Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 5:1–11
The gospel message is radical, exciting, and life-changing—or at least, it is supposed to be.
Whether it's my own familiarity of hearing these stories for thirty-two years, my sweet little distractions in the pew beside me, or a less-than-riveting homily, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 2:22–40
It's easy to be drawn to Simeon in this week’s Sunday gospel reading.
He rightly receives due attention. Simeon’s canticle of praise, as he witnesses the Christ Child presented at the temple, expressed his profound gratitude for having lived long enough to behold his Savior. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 1:1–4,4:14–21
I’m staring at a stack of unwritten Christmas cards. I have yet to write or send a single one. The good news is that I’m one of those Catholics who doesn’t officially close out the Christmas season until Candlemas. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 2:1–11
I love that on the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, we read about Jesus' first miracle, which, admittedly, was anything but ordinary. It’s an intimate miracle, one that’s discreet, ushered into existence by Mary; a miracle witnessed by only a few—the servers, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 3:15–16,21–22
I am continually amazed by the life of Scripture, which offers a meaningful message one day and inspires a completely different insight the next. This Sunday's gospel is one such passage. It is a familiar story that we recently read during Advent. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 2:1–12
Have you ever caught yourself about to genuflect before taking your seat at the movie theatre? I have. Fifty-plus years of genuflecting at Mass has ingrained this action into my brain so much that it happens mindlessly when I see a row of seats. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 1:39–45
December 22 marks the final Sunday of Advent. Though some years we are granted nearly a full week to savor the closing days before Christmas, this year, the fourth week of Advent is fleeting—only three days long. With so little time, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 3:10–18
When I ask you to think of John the Baptist, what are the first few words that come to mind?
Perhaps the word cousin or maybe locusts? You might think of the River Jordan or repentance. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 3:1–6
There are two kinds of people: prepared and unprepared. I’m definitely on “team prepared” and amazed that not all of my children got this gene. How do I know? Well, when your kid doesn’t practice parking thinking he can “wing it” on his road test, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 18:33–37
As I read My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Elizabeth Goudge, I was struck by Saint Francis' conversion as a young man. In a profound moment, he realized that his deepest desire was to live for God, [...]
