Category: Message of the Day

“He Who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.” –Baruch 4:29 Mass Readings: October 7 First: Acts 1:12-14; Resp: Luke 1:46-55; Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 Listen to the Mass Readings Most people have suffered disasters in their lives. Some of these have been caused by our own sins. If we would seek the Lord ten times more zealously than we strayed from Him, He would save us from disaster and bring us back a joy that this time will last (Bar 4:28). The Lord turns all things, even disasters, to the good for those...

We “have sinned in the Lord’s sight and disobeyed Him.” –Baruch 1:17-18 Mass Readings: October 6 First: Baruch 1:15-22; Resp: Psalm 79:1-5,8-9;Gospel: Luke 10:13-16 Listen to the Mass Readings St. Therese, whose memorial is on October 1st, is known for the “little way” – the way of loving obedience to God in the details of life. What changes the world is not so much the supposedly “big things” but the love by which we do the countless little things. Five loaves and two fish given in total love feed many more people than would thousands of loaves and fish that...

“Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God.” –Nehemiah 8:8 Mass Readings: October 5 First: Nehemiah 8:1-12; Resp: Psalm 19:8-11; Gospel: Luke 10:1-12 Listen to the Mass Readings “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1). “Your rebirth has come, not from a destructible but from an indestructible seed, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pt 1:23). “He wills to bring us to birth with a word spoken in truth” (Jas 1:18). “The seed is the word” (Lk 8:11), which is the beginning of life, birth, revival, and renewal. At the beginning of world...

“Send me…to rebuild it.” –Nehemiah 2:5 Mass Readings: October 4 First: Sirach 50:1,3-4,6-7;Resp: Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-8,11;Second: Galatians 6:14-18; Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 Listen to the Mass Readings Nehemiah set out to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem (Neh 2:5ff). God instilled in him a heart of concern for Jerusalem and prepared his way by granting him favor in the eyes of King Artaxerxes. While in prayer, St. Francis of Assisi, today’s saint, heard God command him: “Rebuild My Church.” Francis immediately set out to repair and rebuild several church buildings that had fallen into disrepair. Eventually in prayer, Francis discerned that the...

“Lord, would You not have us call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” –Luke 9:54 Mass Readings: October 3 First: Zechariah 8:20-23; Resp: Psalm 87:1-7; Gospel: Luke 9:51-56 Listen to the Mass Readings Elijah called down fire from heaven on three occasions (see Sir 48:3). The apostles thought it would be good if they did the same. They were right. They needed fire. But they were wrong. They needed fire not to destroy the Samaritans but to destroy the sin in their hearts. On the first Christian Pentecost, fire came down from heaven (Acts 2:3). This fire purified Jesus’...