Today’s feast brings us to the conclusion of the Christmas cycle. We move from the crib in Bethlehem to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus was walking along the shores of the Jordan River. He was looking for His cousin John the Baptizer. John was the one crying outRead More →

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints – the faithful people who have gone before us into eternal life with the Risen Lord. These people – the saints – were ordinary people who were faithful to God on earth. They did ordinary things in an extraordinary way becauseRead More →

At the heart of  Jesus’ teaching is his command to love. He gave that command at the “Last Supper” with His apostles on the night before He died. He said: “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. Live in My love.” This commandRead More →

Today’s Gospel describes a ROYAL WEDDING in which those who were privileged to be invited “ignored” the invitation, or didn’t bother to reply and went about their own concerns. The king became enraged by the arrogance of the guests, punished them, and extended the invitation to others who would welcomeRead More →

On Friday of this week, the Jewish community is celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year – 5781). Rosh Hashanah is a celebration of forgiveness and new beginning. One of the beautiful traditions on this celebration of Rosh Hashanah is the dipping of apples into honey and then offering theRead More →

On Friday of this coming week, we will remember the tragic events of September 11th nineteen years ago, – that tragic day when our nation was brutally attacked by ruthless terrorists. We recall that day when thousands of innocent people died in New York city, Washington, DC and a fieldRead More →

Today, in the Gospel, we learn of a Canaanite woman – whose religious heritage was very different from that of the Jews – but she too had faith in Jesus. She came to Jesus begging Him to heal her daughter who was “severely possessed by a demon.” As Jesus passedRead More →

As the reading from the Book of Kings opens in today’s Mass, the prophet Elijah had just proved God’s power and majesty over 450 false prophets of the pagan god Baal.  Queen Jezebel was humiliated and embarrassed and reacted with great anger against Elijah; so he fled to Mount HorebRead More →

As the Gospel opens today, Jesus has just learned that John the Baptist has died. Jesus and Apostles decided to take a few days by themselves, so they got into a boat and headed away from the crowds for the other side of the lake – but they did notRead More →

The parable in today’s Gospel is about a farmer who sowed good seed into his field. In the darkness of night, an enemy sowed “weeds among the wheat.” (Sowing weeds was a favorite method of revenge. – Darnel is a poisonous weed that in its first stage of growth resemblesRead More →