Mass Reading & Meditation for November 5, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear? (Psalm 27:1)
David had a host of things to fear: enemies and foes coming “to devour” his flesh; armies encamped, and wars waged, against him; even the threat of disruption in his immediate family. But in the midst of all these [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for October 20, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Romans 5:12,15,17-21
Coming home from Mass one Sunday morning, a woman decided to quiz her teenage son.
“Did you enjoy Mass?” she asked. “It was okay,” came the somewhat indifferent response. “What did you think the homily was about?” The boy replied, “It was about Jesus, and the priest was for him.” “Was that all?” [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for October 1, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Nehemiah 8:1-12
Have you ever had one of those moments where you wondered what you had gotten yourself into?
You were excited about some project, but then reality hit, and you realized that you were in over your head. It seems that the Israelites were feeling that way as Ezra read to them from the [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for September 29, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: John 1:47-51
Feast of the Archangels
What thoughts were going through Nathanael’s mind as he sat under that fig tree? He obviously noticed what kind of tree it was. Clearly being familiar with Scripture, he was probably drawn to meditate on Micah 4:1-4, where the prophet promises that peoples and nations shall stream to “the [...]

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 13, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Joshua 3:7-10,11,13-17
Joshua had stood by Moses throughout the departure from Egypt and the years that followed.
Now that Moses had passed away, Joshua was to lead the chosen people. During his years with Moses, he had witnessed firsthand situations in which the people grumbled against the Lord. He also saw when they disobeyed God’s [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 12, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 18:15-20
What is the key to good relationships?
Trust, acceptance, respect, and love are certainly necessary. But every day we face sins and temptations that try to prevent us from giving and receiving love and respect. And experience tells us how easy it can be to give in to these temptations—and hurt the ones [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for August 2, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: John 6:24-35
Have you ever dreamed about being born into a fabulously wealthy family?
What would you do with all that money? Well, the truth is that in God, you have the richest Father imaginable! He owns everything in the universe, and he even has the power to create whatever else he wants to. What’s [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for July 30, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 13:47-53
The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea. (Matthew 13:47)
The parable of the dragnet is a very sobering one. When we think about the fact that God’s angels will one day separate the good from the bad, we may get nervous! When we contemplate how God will judge [...]

A Prayer to see Jesus in Others

Being a Council Vincentian volunteer is not always easy. God doesn’t promise that our outreach will be a smooth ride every time out. When you encounter a difficult situation, please remember the following prayer:
Oh Lord,
Help me to remember that is not
the irritating neighbor I aid,
the lonely traveller on the bus I listen to,
the sad child [...]