23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AEzekiel 33:7-9Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)Romans 13:8-10Matthew 18:15-20September 6, 2020 Today we hear about how God calls us to respond to sin. The first reading is sometimes known as the Parable of the Watchman. A watchman was assigned as a lookout to watch for danger. If he saw danger …
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After we have confessed our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we receive a “penance.” We are not just “given” or “assigned” a penance as punishment for our sins. We must receive the penance. By “receive” I mean we willing accept the penance as an admission of our sins and our desire to change. If …
I recently read a book about Franciscan Spirituality relating to our care for the environment. I am not going to focus on that topic today but I mention the book (Care for Creation by Delio, Warner, and Word, Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press. 2008) because it included a particular quote from St. Francis that I …
Have you ever pondered the question, “what will Heaven be like?” I don’t expect to end up there anytime soon but it is a question we might ask. After all, we expect to spend eternity there. The question comes to mind now for me for two reasons. First, our gospel readings the last two Sundays …
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AWisdom 12:13, 16-19Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (5a)Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43July 19, 2020 Jesus continues to speak in parables. The first one we heard today is about the weed that is sown among the good seed. An enemy has come and done this. The master’s servants are surprised when the weed …
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We face challenges in our world today. Of course, there has been challenges as long as there has been people making bad choices with their free will. There has also being illnesses that challenge us but do not know why they exist. The challenges come in various forms. We are becoming more and more a …
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Prior to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) it was common for Catholics to go to Confession at least monthly if not every other week. Some even went weekly. For some it didn’t matter if they didn’t know of any mortal sins they had committed. You went because you were supposed to. After the Second Vatican …
Earlier this week I wrote an article, “Is There Still Sin in the World?” I ended that article by referring to the battle against sin and said I would write an article about battling sin. Well, here it is. I will do so in the context of the Seven Deadly Sins. In 2010, I wrote …
The Coronavirus shutdown continues. Some states are beginning to lift restrictions. New York State, where I live, continues under shutdown. We are now around the six week mark. Of course, the challenges caused by the pandemic started before we actually shutdown. We had started social distancing and the shelves in the grocery stores went bare …
2nd Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy SundayActs 2:42-47Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (1)1 Peter 1:3-9John 20:19-31 The disciples are in distress. A lot has happened in the last few days for them. They had come to believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. They thought He would get rid of the Romans. Instead, Jesus was …
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