Mass Reading & Meditation for August 27, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 24:42-51
The old maxim that exhorts us to “keep on keeping on” is another way to interpret today’s Gospel reading.
Jesus says, “Stay awake!” He encourages us to keep serving him despite whatever difficulties and temptations we encounter. Granted, it’s not always easy to do. We get tired, we want to let others take [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 17, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Judges 2:11-19
The Book of Judges covers Israel’s history from the end of Joshua’s ministry until the establishment of the monarchy under King Saul.
This period of time covers a generation of Israelites who came into adulthood without having seen or experienced firsthand the acts of the Lord in the exodus or the conquest of [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 14, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Joshua 24:1-13
The saying “Attitude is everything” seems to hold true no matter who you are.
It’s a surprising fact that some of the poorest people are among the most content, because they are grateful for everything that they do have. On the other hand, the richest among us can be miserable if they don’t [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 10, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10
St. Lawrence
An archdeacon of the church in Rome in the third century, St. Lawrence was given the dual task of caring for the poor in the church’s charge and taking care of the church’s finances and records. During a persecution under the Roman emperor Valerian, Lawrence was given four days to [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 9, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: John 6:41-51
Stop murmuring among yourselves. (John 6:43)
Jesus certainly created a stir when he told his listeners that he was the bread of life. Many of them began to murmur and grumble against him. Where did this Jesus come from? What made him think he could say such outlandish things?
Jesus replied by warning them [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 8, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! (Deuteronomy 6:4)
On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the Law in a spectacularly dramatic, face-to-face encounter. Now, nearing the end of his life, Moses tells the people about this encounter. He also sums up the whole Law for them, telling them what should be at [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 7, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 16:24-28
Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)
Do these words from Jesus stir up fear in your heart? Or maybe denial? “He doesn’t literally mean lose everything, does he?” Most of us have worked hard for what we have. Houses and cars, education, jobs, or simply food on [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 6, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Mark 9:2-10
Transfiguration of the Lord
Sometimes we need something spectacular to free us from weariness or discouragement. Perhaps this was where Peter, James, and John were as this story opens. We can well imagine how upsetting Jesus’ words about his coming death must have been to them (Mark 8:31). Surely they needed a boost!
But [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 5, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 15:21-28
Can you imagine what must have been going through the disciples’ minds when Jesus healed the Canaanite woman’s daughter and commended her faith? How did this woman deserve any attention at all? She was a pagan, after all, outside of God’s covenant with Israel. Surely there were plenty of needy Jews whom [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 4, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 14:22-36
The disciples struggled to cross the stormy sea, straining at the oars all night long until Jesus finally came to them in the fourth watch—which would have been between three and six o’clock in the morning!
That’s a long time to be fighting such violent seas. You would think that, after having seen [...]