Homily Thirty-first Sunday Year B Reading 1: When we talk about our relationship to God, what words best express that reality? Fear and Love: two seemingly strong opposites. We began our reading...
“In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him – the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated – he...
Reflection on the Scriptures Thirty-first Sunday Gospel B Keeping the Commandments
By spiritaflame 10:01 AMThirty-first Sunday Gospel BOne of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well Jesus had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" ·...
“Just as the mere memory of fire, doesn’t seem warm to the body, so also faith, without love doesn’t produce the light of knowledge in the soul.” St. Maximus the Confesssor (+662) ...
“It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future. “St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622) The present we see and experience. The future we do not see. Because of...
“Arise my soul, and review your deeds which have preceded from you. Scrutinize them closely, and shed the rain of your tears, declaring openly to Christ your thoughts and deeds, so that you...
"Christian perfection consists in three things: praying heroically, working heroically, and suffering heroically. St. Anthony Claret (1807-1870) What does this mean or look like? I think that St. Paul summarized this way of...
Homily Thirtieth Sunday Year B Reading 1: The prophet Jeremiah’s earlier words from the Lord to the Chosen People was repent and return to the Lord. If they did not repent, then they...
“Our union in heaven will depend upon our communion with God on earth.” St. Luigi Guanella (1842-1915) If we kept this in mind throughout our day, reminding ourselves of the truth of this...
Reflections on the Scriptures Thirtieth Sunday Gospel B Do you want to see?
By spiritaflame 10:33 AMThirtieth Sunday Gospel BThey came to Jericho. · Jericho is located about fifteen miles northeast of Jerusalem, five miles west of the Jordan River, and six miles north of the Dead Sea. It is...
“There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has...
“I appeal therefore first to you, my brethren, who, having committed crimes refuse penance! You, I say, who are timid after being shameless, who are bashful after sinning! You who are not ashamed...
“If we have offended the Lord, let us not increase grief upon grief, doubting His forgiveness; if we have reviled His holiness and justice, let us at least honor His mercy; and while...
“It is not by our own power, not by our own conduct, but by the will of God that we are sanctified.” St. Ignatius of Antioch That we be holy as the...
Homily Twenty-ninth Sunday Year B Reading 1: Isaiah, centuries before Jesus, led by the Spirit, prophesied about the future Servant of God, who would suffer for others. This Servant of God would...
“Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?” St. Gerard Majella (1726-1755) We search for peace outside of ourselves, because we do not find peace...
Twenty-Ninth Sunday Gospel B· The passage that precedes this in Mark’s Gospel is Jesus’ second prediction of his upcoming passion and death on the cross. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,...
“We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.” St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) These trials, at times, are in our lives to...
“Prayer is difficult because it is opposed by our old self. It is also difficult because the evil one resists a praying man with all his might. To the devil, prayer is the...
“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what...
“What great profit you gain from God when you are generous! You give a coin and receive a kingdom; you give bread from wheat and receive the Bread of Life; you give a...
Homily Twenty-eight Sunday Year B Reading 1: What is the spiritual wisdom that the author is talking about? It is a gift of the Holy Spirit enabling one to perceive things as...
“God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission; I never may know it...
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY GOSPE BAs Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, · This action shows his respect and reverence for Jesus. He was not worshipping Jesus...
“Keep your heart in peace and let nothing trouble you, not even your faults. You must humble yourself and amend them peacefully, without being discouraged or cast down, for God's dwelling is in...
“Particularly I admire two virtues rare in our days: a profound humility and immense charity.” St. Anne Thérèse Guérin (1798-1856) Without humility our charity may be ostentatious and self-serving. Without love our...
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) What is the most necessary place to start? Relationship with...
“He who desires to consecrate himself to God must, in the first place, trample under his feet, all regard for what others will say of him. O my God, why do we not...
Homily Twenty-seventh Sunday Year B Reading 1: What we heard in the first reading were some important truths of revelation. 1. God created man and woman. God created us in his own...
“Our weakness is such that, if the guardian angels had not been given to us, we could not resist the many and powerful attacks of the evil spirits. For this purpose, we have...
Twenty-seventh Sunday Gospel BThe Pharisees approached and asked Jesus, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. · They were testing him to show that he was not...
"I want to try to make you understand, by a very simple comparison, how much Jesus loves those souls, even imperfect ones, who entrust themselves to Him. Imagine that a father has two children who...
