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Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 19:1 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the necessity of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is an act and not an attitude. It is the active repairing of a broken relationship, even in the face of opposition, violence, or indifference. When a relationship is severed, each party should, in justice, do his part to reestablish the bond.Forgiveness is the bearing of the other person’s burden, moving toward him even when he refuses to move an inch toward you. There is something relentless, even aggressive, about forgiveness, since it amounts to a refusal ever to give up on a relationship....

Today's Homily explains the depth of the Gospel of Christ "Walking on Stormy Water"- And as he invites us to do the same with him. As explained, though this was an actual event documented by all 4 Gospel writers, The iconic, theological Importance of this Gospel is central to all Christians. And for anyone who might find themselves fearing the storms in their lives. 14 min. YouTube clip below:In The Storm? Look To Christ

Matthew 17:14-20 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples and us to exercise our faith. St. Paul tells us that “we walk by faith, not by sight.” We see the world around us. And we can learn to understand it according to conventional categories—political, cultural, economic, etc. Christians don’t turn from the world that reason delivers.But our primary orientation is not given by reason; it’s given by faith. This has nothing to do with irrationality or credulity. It has to do with an appreciation of God and the movement of God—in and through all of the conventional events perceived...

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin Matthew 16:24–28 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus’ death is the center and goal of the narrative, that which animates and gives verve to the story.How can we make sense of this stubborn cruciformity of Christianity? We can do so only if we remember that God is love. In our pride, our rebellion, our cruelty, and above all our fear, we human beings had changed ourselves into a dysfunctional...

Matthew 15:21–28 Friends, the Gospel for today is the account of the persistent Canaanite woman. Like all of the “hard” Gospel stories, it packs a spiritual punch.God’s salvific purposes are for the whole world. Israel was chosen so that it would be a vehicle for the salvation of all. Therefore, Jesus’ primary mission is indeed to his fellow Jews, but throughout the Gospels, there are hints that his ministry has a wider purpose.When Jesus enters a pagan territory, a Canaanite woman calls out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” She represents...

Pro-LGBT Fr. James Martin calls for DeSantis to be denied Communion for supporting death penaltyThe dissident priest made his comments after a man convicted of murders in two separate incidents was put to death in Florida last week. Heretical pro-LGBT Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin has called for conservative Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is Catholic, to be denied Communion because he supports the death penalty.Last week, the Republican governor signed the death warrant for a convict on charges of a second murder committed after the man escaped from a life sentence imposed for his first murder.In response to the...

FEAST OF SAINT JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN 20:1A, 2-8 Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. St. John is, of course, a spiritual master, but he is a literary master as well. We can see his skill throughout his Gospel, but perhaps especially in the stories dealing with the resurrected Jesus. We can find them in the twentieth and twenty-first chapters of his Gospel. Our passage for today is from chapter twenty, and it contains, in short compass, the whole of Christianity, if we have the eyes to see it. “On the first...

Second Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Luke quotes from the prophet Isaiah: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." (Isa. 40:3) Advent is a great liturgical season of waiting—but not a passive waiting. We yearn, we search, and we reach out for the God who will come to us in human flesh. In short, we prepare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. This preparation has a penitential dimension, because it is the season in which we prepare for the coming of a Savior, and we don’t need a Savior unless we’re deeply...

FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT MATTHEW 15:29-37 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes. There is no better exemplification in the Scriptures of what I have called the loop of grace. God offers, as a sheer grace, the gift of being, but if we try to cling to that gift and make it our own, we lose it. The constant command of the Bible is this: what you have received as a gift, give as a gift—and you will find the original gift multiplied and enhanced. One realizes this truth when one enters willingly into the loop...

MEMORIAL OF SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, BISHOP LUKE 17:20-25 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus warns that he, the Son of Man, will come on a day we do not expect. What’s so frightening about the coming of the Son of Man? Why isn’t it just good news? Well, if he is the life, that life which is opposed to him has to give way; and if he’s truth, then false claimants to truth must cede to him; and if he’s the way, then the false ways have to be abandoned. So as we await the Lord’s Second Coming, we must...

Todays readings recount the generosity of the widows, the MOST vulnerable, one about to die serving Elijah, the other giving Christ all she had. This Liturgy emphasizes how. As the Bishop says: "Your Being increases, in the Measure that You Give It Away" 14 min. must watch YouTube VideoTrust in the Lord

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Luke 11:5-13 Friends, our Gospel today is about prayer and the power of prayer. This excerpt from Luke is filled with wisdom in regard to the proper attitude of prayer. What is prayer, and how should we pray? Prayer is intimate communion and conversation with God. Judging from Jesus’ own life, prayer is something that we ought to do often, especially at key moments of our lives. Well, how should we pray? What does it look like? You have to pray with faith. Have you noticed how Jesus says before working a miracle,...

SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME MATTHEW 13:36-43 Friends, in our Gospel today, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds among the wheat. God’s word creates the Church, the community of those who strive to build up the kingdom. But this Church is never absolutely pure and untrammeled, for God’s ways are opposed by a spiritual power, an enemy. His task is to sow weeds among the wheat—clandestinely, quietly, unobtrusively. This sort of coming together of good and evil is to be expected. The Church will always be a place of saints and sinners, and the sinners will often look like...

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne Matthew 13:31-35 Friends, today’s Gospel compares the Kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed that "is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants." It seems to be a law of the spiritual life that God wants good things to start small and grow over time. We’re tempted to say, "You’re God. Just get on with it. Do it!" But why would God work the way he does? We might attempt a few explanations. It is a commonplace of the Bible that God rejoices in our cooperation....

[Catholic Caucus] Detroit Invites Pro-LGBT Cdl. Tobin to Head Priest Convocation Parishioners foot the bill for lavish getaway with pro-homosexual prelate DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - Homosexualist Cdl. Joseph Tobin will be the main speaker at the archdiocese of Detroit's priestly convocation in October. A notice going out to all priests of the archdiocese of Detroit was made available to Church Militant announcing the theme of this year's convocation, "Unleash the Gospel: Sent on Mission," being held Oct. 13–17 at the Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne, Michigan. Cardinal Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, is scheduled to deliver three presentations over the course of...

Kate Millett, whose 1970 book, “Sexual Politics,” made her, as one writer put it, “the principal theoretician of the women’s liberation movement,” and who went on to be a leading voice on human rights, mental health issues and more, died on Wednesday in Paris. She was 82. Her spouse, Sophie Keir, said the cause was cardiac arrest. Living in New York City, they had been going to Paris every year to celebrate their birthdays, she said. Ms. Millett was in her mid-30s and a generally unknown sculptor when her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University, “Sexual Politics,” was published by Doubleday...

The US presidential election will "change America" and have "consequences for the world for 40 years", Cher has said. The musician labelled Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump "dangerous" and "terrific at lying", while also suggesting younger generations struggle to trust Democrat Hillary Clinton. "I don't know how he's a candidate, he is so dangerous, and what he brings to my country, what he's awakened in my country, is bigotry and distrust and a certain kind of supremacy in certain groups, and he lies. "He's amazing, he tells something and then you go back and see what he's said and it...

Christian minister Tony Campolo's recent announcement that the church should accept gay couples is highlighting the growing division between Christians over the issues of homosexuality and gay marriage. In a statement issued this week, Campolo said he's tried to approach people on both sides of the issue with grace and understanding while struggling with his own beliefs. Finally, he said, it was his own relationship with his wife and the many same-sex couples they know and spend time with that persuaded him that the primary purpose of marriage is about spiritual growth. He also wrote that homosexuality is "almost never...

Despite a rousing speech by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who indicated that he would soon open an office in the state in pursuit of his presidential ambitions, California's Republican Party convention in Los Angeles, "Reclaim California," sounded a note of division, with three prominent Republicans declining to support the party's candidate for governor, amidst growing concern about the party's future as a statewide political institution. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks), who lost to former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari in the primary election after being outspent in the closing weeks, declined to endorse Kashkari when asked by the Sacramento Bee,...

850 Plus Rabbis at Chanukah Conclave Denounce Romney as a “Dangerous Homosexualist Urge Mormon Church to Sanction Him At a special Chanukah conclave, The Rabbinical Alliance of America, a 70 year old organization of over 850 Orthodox Jewish Rabbis in the United States and Canada, serving approximately one half-million religious Jews, has condemned the decades long pro-homosexual record of former Governor Mitt Romney. Spokesman Rabbi Yehuda Levin declared that “Chanukah commemorates the defeat of the Syrian Greek efforts to impose their pagan culture on the Jewish people. The Jews rejected the intergenerational homosexual activity which was a prominent aspect of...