Lam 2:2,10-14,18,19; Ps 74:1-7,20-21; Mt 8:5-17 “May the afflicted and the poor praise your name.” Only the poor in spirit can pray. Only those who have nothing can ask for everything. The poor and neglected are the special choice of the LORD. Those neglected by everyone and by every system can rely upon the LORD […]
Continue ReadingActs12:1-11; Ps 34:2-9; 2Tm 4:6-8;17-18; Mt 16:13-19 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” Our celebration of Saints Peter and Paul reveals both weakness and strength. Saint Peter is delivered from prison. Saint Paul is rescued from the lion’s mouth. These Apostles of the Lord Jesus model for […]
Continue Reading2Kgs 24:8-17; Ps 79:1-5,8,9; Mt 7:21-29 “For your name’s sake” Did King David know that his prayer in distress would be so vital to one of his unfaithful descendants? Indeed, any king in any age would find exactly what we find in this responsorial psalm. In the words of this psalm we hear the prayer […]
Continue Reading2Kgs 22:8-13;23:1-3; Ps119:33-37,40; Mt 7:15-20 “I long for your precepts.” By our very nature we long for the word of the LORD. From our conception within the womb we long for his precepts. Without the knowledge of his ways we are lost and insecure. Like King David in today’s psalm, we, too, plead with the […]
Continue Reading2Kgs 19:9b-11,14-21,31-35a,36; Ps 48:2,3ab,3cd,4,10,11; Mt 7:6,12-14 “O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.” Even the mountain where the LORD dwells is the joy of all the earth. His praise is great in the city of our God and in all the cities of the world. For his holy mountain is the […]
Continue Reading2Kgs 17:5-8,13-15a,18; Ps 60:3,4,5,12,13; Mt 7:1-5 “You have rejected us and broken our defenses!” Our responsorial psalm for this Mass is painful to pray. It is the prayer of a people who are suffering the consequences of their unfaithfulness to the covenant. Yet, even as they are being taken off into exile, they pray wholeheartedly, […]
Continue Reading2Chr 24:17-25; Ps 89:4,5,29-34; Mt 6:24-34 “Yet, my mercy I will not take from him” Just as the Psalmist sings of the LORD and his faithfulness, we are called to live in holiness and virtue at a time when men of wealth and position are lusty and lost in the pleasures of life. We too […]
Continue Reading2 Kgs 11:1-4,9-18,20; Ps 132:11-18; Mt 6:19-23?? “In her will I dwell, for I prefer her.” The LORD has chosen, and his choice last forever. David, the man after God’s own heart has been given a promise from which the LORD will not withdraw. The LORD promised David that his own offspring will be placed […]
Continue ReadingSir 48:1-14; Ps 97:1-7; Mt 6:7-15 “All gods are prostrate before him.” ?? The LORD is king. There is no other universal and sovereign LORD. This is the reason for worldwide rejoicing. Clouds and darkness are round about the LORD, and justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne. The LORD is the source […]
Continue Reading2 Kgs 2:1,6-14; Ps 31:20,21,24; Mt 6:1-6,16-18 “You hide them in the shelter of your presence” The LORD hides us in the shelter of his presence. The LORD screens us within his abode. In his great goodness the LORD protects us from the plotting of men and from the strife of tongues. With all who […]
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