his arrival. May we renew our allegiance to Christ our King so that he will rule us with mercy, grace, and love.
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Mass Readings – The Solemnity of All Saints
When athletes compete in a stadium, the cheering crowd inspires and encourages them to do their best. In a similar way the saints inspire us with their example – they cheer us on from Heaven – and at the same time remind us that we can join them as we embrace the challenges of this life with our eyes fixed on Jesus…our coach, trainer, medic, and greatest fan.
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Mass Readings – Saturday of the 28th Week of the Year
The Lord reminds us of two important facts: first, we will encounter tough times for the sake of the Gospel; second, we will be given the grace we need to face them. May the light of Jesus Christ shine in our hearts during dark moments as we seek to follow the Lord through this life.
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 