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 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, […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 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 […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 16th, 2014 Liturgical texts here IT looked like the perfect comeback. The Israelites had just been soundly defeated by the Philistines, and so the first reading says they came up with a brilliant idea: Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 10th, 2014 Liturgical texts here Artist Unknown THERE has been a lot of teaching on evangelization in this week’s reflections, but it all comes down to this: letting the message of Christ’s love penetrate, challenge, change, and transform you. Otherwise, the imperative of evangelizing will […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 8th, 2014 Liturgical texts here Christ Walking on Water, Julius von Klever PART of a reader’s response to yesterday’s Now Word, Love Beyond the Surface: What you said is very true… But I think the sole focus of the Church since Vatican II has been […]
THERE are many hopeful things developing in the Church, most of them quietly, still very much hidden from view. On the other hand, there are many troubling things on the horizon of humanity as we enter 2014. These too, though not as hidden, are lost on most people whose source of information remains […]
HE did not wait for a castle. He didn’t hold out for a perfected people. Rather, He came when we least expected Him… when all He could be offered was a humble greeting and abode. And so, it is appropriate this night that we hear the angel’s greeting: “Do not be afraid.” [1]Luke […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 19th, 2013 Liturgical texts here The attack on a group of men praying outside a Cathedral, St. Juan Argentina I recently watched the film Prisoners, a story about the abduction of two children and the attempts of the fathers and police to find them. As […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 18th, 2013 Liturgical texts here WHEN Joseph learned that Mary was “found with child”, today’s Gospel says he set about to “divorce her quietly.” How many today quietly “divorce” themselves from the Mother of God! How many say, “I can go to straight to Jesus. Why […]
First snow in Cairo, Egypt in 100 years, AFP-Getty Images SNOW in Cairo? Ice in Israel? Sleet in Syria? For several years now, the world has watched as natural earth events ravage various regions from place to place. But is there a link to what is also happening in society en masse: the […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 12th, 2013 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Liturgical texts here (Selected: Rev 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; Judith 13; Luke 1:39-47) Jump for Joy, by Corby Eisbacher SOMETIMES when I’m speaking at conferences, I will look into the crowd and ask them, “Do you want to fulfill […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 11th, 2013 Liturgical texts here MANY people define personal happiness as being mortgage free, having plenty of money, vacation time, being esteemed and honored, or achieving big goals. But how many of us think of happiness as rest?
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 7th, 2013Memorial of St. Ambrose Liturgical texts here All the Lonely People, by Emmanuel Borja IF there were ever a time when, as we read in the Gospel, people are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd,” it is our time, on so many levels. […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 4th, 2013 Liturgical texts here THE lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute… these are the ones who gathered around the feet of Jesus. And today’s Gospel says, “he cured them.” Minutes before, one could not walk, another could not see, one could not work, […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 3rd, 2013Memorial of St. Francis Xavier Liturgical texts here ISAIAH gives such a consoling vision of the future that one could be forgiven for suggesting it is a mere “pipe dream.” After the purification of the earth by “the rod of [the Lord’s] mouth, and […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor November 30th, 2013Feast of St. Andrew Liturgical texts here Crucifixion of St. Andrew (1607), Caravaggio GROWING up at a time when Pentecostalism was strong in Christian communities and on television, it was common to hear evangelical Christians quote from today’s first reading from Romans: If you confess […]
FROM time to time, I receive letters from readers asking where is the hope?… please give us a word of hope! While it’s true that words can sometimes bring a certain hope, the Christian understanding of hope goes far, far deeper than the “assurance of a positive outcome.” It is true that several […]
Young Woman Sweeping, Vilhelm Hammershoi (1864-1916) I AM guessing that most of my readers feel that they are not holy. That holiness, saintliness, is in fact an impossibility in this life. We say, “I am too weak, too sinful, too frail to ever rise to the ranks of the righteous.” We read […]
WHEN I awoke this morning, an unexpected and bizarre cloud hung over my soul. I sensed a strong spirit of violence and death in the air all around me. As I drove into town, I took my Rosary out, and invoking the name of Jesus, prayed for God’s protection. It took me about […]
St. Francis, by Michael D. O’Brien THERE is something stirring in my heart… no, stirring I believe in the whole Church: a quiet counter-revolution to the current Global Revolution underway. It is a Franciscan Revolution…
THE greatest expression of Christ’s love was not the Sermon on the Mount or even the multiplication of the loaves. It was on the Cross. So too, in The Hour of Glory for the Church, it will be the laying down of our lives in love that will be our crown.
Dear Mark, God forgive the USA. Normally I would begin with God Bless the USA, but today how could any of us ask him to bless what is happening here? We are living in a world that is growing more and more dark. The light of love is fading, and it takes […]
IMAGINE a small child, who has just learned to walk, being taken into a busy shopping mall. He is there with his mother, but does not want to take her hand. Every time he begins to wander, she gently reaches for his hand. Just as quickly, he pulls it away and continues to dart […]
Artist Unknown I WANT to conclude my thoughts on the “era of peace” based on my letter to Pope Francis in hopes that it will benefit at least some who are fearful of falling into the heresy of Millenarianism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape […]
Nearing Midnight… ACCORDING to the revelations Jesus gave to St. Faustina, we are on the threshold of the “day of justice”, the Day of the Lord, after this “time of mercy”. The Church Fathers compared the Day of the Lord to a solar day (see Faustina, and the Day of the Lord). A […]
THE Gospel calls us to share our possessions with one another, particularly the poor—a voluntary dispossession of our goods and our time. However, the anti-gospel calls for a sharing of goods that flows, not from the heart, but from a political system that controls and distributes wealth according to the whims of the […]