Today’s Readings St. John Chrysostom once reflected on today’s Gospel, noting that Jesus “did not command the winds to cease, but stretched forth His hand and caught [Peter], because his faith was required.” Peter may have hoped Jesus would calm the storm immediately—but He didn’t. Instead, Jesus reached out to him. Life is full of… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Today is the Memorial of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. The Gospel for this day reminds us of the great task entrusted to all of us who have been baptized: the proclamation of the Gospel to all the world. The mission field within Our Lady of Fall River Catholic Community… Continue reading

Today’s Readings The human person desires happiness, peace of heart, and love. The world tells us we can achieve these by accumulating more in life—money, achievements, status, things. Jesus gives us a different message: “Life does not consist of possessions.” We are not defined by what we have but by who we are: beloved children… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In today’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus “did not work any mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.” Mark’s Gospel puts it even more starkly: Jesus was “unable” to perform any mighty deeds because of their unbelief (Mk 6:5–6). That may sound surprising—Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person… Continue reading

Today’s Readings I’m a fan of Patrick Lencioni, a leadership consultant who works not only in the corporate world but also with Catholic parishes. He founded The Amazing Parish, an organization that helps parishes apply leadership principles found in healthy and successful businesses. One of the first tasks he emphasizes is clarity of purpose—understanding why… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Reflecting on today’s Gospel from Luke 6:43–45 for the Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, I was reminded of the opening lines of The Imitation of Christ: “‘He who follows Me walks not in darkness,’ says the Lord (Jn 8:12). By these words of Christ we are urged to imitate His life and habits,… Continue reading

Today’s Readings We hear it often in Scripture and throughout our lives: the greatest commandment—to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. In his First Letter, St. John tells us why: because God, who is perfect love, first loved us. Despite our… Continue reading

Today’s Readings The first reading presents a very familiar and dramatic scene—one many of us can vividly recall from the classic film The Ten Commandments: the Israelites dancing around the golden calf, Moses descending the mountain in righteous anger, and the dramatic moment when he shatters the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. This moment… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Today’s Collect reminds us that without God, nothing has firm foundation. Yet how easily we forget that truth. We often rely on our own strength and fall into the illusion of control. Saint Augustine spoke of two cities: the earthly—marked by love of self—and the heavenly—defined by love of God. Our life’s defining choice… Continue reading