Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Jesus changed my life. Because of Jesus, I’m Catholic. I’m a priest. I’m the pastor of this parish. Because of Jesus, my world and my priorities have been turned upside down, right-side up.

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Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary, our belief that she has been assumed body and soul into heaven, and now she reigns as Queen – as intercessor for us, her children – until the end of time.

Mary’s entire life changed – as so many others have – because of Jesus. 

Before the angel Gabriel appeared to her, she lived an ordinary life. She was a poor Jewish teenager living on the edge of the Roman Empire. None of us would’ve ever known she existed … until God acted in her life.

Suddenly, Christ began growing in her womb. The simple future Mary envisioned with Joseph was forever changed. In fact, her marriage would’ve been over had Joseph not also accepted God’s will, becoming the foster father of our Lord.

Thirty years later, Mary finds herself standing at the foot of the Cross, gazing upon “the fruit of her womb,” breathing his last. 

Three days after, his tomb was empty. 

And some time thereafter, the Risen Lord welcomes Mary – body and soul – into heaven. Their journey together – from the womb, to the tomb, to the splendor of heaven now complete.

More than any other, Mary’s life changed because of Jesus.

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How has your own life changed because of the Lord? 

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May Mary, the Queen of Heaven, intercede for us, that we would welcome the Lord deeper into our lives. Doing so will change us, even into eternity.

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Image credits: (1) Catholic News Agency (2) Busted Halo (3) Coronation of the Virgin, Velazquez

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Gospel: John 21: 15-17

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and
eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
[Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When you walk into our parish office, you may notice a framed icon of Saint Francis of Assisi hanging on the wall. That icon represents the call of every Christian – past, present, and future.

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800 years ago, as Francis was praying in the church of San Damiano, a tiny chapel located in the hills of Assisi, the Lord spoke to him, saying, “Rebuild my Church.”

That chapel was physically in tatters, so Francis rebuilt it. But the Lord spoke to him again, saying: “Rebuild my Church.” 

God wasn’t asking Francis to rebuild a chapel; rather, to restore faith in the Church. So, Francis started a religious order, the Franciscans, whose mission it was to share the Gospel in word and deed.

On his deathbed, Francis looked at his brothers and said, “I have done what was mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.” 

Renew the faith of the Church, a call that summons us throughout the ages.

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700 years later, Pope Saint Pius X, whose feast day we celebrate today, answered that call, instituting several reforms.

First, he dropped the age of First Communion from twelve to seven. He believed in the power of the Eucharist – and that every Catholic should receive that grace as early as possible. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “Feed my sheep.”

Pius X also required the teaching of the Catechism in every parish, another effort to “rebuild” the faith of the Church.

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This is our mission, too. Each of us must consider: What is mine to do? How do I hand on the faith?

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May the Saints who’ve answered this call, Pius X and Francis included, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Slide Player (2) Indian Catholic Matters (3) RoadLife

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Gospel: Matthew 19: 23-30

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,

“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Lord, we have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?”

Peter and the others have left a lot behind: their boats, their homes, their families, their imagined plans for the future – all to follow Jesus into the unknown. It’s fair for Peter to wonder, “What will there be for us?”

“A hundred times more, and eternal life to come,” the Lord says. A promise that rings true throughout the ages.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux – a man who, like Peter, left everything behind to follow the Lord. 

Bernard, the third of seven children, was born into a family of high-nobility in France nearly a thousand years ago. While his parents ensured that he received a comprehensive education, at the very center of their family was faith in Jesus Christ.

That faith was greatly tested by the death of Bernard’s mother shortly after he turned nineteen. But such a great loss was met with even greater grace, as Bernard turned to the Lord in his time of need.

Feeling the Lord drawing him closer, he decided to enter religious life as a monk. 

Amazingly, his conviction was so deep, that all of his brothers joined him, with the exception of the youngest, who would join him later, as would his father! His sister became a nun. Thirty other boys of nobility also followed Bernard that day.

Together, they traveled thirty miles north of their home and joined a Benedictine monastery.

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Some years thereafter, Bernard was sent to establish a new Benedictine monastery in France. By his death, over 700 other men had joined! Bernard leaves behind a legacy of faith, humility, and devotion to Our Lady, all of which are evidenced by his 530 pastoral letters and 300 sermons.

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So, what might his life say to us today?

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As is true in the life of Saint Peter, he reminds us that, with God’s grace, we can change the world for the better – one person at a time. 

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Image credits: (1) QuoteFancy (2) Bernard of Clairvaux, Britannica (3) Redbubble