Thoughts, Ideas, Sermons

Sunday Ordinary Time 5 B

Here at Mass, what do we do? We come here to church because here we meet Jesus. And that is important. But more interesting: it is a strong Catholic belief that our Mass, simple, with a small number of people, is connected to Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross, and it is connected to the Last Supper of Jesus. That story happened two thousand years ago. How can the Last Supper and Jesus’s death on the cross be connected…

Sunday Advent 4 B

In the gospel today, an angel appears to Mary to tell her she will become the mother of the Son of God.  This is the reason Mary is very important for us Catholic people; she is the mother of Jesus, our Savior. [To see the words of the gospel, click here.] Mary’s example is very important, because Mary is a person we can copy.  Jesus, Son of God and son of Mary, is both human and God, and different from…

Advent Sunday 4 B

In the gospel today, an angel appears to Mary to tell her she will become the mother of the Son of God.  This is the reason Mary is very important for us Catholic people; she is the mother of Jesus, our Savior. [To see the words of the gospel, click here.] Mary’s example is very important, because Mary is a person we can copy.  Jesus, Son of God and son of Mary, is both human and God, and different from…

Sunday Advent 3 B

It is very important for us to remember that God has a strong passionate desire to be with us, to be connected with us, to help us know that He is a kind father, caring for us, loving us no matter what is happening in our lives.  But how does God let us know?  If God Himself appeared, His brightness would overwhelm us.  So God sends people like us to tell us about God, His attitude,  His desire to be…

Sunday Advent 2 B

The first reading comes from a prophet named Isaiah. [To see the words of the reading, click here.] He says some beautiful words, “Comfort, give comfort to my people.” God is talking to his people saying that their suffering is ended; their sins are forgiven.  Why does God say that to his people? Let me give you some background.  An awful thing happened to God’s people.  The armies from Babylon came and beat the armies of Israel. They destroyed the…

Sunday Advent 1 B

Today is the first Sunday of Advent; it begins a new part of the Church’s year.  So Jesus says, “Keep awake; pay attention; watch.”  [To see the words of today’s gospel, click here.]  There is one author who says our spiritual life depends on those words–see, look, pay attention. Why? We need to see where God is working in our lives, how the Lord is touching us.  Sometimes we have to look very carefully to see how Jesus is working,…

Christ the King A

The question today is where do we find Jesus?  We can find Jesus in many places. Here in the Eucharist, when the priest holds up the host.  It is Jesus here with us. How is that possible?  Because we copy the words of Jesus.  Jesus said, “Any time you use bread and use my words, ‘This is my body.’ The bread is changed.” It becomes Jesus’s Body. Jesus’s power works to make that happen.  Then we say “The Body of…

Sunday Ordinary Time 33 A

In the story today Jesus talks about a man, a master, who gives his servants a lot of money.  To one man he gives 5 gold coins. [To see the words of today’s gospel, click here.] The word for coin is “talents”; it did not mean talents; it meant money, a lot of money. He gave to one 5 gold coins, to another 2, to a third 1.  He told them to use the money well.  Then the master left.…

Sunday Ordinary Time 32 A

The second reading is from St. Paul; he is talking about death. [To see the words of the second reading, click here.] He is writing to some followers of Jesus who are worried.  What is the problem? It is 20 years after Jesus ascended up into heaven; people had a very strong belief that Jesus was coming back soon with power and glory. Then all the followers of Jesus would be brought up with Jesus into heaven, into glorious life.…

All Saints A

Today, we celebrate a special day in honor of all the saints, all those good people who help us and help so many other people in the world and are now in heaven with Jesus and Mary. We celebrate the official saints, canonized saints, also all the very good people who have helped us.  “Saint,” what does it mean? The first reading says that an angel will mark all the people who are saved. [To see the words of the…