Mass Reading & Meditation for November 2, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: John 6:37-40
All Souls
This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day. (John 6:40)
What a hope-filled promise Jesus makes here! Everyone who lives and dies in Christ will be raised up on the [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for October 31, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Romans 11:1-2, 11-12,25-29
The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)
St. Paul grieved deeply that many of his fellow Jews had not accepted the gospel message. Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul expressed “great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart” for the Jewish people, and even went so [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for October 23, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Romans 7:18-25
Here is a truth we can never hear too many times: In Jesus Christ, we are set free.
He died, rose, ascended into heaven, and poured out his Spirit so that we could live free from sin and death. But there is another truth that is just as important, but which we find [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for October 12, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Romans 1:1-7
This is the beginning of a letter.
Paul uses the format standard in his day, but from the start he makes it his own. Instead of offering impersonal “greetings,” he wishes his readers “grace” and God’s peace (Romans 1:7).
In Romans, Paul was writing to a community he did not found and had not [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for September 30, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Nehemiah 2:1-8
Just as Nehemiah mourned when he saw the once glorious Temple abandoned and in ruins, we too can be tempted to feel sad if we look at the state of the church in too narrow a way.
There are so many divisions among us, so many ways we reject one another or become [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for September 1, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6,9-11
Surprise! You walk into a room and find your friends gathered to wish you a happy birthday.
Delighted to see them, you put aside your plans for the afternoon and enjoy their company and the party they put together in your honor.
Surprise! The business is closing, and you have only a day [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 28, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Moved by his affection for them, Paul urged the Thessalonians to hold fast to all that he had told them.
Judging from this passage, it seems that he didn’t tell them only about faith in Jesus Christ but about personal issues as well. It seems that Paul had been forced to leave [...]

Pope Benedict’s Prayer Intentions for April 2009

Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions–particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for that month. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we’re praying.)
Pope Benedict offers two intentions every [...]

Lent Devotions from the Society of St. Andrew – Saturday March 28

Raising Lazarus
Read: John 11:17-34
Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus, sharing the grief of the sisters and friends. He directed the company of mourners to remove the stone. Over the objections of Martha, the stone was removed. Jesus solicited God’s blessing, then called Lazarus out of the grave. As Lazarus wiggled his feet enough to [...]

Lent Devotions from the Society of St. Andrew-Friday, March 6

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Read: Mark 4:30-33
Last week, I overheard a young lady witness to an older man. Jan had recently returned from an incredible trip to Africa. She shared how just playing sports and living with the people there permitted her group the opportunity to reach out, help others, and eventually share some [...]