Mon. June 29: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

Acts 12:1-11

In this reading we hear the sad story of how James was killed. But we also hear the amazing story of how Peter, our first Pope, was rescued from a high security prison by an angel. Many times we hear that angles aren't real but we, as Catholics, know for sure that angles are real beacause of this reading.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

In this reading we see how Paul is sacrificing incredibly and we must follow his example and sacrifice for the souls in Purgatory. Jesus never promised us that being his follower would be a piece of cake. But he did promise to be with us and to help us when we need help in this spiritual journey.

Matthew 16:13-19

The Gospel tells us that Peter already has the Holy Spirit working through him because he recognizes that Jesus is the Messiah. This Holy Spirit will continue to work through him as he begins his role as Pope. We must remember that Pope Benedict XVI also has the Holy Spirit guiding him as Head of the Church.

Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock. He is the visible image of Christ on earth. In the Old Testament, Daniel 2:31-45, we see that he mentions the statue of all the kingdoms. But then a rock comes and destroys the statue and the rock becomes a mountain that spreads all over the earth.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24

This reading has a reminder to us of something not often heard in our society today. God created all things to have life.
God did not create death. He did create Lucifer but the devil turned away and chose evil out of envy. He did not want to bow down to "man" because he felt he was superior. Jesus becoming man made Lucifer angry. We should learn from this that if you have too much pride you will end up in a hot spot. (vs. 24)

2 Corinthians 8: 7,9, 13-15

St. Paul is telling us to share what we have with others who need it. Christ shared what he had. He gave up his riches as God to give us those riches through Himself. St. John Chryststom says, "For had he (Jesus) not become poor, you could not have become rich. By a miracle which men cannot understand, poverty has produced these riches- the knowledge of God and godliness, liberation from sin, justification, sanctification, the countless good things which he has bestowed on us and will bestow on us in the future." (Homily on 2 Cor., 17)
Our generosity should be like that from God to the Israelites when they were gathering manna as the example that St. Paul gives at the end of the reading. (Ex. 16:18)


Mark 5:21-43
In this story we see that it is mainly about faith, because Jarius had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter and the lady with the hemorrhage had faith that even if she just touched Jesus' cloak she would be healed. But there was a problem in the faith of the people who were wailing for Jarius' daughter. For even after all the miracles Jesus had performed, they ridiculed him for saying that she was just asleep. Jesus says to the daughter not to tell anyone what he had done for him. The reason he says this is because the time for him to be revealed to the world had not yet come. The moral of this story is that we need faith to bring us closer to Jesus.

Readings for Friday, June 26, 2009

Genesis 17: 1, 9-10, 15-22

In this reading, you may notice that God uses the word covenant. Now a covenant is like an unbreakable promise between God and man. If man doesn't keep his 100% of the covenant, then God will take 200%. But if this happens, curses will come upon the people that made the covenant. But if they both keep 100%, then there will be blessings. So, this covenant never breaks. Part of the covenant we hear about today is circumcission. It is like Baptism in the Old Testament. God also tells Abraham that he will have a son and he laughs because he was so old. The reason God chose the name Issac was because it means "I laughed." So, the moral is we should have faith in God no matter how old or young we are.

Matthew 8: 1-4

The leper in this story has such tremendous faith in God that he knows that he can heal his lepersy. But he is also faithful to God's will because he said that if it was Jesus' will he will stay a leper. This was a very courageous thing for him to do. The lesson in this is to know that we can't expect God to give us everything we ask for as a RIGHT, but to remember that God created us and he knows what is good for us. Jesus said to go to the priest and show himself to the priest like Moses comanded. You can find out what Moses said if you go to Lev. 14:1-9.

Readings for June 25, 2009

Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16

Here are my thoughts about today's readings:

In this reading you'll notice that there was a problem in the faith of Abram and Sarai. They didn't trust God enough to give Sarai a son, so as you see, she told Abram to do something that defied what God wanted them to do. She later regreted her decision. The lesson of this story is that you should have more faith in God instead of doing everything yourself. If you don't do it with God, you will crash and burn.

Matthew 7:21-29

The first part of this reading discusses the idea that it is not enough to claim that you know God. You have to live for Him. If you really love Him, you will serve Him. James 2:24 says, "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." You cannot get to heaven by just works or faith. You need both.

In the next part of the reading Jesus tells us how a fool will build his house on the sand (worldly pleasures or societies ideas). We as Christians are called to build our house on the Rock. (Matthew 16:16-17 - Peter is the Rock of our Church) This means living our lives as the Church teaches. If we do this, we will have greater protection from sin and temptations.

My Goal

My goal for this blog is to help Catholics better understand the Truth and the richness of the Catholic faith and to help people understand what the Church teaches about different issues. I will also discuss the Scriptures for the day and share interesting Saints. I hope that you enjoy and learn from the things that I write here. They will be grounded in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
God bless you in your pursit of Heaven.