Sunday’s Readings: 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

……from your Pastor’s Desk – What the Nine Lepers got Right – This weekend we have the story of the ten lepers who asked Jesus for healing. Lots of times, when we hear this story, nine of the lepers are portrayed as ungrateful. A word or two on their behalf is in order. They all approached Jesus and called out to him “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They all obeyed his command to go show themselves to the priest. …

Sunday’s Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Learning from him – “Lord, increase our faith,” said the apostles in today’s Gospel. Elsewhere they asked him, “Lord teach us how to pray” (Lk 11:1). In essence the two requests were the same. To pray is to focus our heart on God, to have faith in God’s concern for us. Every prayer renews our trust in God, and whenever we turn to God in faith, we are praying. …

Sunday’s Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalms 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Sunday’s Readings: Amos 8:4-7; Psalms 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 OR 16:10-13

……from your Pastor’s Desk – “You cannot serve both God and mammon [money].” – Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel Reading—“You cannot serve both God and mammon”—are sometimes falsely interpreted. They’re taken to mean that you cannot have both God and money in your life. In other words, this false interpretation claims that there’s a competition in your life between God and money. They battle against each other in a zero-sum game. The holier you are, the less money you will have, and the more money you have, the less holy you must be. This interpretation of Jesus’ words is false. …

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 OR 15:1-10

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Today’s Gospel is the story of the Prodigal Son. We all know it. Maybe we’ve all been that child one time or another. I doubt any of us would want to be judged by one incident or one ‘part’ of our lives ruled by bad decisions. …

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Don’t be a Hater! – The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might startle us. They were spoken by the Lord to convey without the shadow of a doubt a very important message to his followers. The words of Jesus are these: “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” …

Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalms 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

……from your Pastor’s Desk – A Lesson in Humility – The Litany of Humility is a prayer worth pondering. As it is a long litany the following are only excerpts: From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalms 117:1, 2; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Heaven’s Gate – Jesus tells two parables about someone asking a favor at a late hour. They teach us a lot. Maybe you remember the first one, which Jesus told two weeks ago. …

Sunday’s Readings: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Psalms 40:2, 3, 4, 18; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

……from your Pastor’s Desk – The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary (Monday, August 15) – The feasts of Mary may be puzzling to the casual observer. And some are surprised at the brevity of the dogma of this specific feast in its entirety: …

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalms 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 OR 11:1-2, 8-12; Luke 12:32-48 OR 12:35-40

……from your Pastor’s Desk – “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much….” – When Jesus says these words about us, two questions immediately arise. First, what has Jesus entrusted us with? Second, what therefore will be required of us? Each of us, naturally, has been given the gift of life. In our day and age, this is not a gift that we ought to take for granted. Still, when we thank God each day for the gift of life, what exactly are we giving thanks for? …