Steady as She Goes

      I have spent the day mostly in prayer, listening, speaking with my spiritual director, praying, going to Mass, listening some more… and these are the thoughts and words which have been coming to me since I wrote The Synod and the Spirit.

The Synod and the Spirit

    AS I wrote in my daily Mass meditation today (see here), there is a certain panic in some quarters of the Church on the heels of the Synod’s somewhat abstract post discussion report (relatio post disceptationem). People are asking, “What are the bishops doing in Rome? What is the Pope doing?” But the […]

Important Changes

    BROTHERS and sisters, things are beginning to move very fast in the world with events, one on top of the other… like the winds of a hurricane nearest the eye of the Storm. [1]cf. The Seven Seals of Revolution This is what the Lord showed me would happen several years ago. But who […]

We are God's Possession

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor October 16th, 2014Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch Liturgical texts here   from Brian Jekel’s Consider the Sparrows     ‘WHAT is the Pope doing? What are the bishops doing?” Many are asking these questions on the heels of confusing language and abstract statements emerging from the Synod on […]

Trumpets of Warning! — Part I

    This was among the first words or “trumpets” that I felt the Lord wanted me to blow, beginning in 2006. Many words were coming to me in prayer this morning that, when I went back and re-read this below, made more sense than ever in light of what is happening with Rome, Islam, and everything […]

A House Divided

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor October 10th, 2014 Liturgical texts here     “EVERY kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” These are Christ’s words in today’s Gospel that must surely reverberate among the Synod of Bishops gathered in Rome. As we listen to the presentations coming […]

Who Has Bewitched You?

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor October 9th, 2014Opt. Memorial of St. Denis and Companions, Martyrs Liturgical texts here     “O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you…?” These are the opening words of today’s first reading. And I wonder if St. Paul would repeat them to us as well were he in our midst. […]

The Two Guardrails

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor October 6th, 2014Opt. Memorial for St. Bruno and Blessed Marie Rose Durocher Liturgical texts here Photo by Les Cunliffe     THE readings today could not be more timely for the opening sessions of the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family. For they provide the […]

The Coming “Lord of the Flies” Moment

Scene from “Lord of the Flies”, Nelson Entertainment   IT is perhaps one of the most augury and revealing movies in recent times. The Lord of the Flies (1989) is the story of a group of boys who are the survivors of a shipwreck. As they settle in to their island surroundings, power struggles ensue […]

Hell Unleashed

    WHEN I wrote this last week, I decided to sit on it and pray some more because of the very serious nature of this writing. But nearly every day since, I have been getting clear confirmations that this is a word of warning to all of us. There are many new readers coming […]

Run the Race!

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor September 12th, 2014The Holy Name of Mary Liturgical texts here     DON’T look back, my brother! Don’t give up, my sister! We are running the Race of all races. Are you weary? Then stop for a moment with me, here by the oasis of God’s Word, and let […]

Preparing for Glory

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor September 11th, 2014 Liturgical texts here       DO you find yourself agitated when you hear such statements as “detach yourself from possessions” or “renounce the world”, etc.? If so, it’s often because we have a distorted view of what Christianity is all about—that it is the religion […]

The Power of a Pure Soul

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor September 9th, 2014Memorial of St. Peter Claver Liturgical texts here     IF we are to be co-workers with God, this implies much more than simply “working for” God. It means being in communion with Him. As Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who […]

God's Co-workers

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor September 8th, 2014Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Liturgical texts here     I hope you have had a chance to read my meditation on Mary, The Masterwork. Because, really, it reveals a truth about who you are and should be in Christ. After all, what […]

Wisdom, the Power of God

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor September 1st – September 6th, 2014Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here     THE first evangelists—it might surprise you to know—were not the Apostles. They were demons.

Small Matters

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor August 25th – August 30th, 2014Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here     JESUS must have been surprised when, standing in the temple, going about his “Father’s business”, his mother told Him it was time to come home. Remarkably, for the next 18 years, all we know from the Gospels […]

The Rapture, the Ruse, and the Refuge

ON THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION August 15th, 2014   IT came to me as clear as a bell during Mass: there is one refuge that God is giving us in these times. Just as in the days of Noah there was only one ark, so too today, there is only one Ark being provided […]

Take Courage, It is I

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor August 4th – August 9th, 2014Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here     DEAR friends, as you may have read already, a lightning storm took out my computer this week. As such, I’ve been scrambling to get back on track with writing with a backup and getting another computer on […]

The Great Confusion

    THERE is coming a time, and it is already here, when there is going to be great confusion in the world and in the Church. After Pope Benedict resigned, I sensed the Lord warning me about this over and over again. And now we see it unfolding rapidly around us—in the world and […]

Real Time

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor June 30th – July 5th, 2014Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here   WHY now? I mean, why has the Lord inspired me, after eight years, to begin this new column called “the Now Word”, reflections on the daily Mass readings? I believe it is because the readings are speaking to […]

The Two Hearts

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for June 23rd – June 28th, 2014Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here “The Two Hearts” by Tommy Christopher Canning   IN my recent meditation, The Rising Morning Star, we see through Scripture and Tradition how the Blessed Mother has a significant role in not only the first, but second coming […]

The Urgency for the Gospel

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for May 26th – 31st, 2014 of the Sixth Week of Easter Liturgical texts here     THERE is a perception in the Church that evangelization is for a chosen few. We hold conferences or parish missions and those “chosen few” come and speak to us, evangelize, and teach. […]

Casting Out the Ruler of This World

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for May 20th, 2014Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Liturgical texts here     ‘VICTORY over the “prince of this world” was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life.’ [1]Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. […]

Never Give Up On a Soul

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for May 9th, 2014Friday of the Third Week of Easter Liturgical texts here Flower springing up after a forest fire     ALL must appear lost. All must appear as if evil has won. The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die…. and only then does […]

The Fires of Persecution

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for May 8th, 2014Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Liturgical texts here     WHILE a forest fire can devastate the trees, it is precisely the heat of fire that opens up pine cones, thus, reseeding the woodland all over again. Persecution is a fire that, while consuming […]

The Masters of Conscience

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for May 6th, 2014Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter Liturgical texts here     IN every age, in every dictatorship, whether it is a totalitarian government or an abusive husband, there are those who seek to control not only what others say, but even what they think. Today, […]

His Unfathomable Mercy

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor April 14th, 2014Monday of Holy Week Liturgical texts here     NO one can fathom how wide and how deep is the love of God for humanity. Today’s first reading gives us an insight into this tenderness: A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he […]

Persisting in Sin

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor April 7th, 2014Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent Liturgical texts here The Valley of the Shadow of Death, George Inness, (1825-1894)     ON Saturday evening, I had the privilege of leading a group of young people and a handful of adults in Eucharistic Adoration. As we gazed […]

The Golden Calf

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor April 3rd, 2014Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Liturgical texts here     WE are are at the end of an era, and the beginning of the next: The Age of the Spirit. But before the next begins, the grain of wheat—this culture—must fall into the ground and […]

Near the Feet of the Shepherd

    IN my last general reflection, I wrote of the Great Antitdote that St. Paul gave to his readers to counter the “great apostasy” and deceptions of the “lawless one.” “Stand firm and hold fast,” said Paul, to the oral and written traditions that you have been taught. [1]cf. 2 Thess 2:13-15 But brothers […]

A Prophetic Life

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor March 21st, 2014 Friday of the Second Week of Lent Liturgical texts here     THE Church needs to become prophetic again. By this, I do not mean “telling the future,” but by our lives becoming a “word” to others that points to something, or rather, Someone greater. This […]

Planted by the Stream

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor March 20th, 2014Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Liturgical texts here     TWENTY years ago, my wife and I, both cradle-Catholics, were invited to a Baptist Sunday service by a friend of ours who was once a Catholic. We were amazed at all the young couples, the […]

The Great Antidote

Stand your ground…     HAVE we entered into those times of lawlessness that will culminate in the “lawless one,” as St. Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2? [1]Some Church Fathers saw the Antichrist appearing before the “era of peace” while others toward the end of the world. If one follows St. John’s vision in […]

Removing the Restrainer

  THE past month has been one of palpable sorrow as the Lord continues to warn that there is So Little Time Left. The times are sorrowful because mankind is about to reap what God has begged us not to sow. It is sorrowful because many souls do not realize that they are on the […]

One Foot in Heaven

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor March 7th, 2014Friday after Ash Wednesday Liturgical texts here     HEAVEN, not earth, is our home. Thus, St. Paul writes: Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. (1 Pet 2:11) We all know […]

The Prophecy of St. Francis

    THERE is a phrase in the Catechism that is, I think, critical to repeat at this time. The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, “is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.” —Catechism of the Catholic Church, […]

The Light of Love

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for February 21st, 2014Opt. Memorial of St. Peter Damian Liturgical texts here     IF Martin Luther would have had his way, The Letter of James would have been axed from the canon of Scriptures. That’s because his doctrine sola fide, that we are “saved by faith alone,” was […]

The Great Danger

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for February 20th, 2014 Liturgical texts here Peter’s Denial, by Michael D. O’Brien     ONE of the greatest dangers to the Christian life is the desire to please people rather than God. It is a temptation that has followed Christians since the Apostles fled the garden and Peter […]

Seeing

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for February 19th, 2014 Liturgical texts here     “IT is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” wrote St. Paul. [1]cf. Heb 10:31 Not because God is a tyrant—no, He is love. And this love, when it shines into the un-loving parts of […]

Wisdom Adorns the Temple

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for February 12th, 2014 Liturgical texts here The Little Flower, St. Thérèse de Lisieux     WHETHER it is the Temple of Solomon, or St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, their beauty and splendor are types and symbols of a much more sacred temple: the human body. The Church is […]

Be Strong, Be a Man!

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for February 6th, 2014Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs Liturgical texts here     O, to be at the bedside of King David, to hear what he would say in his dying moments. This was a man who lived and breathed a desire to walk with His […]

Find a Home for the Lord

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 30th, 2014 Liturgical texts here     SOMETIMES I look down the narrow, darkening road of the future, and I find myself crying out, “Jesus! Give me the courage to go down this path.” In times like these, I am tempted to tone down my message, taper […]

Casualties of Confusion

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 24th, 2014Memorial of St. Francis de Sales Liturgical texts here     WHAT the Church needs most today, said Pope Francis, “is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful… I see the church as a field hospital after battle.” [1]cf. americamagazine.org, […]

iWorship

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 23rd, 2014 Liturgical texts here     ONE of the giants of our time whose head has grown extraordinarily large is narcissism. In a word, it is self-absorption. One could even argue that this has now become self-worship, or what I call “iWorship.” St. Paul gives a […]

The New Wineskin Today

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 20th, 2014Memorial of St. Sebastian Liturgical texts here     GOD is doing something new. And we have to pay attention to this, to what the Holy Spirit is doing. It is time to let go of our expectations, understanding, and security. The winds of change are […]