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…
Tomorrow officially marks the end of the liturgical year; Sunday we begin the Season of Advent. Over the next couple of days, it might be quite beneficial for all of us to consider if there is some way we could foster a deepening of faith in this upcoming season. What is the Lord inviting us…
Mother Teresa once said: “Many today are starving for ordinary bread. But there is another kind of hunger – the hunger to be wanted, to be loved, to be recognized. Nakedness, too, is not just the want of clothes, but also about loss of dignity, purity, self-respect. And homelessness is not just want of a…
Over the last couple of weeks now in our Gospels, we have heard parables from Jesus that have focused on being prepared for the end times, stories that are meant to remind us of the importance of being prepared for when the Lord comes again. Last week, we heard the parable of the wise virgins…
The end of the liturgical year is fast approaching; in fact, we are now only two weeks away from the Feast of Christ the King and the season of Advent will be beginning soon. Because of that, the readings for our Masses have become a little more eschatological, meaning they have started to focus on…
Excuses, excuses, excuses. In our Gospel today, we hear the Parable of the Great Feast and how so many of the people who were invited to this banquet came up with excuses to get out of attending. And honestly, the excuses weren’t even that great…they really weren’t good enough reasons to cancel. So, what’s the…
Fr. Tom Pringle 