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April 29 2020 Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Acts 8:1b-8 There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and...

April 28 2020 Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth...

Jameis Winston, one of the biggest remaining question marks in free agency, is finalizing a one-year deal to play for the New Orleans Saints in 2020, sources tell Yahoo Sports. The deal is expected to be completed quickly now that the NFL draft has wrapped, bringing Winston’s surprisingly long free agency trek to an end. Sources told Yahoo Sports that Winston’s 2020 salary will be very economical, fitting inside the Saints’ already tight salary cap for next season.

April 25 2020 Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14 Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The...

April 24 2020 Friday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 5:34-42 A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time, and said to the Sanhedrin, “Fellow children of Israel, be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing....

April 23 2020 Thursday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 5:27-33 When the court officers had brought the Apostles in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the Apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree....

April 04 2020 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and...

April 02 2020 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him: “My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,...

St. Corona, Pray for Us!Michael J. Lichens The last few weeks have been difficult for many of us living in the new reality brought on by COVID-19. While the virus threatens our vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors, you don’t have to be sick to feel its effects. The material and economic realities are hitting us from all sides. In such moments, it’s easy to let our anxieties overcome our spiritual hope.  As a relatively anxious person with a myriad of health problems, my experience over the last few weeks has been rough. This time of quarantine has also been a...

March 23 2020 Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Is 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be...

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton tested positive for coronavirus, Payton told ESPN. Payton is the first known person within the NFL to test positive for the virus. The 56-year-old received the result Thursday after taking the exam Monday. He’s experiencing fatigue at home but doesn’t have a fever or cough. “This is not just about social distancing,” Payton told ESPN. “It’s shutting down here for a week to two weeks. If people understand the curve, and understand the bump, we can easily work together as a country to reduce it. Take a minute to understand what the experts...

March 19 2020 Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and...

March 18 2020 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9 Moses spoke to the people and said: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence...

March 17 2020 Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Dn 3:25, 34-43 Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud:“For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, To whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea. For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in...

March 09 2020 Monday of the Second Week in Lent Reading 1 Dn 9:4b-10 “Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: we, the men of Judah,...

March 07 2020 Saturday of the First Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 26:16-19 Moses spoke to the people, saying: “This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be...

March 04 2020 Wednesday of the First Week in Lent Reading 1 Jon 3:1-10 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people...

March 3 is the feast day of Philadelphia's own Saint Katharine Drexel. Katharine Mary Drexel was quite an unlikely candidate for sainthood. Though brought up in a devoutly Catholic family, Katharine's youth was one of wealth and luxury. Daughter of one of Philadelphia's elite families, she was expected to do what most girls of her age and status did which was marry the scion of another wealthy family. When she first revealed her inclination to the religious life, both her parents and her spiritual director, Father James O'Connor (later the first bishop of Omaha, Nebraska) were opposed. Katharine herself had...

March 03 2020 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Reading 1 Is 55:10-11 Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. Responsorial Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19 R. (18b) From...

February 22 2020 Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle Reading 1 1 Pt 5:1-4 Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown...