This morning we celebrate the Memorial of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, twin brothers who were Christian martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. The two were physicians who would offer their medical services to the poor and the rich alike. Because of their faith, they believed it was a duty to give back to others…
In our first reading this morning from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear about what has come to be known as the universal call to holiness. Each of us, because we have received the identity of being sons and daughters of God by way of our baptism, has this universal vocation. That…
In our Gospel this morning, the Lord is reminding us that there are two options where we can spend eternity. We will either end up in heaven or in hell. I wish it weren’t the case, but I think we need that reminder pretty regularly. For all of us, our experiences show us that there…
My favorite quote from St. Augustine comes from his book Confessions. He says this: “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” All of us are made in the image and likeness of God because of that there is a…
This morning, we celebrate the Feast of St. Bartholomew, the Apostle. Just a quick word about this Gospel: tradition holds that Nathanael and Bartholomew were the same person. Many Scripture scholars attest to this, arguing that Bartholomew is more likely Nathanael’s surname. Bartholomew actually means “son of Tolmai.” Remember, anytime in Scripture where we see…
I think all of us can relate to the young man in this particular passage from Matthew. We all desire to do what is good. We all want to do our best in life so that we can enjoy eternity with God in the life to come. And I’m sure many of us go to…
There is a line from our first reading that I have been reflecting on this morning. It says: “This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other” (Dt 4:39). God is all powerful,…
One of the most interesting stories about St. Lawrence, and probably my favorite story about any saint is the legend surrounding his martyrdom. Lawrence was kind of a smart aleck. The story goes that, as one of the seven deacons for the Church in Rome, he was responsible for the material goods of the Church…
This story from today’s Gospel about the mother of James and John approaching Jesus and asking Him to allow her sons to sit at His right and left, shows just how misunderstood Jesus was by even some of His closest disciples. So many of them initially believed that Jesus was going to be a political…
Over the last few weeks, I know that I have been preaching more and more about the state of the world and how opposed it is currently to the Church and the tenets of our faith. It seems so deaf to the message of the Gospel. And, at times, it might even seem as though…
Fr. Tom Pringle 