THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for June 7th, 2017
Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Liturgical texts here
SOMETHING remarkable happens when we give praise to God: His ministering angels are released in our midst.Continue reading
HOME
The Old Man
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for June 5th, 2017
Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of St. Boniface
Liturgical texts here
THE ancient Romans never lacked the most brutal of punishments for criminals. Flogging and crucifixion were among their more notorious cruelties. But there is another… that of binding a corpse to the back of a convicted murderer. Under penalty of death, no one was allowed to remove it. And thus, the condemned criminal would eventually become infected and die.Continue reading
The Unforeseeable Fruit of Abandonment
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for June 3rd, 2017
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions
Liturgical texts here
IT rarely seems that any good can come of suffering, especially in the midst of it. Moreover, there are times when, according to our own reasoning, the path that we’ve set forward would bring about the most good. “If I get this job, then… if I am physically healed, then… if I go there, then….” Continue reading
Climate Change and The Great Delusion
First published December, 2015 on…
THE MEMORIAL OF ST. AMBROSE
and
VIGIL OF THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY
I received a letter this week (June 2017) from a man who worked for decades with large corporations as an agronomist and agricultural financial analyst. And then, he writes…
It was through that experience that I noticed that trends, policies, corporate training and management techniques were going in a curiously nonsensical direction. It was this movement away from common sense and reason that drove me to questioning and searching for truth, that led me much closer to God…
Finishing the Course
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 30th, 2017
Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
HERE was a man who hated Jesus Christ… until he encountered Him. Meeting Pure Love will do that to you. St. Paul went from taking the lives of Christians, to suddenly offering his life as one of them. In stark contrast to today’s “martyrs of Allah”, who cowardly hide their faces and strap bombs on themselves to kill innocent folks, St. Paul revealed true martyrdom: to give oneself for the other. He did not hide either himself or the Gospel, in imitation of his Savior.Continue reading
Rationalism, and the Death of Mystery
WHEN one approaches a haze in the distance, it may seem as though you’re going to enter a thick fog. But when you “get there,” and then look behind you, suddenly you realize you’ve been in it all along. The haze is everywhere.
True Evangelization
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 24th, 2017
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
THERE has been much hullabaloo since Pope Francis’ comments a few years back denouncing proselytism—the attempt to convert someone to one’s own religious faith. For those who did not scrutinize his actual statement, it caused confusion because, bringing souls to Jesus Christ—that is, into Christianity—is precisely why the Church exists. So either Pope Francis was abandoning the Church’s Great Commission, or perhaps he meant something else.Continue reading
If They Hated Me…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 20th, 2017
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
Jesus Condemned by the Sanhedrin by Michael D. O’Brien
THERE is nothing more pitiable than a Christian trying to curry favour with the world—at the cost of his mission.Continue reading
Peace in Hardships
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 16th, 2017
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
SAINT Seraphim of Sarov once said, “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you, thousands will be saved.” Maybe this is another reason why the world remains unmoved by Christians today: we too are restless, worldly, fearful, or unhappy. But in today’s Mass readings, Jesus and St. Paul provide the key to becoming truly peaceful men and women.Continue reading
On False Humility
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 15th, 2017
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Opt. Memorial of St. Isidore
Liturgical texts here
THERE was a moment while preaching at a conference recently that I felt a slight self-satisfaction in what I was doing “for the Lord.” That night, I reflected on my words and impulses. I felt shame and horror that I might have, in even a subtle way, attempted to steal a single ray of God’s glory—a worm trying to wear the King’s Crown. I thought about St. Pio’s sage advice as I repented of my ego:Continue reading
The Great Harvest
…behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat… (Luke 22:31)
EVERYWHERE I go, I see it; I am reading it in your letters; and I am living it in my own experiences: there is a spirit of division afoot in the world that is driving families and relationships apart like never before. On the national scale, the gulf between the so-called “left” and “right” has widened, and the animosities between them have a reached a hostile, nearly revolutionary pitch. Whether it is seemingly impassable differences between family members, or ideological divides growing within nations, something has shifted in the spiritual realm as if a great sifting is occurring. Servant of God Bishop Fulton Sheen seemed to think so, already, last century:Continue reading
A Crisis of Community
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 9th, 2017
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
ONE of the most fascinating aspects of the early Church is that, after Pentecost, they immediately, almost instinctively, formed community. They sold everything they had and held it in common so that everyone’s needs were cared for. And yet, no where do we see an explicit command from Jesus to do as such. It was so radical, so contrary to the thinking of the time, that these early communities transformed the world around them.Continue reading
The Refuge Within
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 2nd, 2017
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Athanasius
Liturgical texts here
THERE is a scene in one of Michael D. O’Brien’s novels that I have never forgotten—when a priest is being tortured for his faithfulness. [1]Eclipse of the Sun, Ignatius Press In that moment, the clergyman seems to descend to a place where his captors cannot reach, a place deep within his heart where God resides. His heart was a refuge precisely because, there too, was God.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Eclipse of the Sun, Ignatius Press |
|---|
Prayer Slows the World Down
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for April 29th, 2017
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena
Liturgical texts here
IF time feels as if it is speeding up, prayer is what will “slow” it down.
God First
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for April 27th, 2017
Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
I don’t think it’s just me. I hear it from both young and old: time seems to be speeding up. And with it, there is a sense some days as if one is hanging on by the fingernails to the edge of a whirling merry-go-round. In the words of Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe:
The Blessed Peacemakers
As I prayed with today’s Mass readings, I thought about those words of Peter after he and John were warned not to speak of the name of Jesus:
Forward, in His Light
Mark in concert with wife Lea
WARM Easter greetings! I wanted to take a moment during these celebrations of Christ’s Resurrection to update you on some important changes here and upcoming events.
The Hour of Judas
THERE is a scene in the Wizard of Oz when the little mutt Toto pulls back the curtain and reveals the truth behind the “Wizard.” So too, in Christ’s Passion, the curtain is drawn back and Judas is revealed, setting in motion a chain of events that scatters and divides the flock of Christ…
The Great Unveiling
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for April 11th, 2017
Tuesday of Holy Week
Liturgical texts here
Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—
A violent whirlwind!
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until He has executed and performed
the thoughts of His heart.
In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
(Jeremiah 23:19-20)
JEREMIAH’s words are reminiscent of the prophet Daniel’s, who said something similar after he too received visions of the “latter days”:
What If…?
What’s around the bend?
IN an open letter to the Pope, [1]cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! I outlined to His Holiness the theological foundations for an “era of peace” as opposed to the heresy of millenarianism. [2]cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676 Indeed, Padre Martino Penasa posed the question on the scriptural foundation of an historic and universal era of peace versus millenarianism to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “È imminente una nuova era di vita cristiana?” (“Is a new era of Christian life imminent?”). The Prefect at that time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger replied, “La questione è ancora aperta alla libera discussione, giacchè la Santa Sede non si è ancora pronunciata in modo definitivo”:
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676 |
The Popes, and the Dawning Era
Photo, Max Rossi/Reuters
THERE can be no doubt that the pontiffs of the last century have been exercising their prophetic office so as to awaken believers to the drama unfolding in our day (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?). It is a decisive battle between the culture of life and the culture of death… the woman clothed with the sun—in labor to give birth to a new era—versus the dragon who seeks to destroy it, if not attempt to establish his own kingdom and “new age” (see Rev 12:1-4; 13:2). But while we know Satan will fail, Christ will not. The great Marian saint, Louis de Montfort, frames it well:
On Charlie Johnston
Jesus Walking on Water by Michael D. O’Brien
THERE is an underlying theme I try to weave throughout all the aspects of my ministry: Be not afraid! For it carries within it the seeds of both reality and hope:
Ministry Clan
The Mallett Clan
WRITING to you several thousand feet above the earth on my way to Missouri to give a “healing and strengthening” retreat with Annie Karto and Fr. Philip Scott, two wonderful servants of God’s love. This is the first time in a while that I’ve done any ministry outside my office. In the past few years, in discernment with my spiritual director, I feel that the Lord has asked me to leave behind most public events and focus on listening and writing to you, my dear readers. This year, I’m taking on a bit more outside ministry; it feels like a last “push” in some respects… I’ll have more announcements of upcoming dates shortly.
When the Stones Cry Out
ON THE SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH,
SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
To repent is not just to acknowledge that I have done wrong; it is to turn my back on the wrong and start incarnating the Gospel. On this hinges the future of Christianity in the world today. The world does not believe what Christ taught because we do not incarnate it.
—Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Kiss of Christ
GOD sends His people prophets, not because the Word Made Flesh is not sufficient, but because our reason, darkened by sin, and our faith, wounded by doubt, at times need the special light that Heaven gives in order to exhort us to “repent and believe the Good News.” [1]Mark 1:15 As the Baroness said, the world does not believe because Christians do not seem to believe either.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Mark 1:15 |
|---|
Turn On the Headlights
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for March 16–17th, 2017
Thursday-Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Liturgical texts here
JADED. Disappointed. Betrayed… those are some of the feelings many have after watching one failed prediction after another in recent years. We were told the “millenium” computer bug, or Y2K, would bring the end of modern civilization as we know it when the clocks turned January 1st, 2000… but nothing happened beyond the echoes of Auld Lang Syne. Then there were the spiritual predictions of those, such as the late Fr. Stefano Gobbi, that foretold the climax of the Great Tribulation around the same period. This was followed by more failed predictions regarding the date of the so-called “Warning”, of an economic collapse, of no 2017 Presidential Inauguration in the U.S., etc..
So you might find it odd for me to say that, at this hour in the world, we need prophecy more than ever. Why? In the Book of Revelation, an angel says to St. John:
Hymn to the Divine Will
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for March 11th, 2017
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Liturgical texts here
WHENEVER I have debated with atheists, I find that there is almost always an underlying judgment: Christians are judgmental prigs. Actually, it was a concern that Pope Benedict once expressed—that we might be putting the wrong foot foward:
The Heart of God
The Heart of Jesus Christ, Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta; R. Mulata (20th century)
WHAT you are about to read has the potential to not only set women, but in particular, men free from undue burden, and radically change the course of your life. That’s the power of God’s Word…
The Authentic Mercy
IT was the most cunning of lies in the Garden of Eden…
You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of [the fruit of the tree of knowledge] your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil. (Sunday’s first reading)
Satan lured Adam and Eve with the sophistry that there was no law greater than themselves. That their conscience was the law; that “good and evil” was relative, and thus “pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” But as I explained last time, this lie has become an Anti-Mercy in our times that once again seeks to console the sinner by stroking his ego rather than healing him with the balm of mercy… authentic mercy.
The Season of Joy
I like to call Lent the “season of joy.” That might seem odd given that we mark these days with ashes, fasting, reflection on the sorrowful Passion of Jesus, and of course, our own sacrifices and penances… But that’s precisely why Lent can and should become a season of joy for every Christian—and not just “at Easter.” The reason is this: the more we empty our hearts of “self” and all those idols that we’ve erected (which we imagine will bring us happiness)… the more room there is for God. And the more God lives in me, the more alive I am… the more I become like Him, who is Joy and Love itself.
Judgment Begins With the Household
Photo by EPA, at 6pm in Rome, February 11th, 2013
AS a young man, I dreamed of being a singer/songwriter, of dedicating my life to music. But it seemed too unrealistic and impractical. And so I went into mechanical engineering—a profession that paid well, but was totally unsuitable to my gifts and disposition. After three years, I made a leap into the world of television news. But my soul grew restless until the Lord eventually called me into full-time ministry. There, I thought I would live out my days as a singer of ballads. But God had other plans.
The Winds of Change
“Mary’s Pope”; photo by Gabriel Bouys/Getty Images
First published May 10th, 2007… It’s interesting to note what is said at the end of this—the sense of a “pause” coming before the “Storm” would begin to swirl in greater and greater chaos as we begin to approach the “Eye.” I believe we are entering that chaos now, which also serves a purpose. More on that tomorrow…
IN our last few concert tours of the United States and Canada, [1]My wife and our children at that time we have noticed that no matter where we go, strong sustained winds have followed us. At home now, these winds have barely taken a break. Others I have spoken to have also noticed an increase of winds.
It is a sign, I believe, of the presence of our Blessed Mother and her Spouse, the Holy Spirit. From the story of Our Lady of Fatima:
Footnotes
| ↑1 | My wife and our children at that time |
|---|
Creation Reborn
THE “culture of death”, that Great Culling and The Great Poisoning, are not the final word. The havoc wreaked upon the planet by man is not the final say on human affairs. For neither the New nor the Old Testament speak of the end of the world after the influence and reign of the “beast.” Rather, they speak of a divine renovation of the earth where true peace and justice will reign for a time as the “knowledge of the Lord” spreads from sea to sea (cf. Is 11:4-9; Jer 31:1-6; Ezek 36:10-11; Mic 4:1-7; Zech 9:10; Matt 24:14; Rev 20:4).
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD; all the families of nations will bow low before him. (Ps 22:28)
And So, It Comes
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for February 13th-15th, 2017
Liturgical texts here
Cain slaying Abel, Titian, c. 1487—1576
This is an important writing for you and your family. It is an address to the hour in which humanity is now living. I have combined three meditations in one so that the flow of thought remains unbroken.There are some serious and powerful prophetic words here worth discerning at this hour….
The Great Poisoning
FEW writings have ever led me to the point of tears, as this one has. Three years ago, the Lord put it on my heart to write about The Great Poisoning. Since then, the poisoning of our world has only increased exponentially. The bottom line is that much of what we consume, drink, breathe, bathe and clean with, is toxic. The health and well-being of people all over the world are being compromised as cancer rates, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, allergies, auto-immune conditions and drug-resistant diseases continue to sky-rocket at alarming rates. And the cause of much of this is within an arm’s length of most people.
A Catholic Answer to the Refugee Crisis
Refugees, courtesy Associated Press
IT is one of the most volatile topics in the world right now—and one of the least balanced discussions at that: refugees, and what do with the overwhelming exodus. St. John Paul II called the issue “perhaps the greatest tragedy of all the human tragedies of our time.” [1]Address to Refugees in Exile at Morong, Philippines, Feb. 21st, 1981 For some, the answer is simple: take them in, whenever, however many they are, and whomever they may be. For others, it is more complex, thereby demanding a more measured and restrained response; at stake, they say, is not only the safety and wellbeing of individuals fleeing violence and persecution, but the safety and stability of nations. If that is the case, what is the middle road, one that safeguards the dignity and lives of genuine refugees while at the same time safeguarding the common good? What is our response as Catholics to be?
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Address to Refugees in Exile at Morong, Philippines, Feb. 21st, 1981 |
|---|
Come Away With Me
While writing about the Storm of Fear, Temptation, Division, and Confusion recently, the writing below was lingering in the back of my mind. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to the Apostles, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” [1]Mark 6:31 There is so much happening, so fast in our world as we approach the Eye of the Storm, that we risk getting disoriented and “lost” if we don’t heed our Master’s words… and enter into the solitude of prayer where He can, as the Psalmist says, give “me repose beside restful waters”.
First published April 28th, 2015…
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Mark 6:31 |
|---|
Offended by God
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, February 1st, 2017
Liturgical texts here
Peter’s Denial, by Michael D. O’Brien
IT’s a bit surprising, really. After speaking with astounding wisdom and performing mighty deeds, onlookers could only sneer and say, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?”
A Matter of the Heart
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, January 30th, 2017
Liturgical texts here
A monk praying; photo by Tony O’Brien, Christ in the Desert Monastery
THE Lord has put many things on my heart to write you in just the past few days. Again, there is a certain sense that time is of the essence. Since God is in eternity, I know this sense of urgency, then, is merely a nudge to wake us up, to stir us again to vigilance and Christ’s perennial words to “watch and pray.” Many of us do a fairly thorough job of watching… but if we do not also pray, things will go badly, very badly in these times (see Hell Unleashed). For what is needed most at this hour is not knowledge so much as divine wisdom. And this, dear friends, is a matter of the heart.
The Great Ark
If there is a Storm in our times, will God provide an “ark”? The answer is “Yes!” But perhaps never before have Christians doubted this provision so much as in our times as controversy over Pope Francis rages, and the rational minds of our post-modern era must grapple with the mystical. Nonetheless, here is the Ark Jesus is providing for us at this hour. I will also address “what to do” in the Ark in the days ahead. First published May 11th, 2011.
JESUS said that the period before His eventual return would be “as it was in the days of Noah…” That is, many would be oblivious to the Storm gathering around them: “They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.” [1]Matt 24:37-29 St. Paul indicated that the coming of the “Day of the Lord” would be “like a thief in the night.” [2]1 These 5:2 This Storm, as the Church teaches, contains the Passion of the Church, who will follow her Head in her own passage through a corporate “death” and resurrection. [3]Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 675 Just as many of the “leaders” of the temple and even the Apostles themselves seemed unaware, even to the last moment, that Jesus had to truly suffer and die, so too many in the Church seem oblivious to the consistent prophetic warnings of the popes and the Blessed Mother—warnings that announce and signal a…
The Storm of Confusion
“You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14)
AS I attempt to pen this writing to you today, I confess, I have had to start over several times. The reason is that The Storm of Fear to doubt God and His promises, The Storm of Temptation to turn to worldly solutions and security, and The Storm of Division that has sown judgments and suspicions in people’s hearts… means that many are losing their capacity to trust as they are engulfed in a whirlwind of confusion. And so, I ask you to bear with me, to be patient as I too pick the dust and debris from my eyes (it’s awfully windy up here on the wall!). There is a way through this Storm of Confusion, but it will demand your trust—not in me—but in Jesus, and the Ark He is providing. There are crucial and practical things I will address. But first, a few “now words” on the present moment and the big picture…
The Storm of Division
Hurricane Sandy, Photograph by Ken Cedeno, Corbis Images
WHETHER it has been global politics, the recent American presidential campaign, or family relationships, we are living in a time when divisions are becoming more glaring, intense and bitter. In fact, the more we are connected by social media, the more divided we seem to be as Facebook, forums, and comment sections become a platform by which to disparage the other—even one’s own kin… even one’s own pope. I receive letters from all over the world that mourn the terrible divisions that many are experiencing, particularly within their families. And now we are seeing the remarkable and perhaps even prophesied disunity of “cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops” as foretold by Our Lady of Akita in 1973.
The question, then, is how to bring yourself, and hopefully your family, through this Storm of Division?
The Storm of Temptation
Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images
TEMPTATION is as old as human history. But what is new about temptation in our times is that sin has never been so accessible, so pervasive, and so acceptable. It could rightly be said that there is a veritable deluge of impurity sweeping through the world. And this has a profound effect upon us in three ways. One, is that it attacks the innocence of the soul just to be exposed to the most egregious evils; second, the constant near occasion of sin leads to weariness; and thirdly, the frequent fall of the Christian into these sins, even venial, begins to whittle away contentment and his or her confidence in God leading to anxiety, discouragement, and depression, thereby obscuring the joyful counter-witness of the Christian in the world.
Why Faith?
Artist Unknown
For by grace you have been saved
through faith… (Eph 2:8)
HAVE you ever wondered why it is through “faith” that we are saved? Why doesn’t Jesus just appear to the world announcing that He has reconciled us to the Father, and call us to repent? Why does He often seem so distant, so untouchable, intangible, such that we sometimes have to wrestle with doubts? Why doesn’t He walk among us again, producing many miracles and letting us look into His eyes of love?