Ad Jesum per Mariam

Understand Jesus’ Mission For You and Its Boundaries. Understand What He Desires For You! Today’s Gospel assumes you remember last week’s Gospel (don’t worry, it will be reviewed). Ordinary Times doesn’t mean unimportant times. It means time put into order. Ordered Times! The order during these times is the order of the public ministry of Jesus. This year, from the time He left the desert up to th...

Moving Beyond What We Ask Jesus For (What We Want) to Concentrate on What Jesus Wants For Us! There is a reason for everything we do. When we go to Mass, we come praying to God for (perhaps) the grace of healing, for the grace to get a job, or many other things. In today’s Gospel we hear about many people coming to Jesus for different reasons. We also hear that Jesus cured them all. There is a rea...

The Church Will Celebrate a Year of Jubilee in 2025. What Does this Mean for Our Spiritual Life? She spent most of her wealth and still suffered. There is something familiar with that statement. The Homily continues and asks the saints in the pew . . . do you believe the Gospel that was just read about the raising of a little girl from the dead? The audience said yes. The readings are important. A...

False Righteousness . . . and Jesus Will Say . . . I DO NOT Know You! He taught them as one having authority, and not like a scribe. Authority demands a response. If there is no response, there is no authority! Authority makes a claim. Something happens to the people who listen to Jesus! As He speaks, He is NOT giving them information or advice! His words make a claim on the people! The claim then...

The Mother of God With Three Hands Today marks the celebration of the Mother of God With Three Hands. Why three hands? First of all, it is not a mistake by the artist. The origin of the image has much to do with the readings today. Hear more within the Homily. John of Damascus was trustworthy and an excellent speaker. Around the year 700 AD, a voice rose up to rid the Church of all icons. The loca...

Faith is Made to Be Shared In today’s reading the Church honors Saints Peter and Paul. When a child is born in Africa, they are often given two names. The first name depicts the situation into which the child was born. It is a message for future generations. The second name is often associated with the saints. Hear more within the Homily. Saint Peters and Saint Paul are the most common saint names...

St. Paul’s Lessons to Us! Our Presence Is Important to the Church! The Gospel today is about Saint Thomas. The Homily begins with a proverb: One Head does not lift up the roof. In villages building houses, mud is often used to build the walls of the house. Separately, people build the roof. Of course, the people who build the roof wish to build it correctly, to avoid any leaks. After the roof is c...

Why Will People Hunger for the Word of God? Today’s first reading is from the Prophet Amos. Israel, during Amos’ time, is a land of wealth. It arrives at this wealth, in part, by demanding from the poor. Amos comes and issues a warning. He says, you need to administer justice. If you are not just, you will be punished. Amos says people are hungry for food, but the leaders are feasting. If this is...

What is Required to Receive the Grace of God? What is required to grow in the reality of salvation? This is what the readings explore today! It’s an amazingly important set of questions, but rarely are we asked directly. The first reading from the prophet Amos is remarkable and perhaps surprising. The words God gives to us through His prophet are . . . hard words. They are words for humans to turn...

Worry About How You Appear Before God Both readings feature a garment. Jesus speaks in the Gospel about an invisible garment. He speaks of a mask we put on and wear. Humans are concerned with putting on a certain outward presentation. The Lord tells His disciples, that outward presentation of piety means nothing if they do not spring from a heart that is honest. This is a difficult truth for the h...

You Can Not Serve Two Masters. What Actually is Jesus Telling Us? After hearing about the actions we do each time we hear the Gospel read by the Deacon or Priest, the Homily focuses on today’s Gospel. Jesus looks around and sees the human heart in a specific light. Jesus says sooner or later one must commit their heart. One must decide how they are going to live. Jesus tells us that we cannot serv...

When God Speaks to Us Through Prayer In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us how to pray. In the Homily, we hear of students praying just before exams. Exam time may be characterized as a time to prepare for the test, and a time also to pray. However, sometimes students, as well as others, pray incorrectly. They may pray and say to God, my future depends on this exam. Whether I prepared enough or not,...

Let Your “Yes” Mean “Yes” and “No” Mean “No“. What is Jesus Telling Us! Let your Yes mean Yes, and your No mean No. A simple statement by Our Lord Jesus. But, as we may know, this is hard for humans. Typically, in the world, Yes may mean . . . “for now”, “maybe” or “as long as it is convenient”. We are often people of qualifications. Yes! A simple word, but it can have so many meanings. The Homily...

The Only Way to Receive the Blessings of God is to Follow His Words Into Them! Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua. Most of us are familiar with St. Anthony. We often see him depicted holding the Christ Child. But what many do not realize is where that tradition comes from! Why is he holding the Christ Child? The Homily explains why he is holding the Christ Child. The...

When is the Kingdom of God Coming? In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. When is the Kingdom Coming? That was the question a little girl recently asked the priest. The girl prefaces the question by saying her father and his father before that prayed for the coming of the Kingdom from the time each were little boys. When exactly is it coming? Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel and...

You Are the Salt of the World! Jesus Teaches His Disciples and Us What This Means! Today’s Gospel, from the discourse on the mountain, brings Jesus’ disciples together so He may teach them. Jesus tells His disciples that the way each of them have chosen has a demand. Jesus provides His disciples with two images. The first is salt. The second image is the image of life. Salt is very common in today...

God Hears All Prayers by Those Who Put Their Total Trust in the Lord In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus talk about the commandments. Jesus says, . . . But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. In the Homily, we hear of a woman with nine children. They are now adults, but only one goes to Church and prays. The others do not. We hear that this i...

The Mystery of Love is Revealed Paul recognizes the Resurrection changed his life! The Resurrection changed Paul’s entire being. Paul wants all to know about Jesus, His life, His teachings and that He is God. He has been Resurrected. Paul was imprisoned for teaching about Jesus. Delivering His message and teachings lands Paul in jail. Paul wears the chains for the sake of those that have been chos...

Our Lady Rises on the Feast of the Visitation Mary set out to the hill country in haste. The Visitation is important to linger with the fact that it involves a rising above or upward movement. For many of us, we know of her downward movement. She comes down from Heaven at Lourdes . . . down from Heaven to Fatima. Yet, this Feast Day involves the first Marian visit going upward, ascending toward so...

Decisions Are Part of Christian Life Before beginning the Homily, two announcements were made. Two New Montfort Priests Arrive at Shrine The first announcement: The Shrine now has three Montfort Fathers that will say Mass going forward. Fr. Bernard and Fr. Felix have joined the Shrine from Africa. In the near term, you’ll hear more about each priest. Second, The Shrine’s full name is The Shrine of...

Jesus Tells Us We Need to Be Led. Understand What Surrendering We Must Be Willing to Do, For the Love of Jesus When you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted to go. When you are older . . . someone else will dress you and lead you to where you do not want to go. These words Jesus speaks to Peter is a foretelling of Peter’s martyrdom. But they are also words to what waits for...

Reading Through Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Dignity This audio is Part 5 of 5: Moving Forward with this Teaching. See all the titles within this conference below. Dignitas Infinita (which means Infinite Dignity) is a 2024 declaration on Catholic doctrine that outlines the importance of human dignity, explains its connection to God. “Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Dig...

Trinity Sunday: What is the Church’s Message On This Day? Human language and concepts sometimes break down or falls short in describing something. The Church celebrates the Holy Trinity. One God, but three persons. What is the Church telling us today? What is the Church telling us about ourselves on this day? Listen to this Meditation Media.

Reading Through Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Dignity This audio is Part IV: Threats to Human Dignity: Part 2 of 2: See all the titles within this conference below. Dignitas Infinita (which means Infinite Dignity) is a 2024 declaration on Catholic doctrine that outlines the importance of human dignity, explains its connection to God. “Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Dig...

Reading Through Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Dignity This audio is Part III: Threats to Human Dignity: Part 1 of 2: See all the titles within this conference below. Dignitas Infinita (which means Infinite Dignity) is a 2024 declaration on Catholic doctrine that outlines the importance of human dignity, explains its connection to God. “Dignitas Infinita – The Declaration on Human Di...