Category: Prayers

“I have given her in marriage to seven men, all of whom were kinsmen of ours, and all died on the very night they approached her.” –Tobit 7:11 Mass Readings: June 8 First: Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1,9-17; 8:4-9; Resp: Psalm 128:1-5; Gospel: Mark 12:28-34 Listen to the Mass Readings If you were marrying someone whose previous husbands all died on their wedding nights, what would you do? You’d think you’d pray, but obviously none of the dead husbands thought of that. You’d think we’d pray at the time of death. However, this is an unprecedented time of death, when millions of...

We are like coins. The image of God was stamped on us at Baptism. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit at Confirmation. The image and seal proves to the world that God owns us. Mass Readings: June 6 First: Tobit 2:9-14; Resp: Psalm 112:1-2,7-9;Gospel: Mark 12:13-17 Listen to the Mass Readings Like cattle branded with the mark of their owner, people who saw the Roman coin could tell whose image was on it, and to whom it ultimately belonged. The Roman coin was stamped with Caesar’s image. Therefore, Jesus said it ultimately belonged to Caesar and should be given...

“He still had One to send – the Son Whom He loved. He sent Him to them as a last resort, thinking, ‘They will have to respect My Son.’ ” –Mark 12:6 Mass Readings: June 5 First: Tobit 1:3; 2:1-8; Resp: Psalm 112:1-6;Gospel: Mark 12:1-12 Listen to the Mass Readings God, the Good Master, digs out a vat for tenants who will soon mock His messengers and murder His Son (Mk 12:1-8). The tenant farmers were entrusted to run the vineyard for the Master in His absence. They have been given much, and therefore much will be required of them...

Jesus “breathed on them.” –John 20:22 In the beginning, “the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being” (Gn 2:7). The breath of the Father gives life where previously there was no life. On His Resurrection evening, Jesus “breathed on” His disciples “and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (Jn 20:22). The breath of Jesus brought the Holy Spirit and peace where previously there had been turmoil and fear. On the day of Pentecost, “suddenly from up in the sky there...