Today, we celebrate the feast of St. John Chrysostom, a Doctor of the Church and a Bishop, who authored many homilies, letters, treatises, essays, and commentaries on the Scriptures and various other aspects of our faith. He is known for his great skills as an orator; in fact, Chrysostom means "gold mouthed." In one of…
Every time I read this particular Gospel, I find myself laughing because what we're seeing is the Scribes and the Pharisees basically throwing a tantrum about something Jesus has done. Are they not going to learn?! Whenever Jesus does something good, these men revert back to being children who aren't getting their way. They don't…
There once was a young apprentice who worked for a master jeweler known for creating the most exquisite and valuable pieces. One day, the master presented the apprentice with two rough stones: one large and shiny, the other small and dull. He asked the apprentice to choose which one he thought was more valuable. The…
Over the last few weeks now, we have been hearing Jesus speak to His disciples about the Eucharist in the Bread of Life Discourse. Today, we hear the culmination of that teaching. And what we see is that the disciples have a difficult time believing it. They don’t completely understand what Jesus is saying and…
Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, an abbot and a Doctor of the Church. He was a Doctor of the Church because of his spirituality and his defense of the teachings of the Church. Bernard was born in 1090 to a French noble family. And if you were born into nobility…
Throughout his missionary activity, St. Paul went around to the various regions of the Middle East and the Mediterranean preaching the Good News, sharing with others about the works of Jesus, and bringing people to conversion of heart. But he did that by not mincing his words. He spoke boldly, clearly, and passionately about the…
In a meeting with the Bishops of the United States in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said: “What is needed above all, at this time in the history of the church in America, is a renewal of that apostolic zeal which inspires her shepherds actively to seek out the lost, to bind up those who have…
Over the last couple of weeks now, if you have been to daily Mass, there have been a couple of occasions in our Gospels where we have seen these encounters happen with Jesus and the unclean spirits. It always surprises me how in these interactions, in these Gospel stories, it is often the unclean spirits…
This week we continue reading through the First Book of Samuel, how the Lord has appointed him as a prophet and judge for the people of Israel. Today, we see those two roles really coming to the surface in this interaction we see with Saul. Saul has been commanded by the Lord to go and…
I really love this story about Hannah from the First Book of Samuel because it shows what the Lord can do in our lives when we approach Him with deep faith, when we bring Him our petitions with a sense of trust that He is going to hear us. But it also shows us how…
Fr. Tom Pringle 