Today’s Readings The Office of Readings today contains a sermon given by St. Anthony of Padua. He says very simply at one point, “Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.”  A very simple message but one that would change the world if each of us lived this way.  We are… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of the need for our righteousness to surpass that of the religious leaders of his time.  It is easy to think of the scribes and pharisees in the Gospels through the lens of history.  We are quick to see their opposition to Jesus, His message and seeking to silence him.  We… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Barnabas.  Barnabas, meaning ‘son of encouragement’, plays a pivotal role in the early Church.  He is the one who presents Paul to the Apostles in Jerusalem and was very active in the proclamation of the Gospel and building up of the Church.  He reminds us of the role… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Our return to Ordinary Time following the Easter season begins this year with the Sermon on the Mount. Except for a couple of feasts, we will journey through these chapters of Matthew’s Gospel for the next three weeks.  The Sermon on the Mount describes the life of the Christian disciple, those who have… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In the short Gospel today we are reminded that our life of faith and growing in our identity as a child of God is a lifelong process that involves continual openness to learning about the Lord and His teachings. As finite creatures we are unable to fully comprehend all truth. That is why… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In the first reading St. Paul exhorts us to rejoice. Joy is the fruit of a life lived in loved with Christ. This joy is more than a feeling that we have. It gives us strength and is our motivation to persevere in faith even during times of struggle. One of the reasons… Continue reading

Today’s Readings “I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will chant your praise among the nations.” (Ps. 57:10 One of the characteristics of the Christian life is that of a life lived in gratitude to God. This gratitude flows from the joy of knowing of God’s love, His constant mercy and forgiveness, and… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. (Ps. 96:3) The words of Psalm 96 remind us that the Gospel message and the invitation from the Lord is for all of humanity.  God’s intention and desire is for all those made in His image and likeness (which is the whole human race) to live… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles today we hear of the gathering of the Apostles and presbyters to address a problem that has arisen in the early Church: what to do with the Gentiles who were being baptized into the Christian Church. This gathering is often called the ‘Council of… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In the first reading today, we hear that Paul and Barnabas appointed ‘presbyters for them in each Church.”  For the individual church communities to grow it was necessary that they had priests who could continue the proclamation of the Word, celebrate the Eucharist and other Sacraments and walk with the people in their journey… Continue reading