Continue on for a daily gospel reflection…
Almost every day, I look into the readings that will be read at Mass in the Roman Catholic Church and offer a brief reflection on the gospel for that day. I often take an anachronistic approach allowing the words of Jesus to speak to me today.
May you be blessed as you consider the word of God each day.
….
Monday, Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
31 August 2026
A brief reflection on Luke 4:16-20
Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing; they drove him out.
They knew him. He had grown up among them. This Jesus of Nazareth simply could not be that much more than the carpenter’s son.
There is a certain inertia that slows the recognition of God moving in our lives. Who has not heard some variant of the “I knew you when…” discussion. Yet, none of us is the person we were yesterday. None of us continues without any change, for better or for worse.
We must therefore look to our Lord and to the peace that comes from following his will for our lives as we journey through life toward Christ. We must look not so much to our friends and family as we look to one or two trusted advisors in matters of faith. We all have our journey to make. Let us be sure we are traveling the right road, whatever those who we met at other times along the way may believe.
Let pray always and follow our Lord always. In this way perhaps our example may lead others to him as well.
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
30 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt16:21-27
“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Of course.
Perhaps it is wrong of me to do so, but I take heart in Peter’s misstep. One minute he is given the keys to the Kingdom and the next he is an obstacle. He is a man. He thinks like a man. He does not always understand the ways or the plan of God.
Just like me.
Constant prayer and constant discernment are required to even come close to following our Lord as his disciple. Sure, there are very clear commands such as the ten commandments. Those are easy. But actually following the plan God has for us requires more effort.
And so we pray, we discern, we follow.
The Passion of Saint John the Baptist
29 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mk 6:17-29
Herod the king feared John, yet found him holy, found him perplexing, yet liked to listen to him.
Isn’t this the sign of an inconvenient truth? We are captivated by it even when it pains us. In the end, Herod succumbs to the pressures that surround him and has John killed. What combination of human weakness (pride, lust, drunkenness) contributed, we will never know.
Perhaps our lesson today is that when we are faced with an inconvenient truth, particularly our own shortcomings, we should face it truthfully. Rather than allow it to paralyze us from taking the righteous action, from silencing the voices around us or in our heart that are leading us away from our sin, we might address it head-on.
After all, we can change. We can repent. We can believe and follow more closely the gospel of our Lord.
St. Augustine
28 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 25:1-13
“You know neither the day nor the hour”
We are reminded again today of the need to be continually prepared. We are reminded of the need to approach all that we do in the context of our final goal, union with God in the beatific vision. Nothing is more important and so we must remain conscience of it always.
The “foolish virgins” forgot this. They simply allowed other things to take their attention away from the task at hand, and they failed.
Let us remain always attentive to our final goal. Let us remain always attentive to Christ moving in our lives. Let us be prepared always to welcome him!
St. Monica
27 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 24:42-51
“Stay awake!”
Jesus’s message to us today is amazingly straightforward. Stay awake. Be watchful. We are meant for union with him in the beatific vision. That is the goal, and we should work toward that goal every day of our lives.
It is easy to get distracted, to view our ultimate goal as something to be achieved near the end of our lives. To imitate St. Augustine’s prayer for chastity – but not just yet.
Stay awake!
Not only is the time and hour not known with any certainty at all, as is the message today, but there is also the time we miss by not living in the joy and peace of Christ. No, the best time to begin this important project is now. The time to become vigilant for our soul is now. The time to reflect the love of Jesus to all is now.
We must remain awake and alert. We must reflect the love our Lord to all.
Now is the very best time to take that next step toward Jesus.
Wednesday, Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
26 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 23:27-32
Woe to you…
Today we learn among other things that we can bring woe upon ourselves. We learn that the notion of perfect freedom to choose is not free of consequence.
We can indeed bring woe upon ourselves.
Jesus admonishes us once again to seek him, to seek holiness, to be a people set apart. We can and must step away from the long trail of disobedience and selfishness that characterizes and mars human history. We are called to something greater.
In and through Jesus Christ we are called not to woe but to joy!
Tuesday, Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
25 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 23:23-26
Today we are reminded to look to ourselves as we are, and not to attend only to externals.
As we strive for deeper faith through prayer and sacrifice, we shall grow closer to our Lord. As we strive to appear good in the eyes of others we may very well only affect a different appearance.
Let us begin from the inside out that the joy, the love, and the holiness that lies within us may be the source of all that others see.
May that source of love of the Lord burning within us encourage others and bless the world around us.
Saint Bartholomew
24 August 2026
A brief reflection on Jn 1:45–51
“Come and see”
This morning we receive a simple invitation. The apostle Philip invites Nathanael (Bartholomew) who is openly skeptical of Jesus as messiah to come into a deeper faith. We are likewise called to a deeper faith. This is a constant call to deeper conversion. Do we take the next step?
“Come and see”
Philip invites Nathanauel (Bartholomew) to come to a deeper faith. Do we invite others to do the same? Do we by word and example help others find their way closer to Jesus?
We must come and see; we must invite ohters to do the same. We must help them along their journey even as we graciously accept help from those in our lives who would help us become better disciples of our Lord.
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
23 August 2026
A brief reflection on Matthew 16:13-20
“Who do you say that I am?“
There are many stories circulating these days about Jesus. The world calls him a philosopher, a peacemaker, a moralist, a universalist, even the original hippie. Each moniker is a description of each ones imagination. Jesus is often recreated in each of our images.
But who do you say Jesus is?
That question haunts people of faith. Do we say that Jesus is our master, that we are his disciples? Do we say that through prayer, study, and practice we are working to follow him in all things?
What do our actions say about who Jesus is to us?
Do we reflect Jesus’s lordship in our life by our actions? Can those around us know that we are indeed disciples by the love we show one another? Do they see our reverence for God? Do they see our care for the marginalized?
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
22 August 2026
A brief reflection on Matthew 23:1-12
“The greatest among you must be your servant.”
Today Jesus reminds us that the true nature of leadership is to lead, not to impose. Just a he came to serve so must we in everything work for the eternal good of the other. In short, our actions must serve.
It follows that our thoughts and words should edify – should build up others. In short, our words must serve.
We must follow our Lord’s teachings, most especially through his church. We must do so in a way that leads others toward Jesus, not raise barriers to challenge them. In short, our faith must serve.
There is no competition among people in the Kingdom. Must serve one another to best build up the Kingdom of God. Everywhere. Always.
Pope St. Pius X
21 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 22:34-40
The most important commandment? Love.
Love of God and love of neighbor are the basis for all that Christ teaches. It is the basis for the Mosaic Law as well.
Love demands so much from us. We must live for others, for their eternal good. It may involve disagreement, but it does not involve deceit. We must place our lives and our needs in the hands of God, and follow him in love. We must allow this love to pour forth from our lives to bless others.
In the end, love will lead us all to unity with each other and with God.
St. Bernard
20 August 2026
A brief reflection on Jn 17:20-26
“That they may be one…”
Jesus prayer is that we be as close to one another as he is to the Father, closer than is humanly possible. He gives us his divine assistance in achieving this end. We for our part must cooperate in this effort.
Does this mean we must minimize our differences or attempt to harmonize disparate positions? Do we then seek the lowest common denominator in an effort to achieve the look of unity? Of course not.
We are first called to recognize that the disunity we experience across the range of belief is not how we were created but how we have fallen.
The simple solution is love, that self-giving love that gives rise to honest, charitible dialogue.
After all, we know that the peacemakers are blessed.
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
19 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 20:1-16
“Are you envious because I am generous?”
Jesus teaches us through a wonderful parable today. The master of the harvest creates what might appear to be several classes of workers as he calls people to his vineyard at various times during the day. Yet, at the end of the day he makes no distinction between them.
Is that really fair?
And here is the distinction – God’s ways are not our ways. He is generous and loving to each of us who deserve nothing from him. He loves us even while we sin, although there is nothing in our sinfulness that is pleasing to him.
Are we called to be fair, or are we called to be generous?
Some questions almost answer themselves. We must reflect God’s love and his generosity in all we do. We must love others by working constantly for their eternal good. We do this regardless.
Early or late, we must answer. Early or late, we must love.
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
18 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 19:23-30
Today, Jesus gives us a “disinvestment” strategy.
Today, Jesus reminds us that we must be prepared to leave behind the material things in favor of the spiritual. We must remain detached from the things of this world.
Far from being a means of building up material wealth, after all, who has not heard this gospel misused to raise funds for energetic preachers, this strategy is one of relying upon God.
We give up everything in favor our Lord and are greatly blessed.
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
17 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 19:16-22
A young man seeks perfection, yet goes away sad at his invitation to achieve it.
Our gospel today tells of an man who simply cannot take that final step of discipleship. His vision of perfection did not include giving up his earthly posessions. At least in the moment, he could not move forward. Whether he did move forward at a later date is unknown.
This happens in our daily lives as well. God makes a request. We get that feeling that there is something we should do, but it is simply too much. We have many things in our lives that we simply cannot – will not – give up. Yet, we simply must if we are to follow God.
In the end, we will experience some level of sadness if we do not follow our Lord. If, however, we do follow God’s will for our lives there will be sweetness even in hardship.
Let us not go away sad.
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
16 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 15:21-28
An outsider, one unworthy, is blessed today.
In a harsh exchange, Jesus heals a young girl tormented by demons at the request of her mother. Unlike so many of us, the mother is well aware of here unworthiness. She is an outsider, truly. She, like us, has no claim to Jesus’s healing and must rely on Jesus’s mercy.
She is persistent, after all, her daughter is suffering and she has the faith that Jesus can heal her. She perserveres and her faith is rewarded.
Is this not a reflection of us? Are we not all unworthy? Must we all rely on the mercy of our Lord? Must not we perservere in our faith as we fail to see how our prayers are being answered?
And so we continue in our belief. We continue in our prayer. We continue in confident hope that we will received the blessings Jesus has promised.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15 August 2026
A brief reflection on Lk 1:39-58
“Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Our reading today takes us to a central event in our shared history, the Incarnation of Christ. The fact Jesus Christ the Eternal Word has taken on flesh is attested by John the Baptist from his mother’s womb and by is mother Elizabeth as well.
Mary believed, and so should we. Mary had faith, and we can follow her example. God’s promises to Mary were fulfilled, and we can have confidence that God will keep his promises to us as well.
What keeps us from belief?
The most likely answer to that is we, ourselves. Our intellect is darkened and our will is weakened by our fallen nature and our own habitual sin. Our institutions are plagued by selfishness and scandal, as human institutions have been from the beginning. We might even decided that we should live our lives without reference to anything outside of our own desires.
How, then, can we come to belief?
True and faithful discipleship, consitently and joyfully practiced will lead us to deeper and deeper faith along with greater peace. This peace that comes from God and surpasses understanding will arrive as promised, even if its arrival seems delayed. God keeps his promises.
May our prayers bring us to deeper faith, our actions bless ourselves and our fellow humans, and may we come to see the fulfillment in our Lord Jesus Christ.
St. Maximilian Kolbe
14 August 2026
A brief reflection on Jn 15:12-16
“I have called you friends”
Long ago, during the Bill Clinton presidency, a term became popular for those with outsized political influence. They were called simply “Friends of Bill”. Today, Jesus calls us his friends which I suppose makes us “Friends of Christ”. Does it come with an outsized influence in the heavenly realm?
Perhaps.
After all, those who fully embrace this friendship and follow in the ways of Jesus do realize more in prayer than those who don’t. Yet, it is not at all a friendship of equals. No, not at all. The wonder is that the creator and master of the universe wishes realtionship with us at all, weak creatures that we are.
We can take heart in God’s love for us. We cannot, however, take it for granted. We must return it wholeheartedly.
Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
13 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 18:21–19:1
Today, Jesus teaches us that forgiveness is mandatory, regardless of the size or number of offences.
How many times must I forgive? Always. After all, that is the meaning of seventy times seven times. It is not as though we need only count to four hundred ninety and be done with our brother or sister.
How much must we forgive? Mightily. A huge amount, if we are to imitate the ruler who forgave the huge debt of his servant, and not like the servant who refused to forgive a smaller debt for his fellow servant.
Forgiveness is challenging, but with God’s help it is possible. (Asking God’s help in forgiveness is a blessing of its own.)
It is what we are all called to do.
Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
12 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 18:15-20
Today, Jesus gives us a model for dispute resolution in four movements, none of which involve retaliation or retribution. All of which look toward preservation and ultimate unity.
Jesus asks us to in the first instance to simply tell the one who has offended of this offence to give him the opportunity to repent. Only if he does not listen do we involve a few others, progressing later to the whole Church.
The first three movements involve direct relationship. The offended parties attempt resolution together with the help of an increasingly large number of others who are vested in resolving the offense. The last movement, the course reserved to the failure of the offender to repent, continues to maintain order and godliness by treating the offending party as an outsider.
As the institutional Church, whose presence and authority underpins Jesus’s teaching today, seeks to implement this final step she constantly prays that the experience of being outside the Church will inspire the offending party to return.
In the end, Jesus’s prayer that we may all be one remains, even in cases where our human failings prevent us from unity.
St. Clare
11 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 19:27-29
“Everyone who gives will receive a hundred times more…”
Today, we who follow Christ are promised rich blessings.
Five days ago, we who follow Christ were promised a cross to take up.
Which is it? Both, of course.
We are called to take up our crosses secure in the knowledge that God knows and will reward us for our efforts. Our own sacrifices bring us closer to God until that wonderful day when we are united to him in the beatific vision. This a truly wonderful process.
We follow our Lord in hope. We follow the Lord knowing that he always keeps his promises.
St. Lawrence
10 August 2026
A brief reflection on Jn 12:24–26
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat”
Sometimes fruitfulness is achieved indirectly. Today, Jesus reminds us that we must give our lives over to him in order that we may bear fruit for his Kingdom. Again, he reminds us that we must not live for ourselves. Rather we live for him. We live for others. We reflect his love.
We follow his example as we give our lives for others.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 14:22-33
Why would a person step out of a perfectly good boat onto an angry sea?
It is one thing to be called. It is another to respond.
Peter, upon hearing Jesus’s call, does exactly that. He does the unthinkable, perhaps even without thinking.
On second thought…this is where things get bad in a hurry. He substitutes his judgment for Jesus’s judgment, human priorities for God’s. He shifts his faith from God to himself.
It is then that Jesus saves him.
So it is with us. We must rely upon our Lord for direction in our lives – and for assistance when we desperately need it. We must not rely upon our own reasoning, unless we have conformed out thoughts and desires the the desires of Christ.
Saint Dominic
8 August 2026
A brief reflection on Lk 9:57-62
“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
We must be of one purpose. We must earnestly seek our Lord, discern through prayer his will for us, and follow his plan. He loves us and only wants the best for us, now and forever.
Listening in prayer is a challenge, and I know that i am very much inclined to figure things out on my own. The “figuring out” is fine. The “on my own” is less so.
May God help us find his way for us and follow it unreservedly.
Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
7 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 16:24-28
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
Today our Lord asks us to take three simple yet difficult steps.
Deny myself. I must place myself and my needs after the desires that Jesus has for me. I am not my own.
Take up my cross. Life is not always easy. It is not always to my liking. Yet I must willingly take on pain and hardship and offer it for God’s kingom here on earth and for my brothers and sisters.
Follow Jesus. I must follow Jesus in all things. How will I know? Only through regular and habitual prayer in which I listen to God’s stirrings in my heart, and discern whether they align with God’s commands. (Not all inspirations are from God, after all). Finally, I must live out the life that Jesus has in mind for me.
In doing that, there will be joy even in difficulty.
Transfiguration of the Lord
6 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mk 9:2–10
Today we are called to journey up the mountain.
Today we, like Peter, James, and John are given a brief glimpse into the glory of our Lord. Today, he reminds us just he showed them a portion of the glory that he has has from before the beginning of time. Today, we like them can take heart in serving Christ, especially in the difficulties that lie ahead.
Jeus discusses his exodus in Jerusalem, his passion and death. We are called to share this with him in our lives as we take up our crosses.
Let us, then, be comforted that the cross we take up is recognized and acknowledged by the God of glory.
Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
5 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 15: 21-28
Faith and perserverance are rewarded today.
A Canaanite, and outsider, one who was not of the chosen people has the courage to approach Jesus for healing. She is, after all, a mother of a sick child, and her love of her child was strong.
And so she persists.
Finally, in spite of Jesus’s many objections, her faith is recognized and her daughter is healed.
How often do we encounter our Lord in prayer? How often do we perservere in that prayer? How willing are we to allow our prayer to change us or do we simply dismiss our prayers as ineffective?
We, like her, must persist. We, like her, must have faith in our Lord.
Saint John Vianney
4 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 9:35 — 10:1
“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”
Looking at the state of the world today, at least through the lens of the various media sources, it would seem that there is no harvest to be had. Christianity is alternately under attack, ridiculed, degraded as violent, or upheld as the only weapon we will ever need to fight against whatever the author of the media sees fit to destroy.
All of these voices, however well intentioned, fail.
“The harvest is abundant…”
Today, our world needs to know the love of Christ. We see war, corruption, injustice, and attacks between people who have ceased to look for peace. The world needs the self-giving love of Christ now more than ever.
“…but the laborers are few.”
That is where we come in. We need not live as loudly as the media types who seek to capture our attention. We need only to fully live our Christian faith joyfully and in charity.
In the end, we are the laborers who so many pray to the master of the harvest. We need to simply get to work!
Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
3 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 14:22-36
“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid”
As we pray and seek to follow Jesus, he is with us in all things. That of course is no guarantee that everything will turn out as we might like. Rather, it is a guarantee that as we follow him he will be with us, no matter how things turn out.
Are we sad or suffering? Take courage!
Are we joyfull and fulfilled? Rejoice in the Lord!
Let us always follow our Lord, secure in the knowledge that he is with us through all the times of our life. He loves us and wants us to find our way to him. Do not be afraid!
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 14:13-21
“Give them some food yourselves”
Five thousand stand before you, and our Lord has asked you to feed them. How? You can’t possilbly do that. Perhaps the government should step in at some point. Perhaps not.
Jesus has given you a directive, and simply advacating for others to do what you have been asked to do does not quite take care of the needs of those before you. And so you do the only thing that you can do.
You bring forward what you have, certain that it is not enough. You do what you can.
And with the help of our Lord, it is sufficient.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori
1 August 2026
A brief reflection on Mt 5:13-19
We as disciples of Christ are salt for the earth and the light of the world. That distinction comes with the responsibility to live out the law and bear witness to Jesus.
In short, the world must become a better, more Godly, place for our having been here.
Our job, it would appear, is to reflect the tremendous self-giving love of our Lord. Let us begin today.