“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39 Love is a gift from God, who is Love itself (1 John 4:8). The Catechism teaches, “‘God is Love’ and love is his first gift, containing all others” (CCC 733). Love pours forth from God the Father and the Son, and the result is the gift…
“Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” – Matthew 22:21 In this Sunday’s Gospel passage about the coin and Roman taxes (Matthew 22:15-21), the coin belongs to Caesar, but Jesus directs the people to consider what belongs to God. This makes me reflect on what things in this world that belong to God. The answer is everything good! St. James taught: “Every generous act of giving, with…
“The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence.” – Matthew 22:12 Take a moment after you read this to close your eyes and imagine your baptism. Most people were baptized as infants and do not remember it, but perhaps you have pictures of or have heard about your baptism. Imagine being sealed with holy oil and the sign…
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes. – Matthew 21:42, Psalm 118:22-23 Jesus is the Head and Cornerstone of the Church. He is the Head, the one who leads the Church with wisdom (CCC 792). He is also the Cornerstone, the foundation of the Church, the one on which all worship, liturgy, sacraments, ministry, and teaching are built…
“Which of the two did his father’s will?” – Matthew 21:31 Two of my favorite saints have feast days in October: St. Therese of Lisieux on October 1 and St. John Henry Cardinal Newman on October 9. Both saints wrote about obedience to God as a path to holiness. Our Gospel reading this Sunday shows an example of faithfulness demonstrated by obedient actions (Matthew 21:28-32). The first son in the parable said he would do…
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9 Parables, like the one we have for our Gospel reading today of the generous landowner (Matthew 20:1-16), are an excellent way to encounter God through imaginative prayer. St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that…
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?– Sirach 28:2-4 I believe that there is true power in choosing to forgive. We imitate God Himself when we show mercy to those who have hurt us. In truth, all sins are sins against God’s law, so only He can truly forgive sins: “It is I, I, who wipe…
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. – Psalm 95:8 Just how can we hear the voice of God? We can hear Him speak His Word to us through the Scriptures, in personal prayer, in our conscience that convicts us of right and wrong (CCC 1777), in the liturgy of the Mass, through the writings of the saints, and through godly people. The adage goes, it’s one thing to hear and another…
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’” – Matthew 16:24 What does it mean to “deny” yourself? We might take that to mean that we don’t allow ourselves certain pleasures. For example, a person would deny himself a second helping of dinner. But that’s not exactly what Jesus is asking of His disciples. According to the USCCB Bible Commentary, “to…
“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) Just what is a missionary disciple? A simple answer is a disciple who has a mission. In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus changed Simon’s name when he became the foundation of the Church. Simon’s new name, Petros–Rock, reflected his new mission to be the solid ground for the Church to be built upon. God also…