Cup o' Joe

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 29-32 Jesus continues to talk to the crowd, but this time with a warning.  It is not enough to hear the Word of God.  If we don't act on it, we are fooling ourselves.  Jesus uses Jonah, the people of Nineveh and the Queen of the South to invite us into the story.  What did they do that He is inviting and urging us to do? We also celebrate the...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 15-26 We have a tough Gospel today, where Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the "prince of demons" Beelzebul.  And so instead, Jesus invites the people to think about true power and who holds it (and, consequently, who does not). But if we choose not to give ourselves over to this Power, our condition in the end may actually turn out worse than befor...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 5-13 On this feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Jesus continues to teach us about prayer.  And He uses imagery that any of us who have friends or children can understand.  How shall we pray?  Directly.  Persistently.  And most of all, trust that our God knows what we need and desires to meet us in the middle of that need.  That's...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 1-4 The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, as John has taught his disciples.  So we talk today about what, exactly, prayer is and how can we do it without ceasing, as Paul invites us.  We also break down the framework of the Lord's Prayer and invite all to begin to put this prayer into their own words.

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 38-42 Jesus enters Bethany and comes to the home of Martha and Mary.  And in the two of them, we see two love languages lived out - one well, and one poorly.  Both languages are equally valid and beautiful ways to say "I love you" to someone, but one loses their intent and the other holds tight.  I don't know about you, but there are days you can c...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 25-37 I know, the title of this episode sounds like the beginning of a joke.  Instead, I invited two of my daughters, Molly and Bridget, to join me in talking about one of Jesus's greatest stories - the Good Samaritan.  How do we carry those around us and, just as importantly, how do we allow ourselves to be carried?

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 13-16 We continue through this Season of Feasts (TM, Joe), celebrating the Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux (the Little Flower, Doctor of the Church).  What a wonderful example of humility she is and a great reminder to simply embrace how and who God made us to be.   In our Gospel today, Jesus chastises the cities in His area who are rejecting Hi...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 1-12 In this Season of Feasts (TM Joe), we celebrate another today: the Feast of St. Jerome.  Who was Jerome and what did he do?  He was a brilliant man who made the Scriptures accessible to the masses.  What a great vocation.  In our Gospel today, Jesus invites us to do the same.  We have to get out and prepare the way for His coming.&nb...

Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 47-51 On this Feast of the Archangels, yes - I blatantly ripped off the title of an old Alabama song from the 1990's.  I just couldn't stop singing it in my head throughout the whole podcast.  Pray for me. But on this feast, we look not only at the three archangels, but more importantly what they tell us about who God is and where God is.  We also f...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 51-56 The title of this pod comes directly from our Gospel reading today.  Jesus resolutely determines to walk straight ahead in His mission, even though he knows not only where it leads but what lies ahead for him.  Are we as resolute in our journey?  Do we walk directly or do we tend to meander and take tangential routes?   We also get a...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 46-50 We hear a familiar Gospel today (having just heard the same one in Mark the last two weekends).  Jesus invites us to be like children.  But what is it about children that God is inviting us to be like?  I share my thoughts on that as well as how our family is much, much bigger than we may imagine.  And how that is such good news. We also...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 18-22 Following directly from King Herod's hearing of who people say Jesus is yesterday, today Jesus hears what the crowds are saying about Him.  Courageous question.  Often we are the last to know what others think of us.  But then He asks His closest friends - who do you say that I am?  That answer is unique to us all - because it reflects ou...

Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verses 7-9 We change our focus today from Jesus to Herod and ask the question, just who was this man?  Interestingly enough, that was the same question that Herod was asking about Jesus.  But the problem with Herod arises not from his question, but from his lack of follow through and his vulnerability to those around him.  Because of his need for their app...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 1-6 In what appears to be a very ordinary Gospel, Jesus sends His disciples out on mission.  Heal the sick.  Cast out demons.  Proclaim the Kingdom of God.  But which comes first?  And how can we do such a thing?  Only with the power and authority that the disciples (and you and !!) have been given.  

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 9, verses 9-13 We celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew today, and so (appropriately enough) we hear the story of the Call of Matthew in our Gospel today.  Was Matthew doing anything extraordinary that attracted the attention of Jesus that day?  No.  He was going about his normal, day-in day-out routine.  And Christ broke into it and changed his life for...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 8, verses 16-18 At each of our baptism's, we were given a candle and invited to keep that light burning brightly.  But in today's Gospel, Jesus sees something else.  He sees people taking that light and hiding it under vessels and beds.  Why would we do such a thing?  What causes us to do so and how do we begin to burn more brightly?

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 8, verses 1-3 Today's Gospel is a simple one that merely talks of Jesus moving from town to town, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God.  Ordinary stuff...the place where most of our lives are lived.  So how do we bring Christ into the ordinary?  And who are those people we carry with us on this journey, seen and unseen?

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 7, verses 36-50 Whilst we continue to celebrate more feast days (Cornelius & Cyprian: that makes three in a row for those of you counting!), we are back to Luke's Gospel today.  And within it, we hear a marvelous story of a dinner party, an unwelcomed guest and extravagant love.  More importantly, we see the effects of forgiveness and what that gives birth to.

Gospel of John, Chapter 19, verses 25-27 We celebrate (if one can use that word) another feast day today: the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.  And we see Mary standing by the foot of the Cross, helpless, suffering, unable in any way to assist her beloved child.  Have you ever pondered why on earth we set aside a feast day to honor this reality?  Or have statues and pieta's in our c...

Gospel of John, Chapter 3, verses 13-17 We celebrate the Feast of the Triumph (or Exaltation) of the Cross today - and really, this is about as good as it gets.  Do you want to know what love looks like?  Gaze at the cross.  Our God, after being asked by us how much he loved us, held out his arms and said "This much!" - and died.  What more do we need?  Let that sink in fr...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 7, Verses 1-10 On this day that we celebrate the Feast of St. John Chrysostom (the Golden Throated one), we hear a Gospel that challenges those of us who live in divided worlds: those who have people who are worthy and those who are not.  People who are ok to visit and help, and those others to whom we may turn a blind eye.  Jesus is summoned to the home of a Roma...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 39-42 Jesus speaks to us of blind people leading other blind people - and the danger that awaits them if that action persists.  My friends, we become like that which we take in.  We begin to see and become disciples of whatever teacher we allow into our hearts and minds...and that can be a very dangerous or a very good thing.  It all depends on the...

The Feast of St. Peter Claver:  Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 27-38 Who among us doesn't desire to be an icon of Christ?  But are we willing to put our hand to the plow and not look back?  Are we willing to dive deep within ourselves and live in a different way than those around us?  Are we willing to transform our pains and anger instead of transmitting them?  Today's...

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:  Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1, verses 18-23 Alas, we did not go through the genealogy of Jesus - but if you'd like to do that on your own, just open up to Matthew, chapter 1 and go to town.  Instead, we talk about who Mary is and why she is so important in our own individual lives and within the life of the Church.  She is mentor...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 12-19 Jesus spends the evening in prayer, and immediately following takes action by selecting who his inner circle would be.  It was those 12 that helped shape the early Church and played a key role in passing that faith down to you and I.  But Jesus does more than just select.  He trusts what He hears from God, even when it challenges Him.  An...