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August 17, 2017 Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17The LORD said to Joshua,"Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses.Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenantto come to a halt in the Jordanwhen you reach the edge of the waters." So Joshua said to the children of Israel,"Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.This is how you will know that there is a living God in...

Father Roy Donovan, parish priest of Caheronlish, Limerick, has objected to the decision by his Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly of Cashel & Emly to introduce the permanent diaconate in his archdiocese. Donovan called on the archbishop to wait until the completion of a report by the papal commission on women deacons. He further believes that “a woman could celebrate the Eucharist even better than a man being more familiar with the shedding of blood. A woman saying ‘this is my body, this is my blood’ can give more meaning to the Eucharist than any male celibate.” The leadership of the radical...

Proverb 16 (NKJV) Wisdom Is Better Than Gold 01 The preparations of the heart belong to man, 00 But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 02 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, 00 But the LORD weighs the spirits. 03 Commit your works to the LORD, 00 And your thoughts will be established. 04 The LORD has made all for Himself, 00 Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. 05 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; 00 Though they join forces, none will go...

"Love does not brag" (1 Cor. 13:4). Love exalts others; pride exalts self. Most of us shy away from people who have an inflated view of themselves or place themselves at the center of every conversation. Yet perhaps you too struggle with the temptation to spend most of your conversations talking about yourself. Even if you would never openly brag about yourself, might you at times secretly resent others for not acknowledging your accomplishments? That's the subtlety of pride. Boasting always violates love because it seeks to exalt itself at the expense of others—to make itself look good while making...

“‘No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon’” (Matthew 6:24). The believer is to serve God, not riches. When reading Matthew 6:24, many people say, “I believe that you can serve two masters. I work two jobs.” The reason they say that is they don’t understand the Greek word translated “serve.” It refers not to an employee in an 8-to-5 job but to a slave. A slave is one who is constantly and entirely devoted...

August 16, 2017 Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dt 34:1-12Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho,and the LORD showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali,the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordanwith the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms,and as far as Zoar.The LORD then said to him, "This is the landwhich I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobthat I would give to their descendants.I...

Evangelization can be frustrating. After 25 years evangelizing in my personal life and in official roles with the Church, including as a diocesan Director of Evangelization, I know this well. Few Catholics, of course, would be surprised that evangelization can be arduous. They may be surprised, however, at the way censorship in the Church poses a threat to evangelization. The little-known truth is that certain viewpoints, even though compatible with Catholic theology, are censored both by the institutional Church as well as many orthodox Catholic organizations—viewpoints that directly impact the success of evangelization efforts.When the word “censorship” comes up,...

WhatÂ’s Your Focus? Proverb 15:16-17shared from hopereflected.com) At some point in each of our lives, we will visit a buffet-style restaurant. A test of will power and self-control, you may have experienced the sensation of having eyes bigger than your stomach, and over-filling your plate. You think youÂ’re going to eat all this food in front of you, and then you hit a wall. Or, as it often happens when you eat too much, you actually start to not feel so great because youÂ’ve over-indulged. You focus so much on the food in front of you that you forget...

"Love . . . is not jealous" (1 Cor. 13:4). Jealousy thrives in a climate of selfish ambition. Jealousy is an insidious sin that cries out, "I want what you have, and furthermore, I don't want you to have it." It replaces contentment with resentment and spawns a myriad of other sins. The Corinthians, in truth, were jealous of one another's spiritual gifts. First Corinthians 12:31 literally says, "You are earnestly desiring the showy gifts, but I show you a more excellent way." The word translated "earnestly desiring" is translated "jealous" in 1 Corinthians 13:4. It means "to boil" and...

“‘The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!’” (Matthew 6:22-23). Generous giving brings spiritual understanding. When people see, their body is filled with the light that comes in from the world their eyes perceive. But if their eye is dark (blind), there is no light and they perceive nothing. The eye is like a window—if a window...

August 15, 2017 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary -Mass during the Day Reading 1 Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10abGod's temple in heaven was opened,and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,with the moon under her feet,and on her head a crown of twelve stars.She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.Then another sign appeared in the sky;it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,and on its heads were...

Proverb 14 (NKJV) The Ways of Life and Death 01 The wise woman builds her house, 00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, 00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, 00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them. 04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; 00 But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. 05 A faithful witness does not lie, 00 But a...

"Love is kind" (1 Cor. 13:4). Kindness repays evil with good. Two men going opposite directions on a narrow mountain trail met each other head on. With a steep cliff on one side and sheer rock on the other, they were unable to pass. The harder they tried to squeeze past one another the more frustrated they became. The situation seemed hopeless until one of them, without saying a word, simply laid down on the trail, allowing the other man to walk over him. That illustrates kindness, which doesn't mind getting walked on if it benefits someone else. The Greek...

“‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’” (Matthew 6:21). The believer is to have a single-minded devotion to God. British pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones told the story of a farmer who one day went happily to his wife and family to report that their best cow had given birth to twin calves, one brown and one white. The farmer said, “I suddenly had an impulse that we must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will sell one and keep the proceeds; the other we will also sell, but give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.”...

August 14, 2017 Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr Reading 1 Dt 10:12-22Moses said to the people:"And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of youbut to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly,to love and serve the LORD, your God,with all your heart and all your soul,to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORDwhich I enjoin on you today for your own good?Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens,belong to the LORD, your God,as well as the earth and everything on it.Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD...

"Love is patient" (1 Cor. 13:4). Love does not retaliate. We usually think of patience as the ability to wait or endure without complaint—whether it's with people or circumstances. But the Greek word translated "patience" in 1 Corinthians 13:4 refers specifically to patience with people. It literally means "to be long tempered," and speaks of one who could easily retaliate when wronged but chooses not to. That kind of patience is a spiritual virtue reflective of God Himself (cf. Gal 5:22). It can't be duplicated on a purely human level. But for Christians, it's to be a way of life....

“‘Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven’” (Matthew 6:20). The believer is to be generous in his giving. The early church was not interested in accumulating great wealth for itself. In Acts 2, for example, thousands of pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. When Peter preached the gospel on that day, 3,000 persons became believers, and soon afterward thousands more were added to the church. The pilgrims who became believers didn’t want to return to their former homes since they were now part of the church. So the believers in Jerusalem had to absorb them. Since many...

You are the company you keep. This well-known saying is a short and weak version of God's true warning; He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverb 13:20 Without a doubt, this could be one of the most important Proverbs a Christians can learn, and probably the most important lesson for Christian parents. At the least, it is one of the most valuable lessons any Christian can learn if they desire to prosper in life. What a simple rule for wisdom and life! Get rid of foolish friends, and...

August 13, 2017 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13aAt the mountain of God, Horeb,Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the LORD said to him,"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountainsand crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there...

Back in 2013, two days after Christmas, I had to have our beloved 18 year old dog to the vet be euthanize. Her kidneys shut down and she was in so much pain she could not even settle down for more than five minutes at a time. So the merciful thing to do was to end her life. It's easy to talk about it now, but at the time it was as if a member of our family had died. Maybe this should not be, I mean after all, she was just a dog. But, whether we choose to...