The Liturgy Podcast from Spirit & Song

"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified. . . By your perseverance you will secure your lives." With our lives and our hearts focused on Jesus, we need not fear calamities past, present, or future.

"They are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise." In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches about the meaning of the resurrection from the dead.

"Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." On this holy day, we celebrate our unity in Christ with the Communion of Saints.

"Today salvation has come to this house..." God makes us worthy, despite our sinfulness.

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus teaches us to pray with humility, which opens our hearts to our need for God.

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.

"Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." Our response to God's goodness is a heartfelt Thank You. Go out and proclaim God's praise!

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." Faith is God's gracious gift, unmerited by anything that we can say or do. We are merely servants, empowered by faith, to serve God and serve others.

"The Lord raises up those who are bowed down." In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus challenges us to care for the poor who are so close to his heart.

"Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor." Today's readings challenge us to act more compassionately on behalf of the poor by placing God above the values of the world.

"We must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found." The Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us that God loves us more than we could ever imagine.

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." If we want to follow Christ, it means facing opposition and carrying a difficult cross. We are strengthened by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

"When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you." The Eucharist is the heavenly banquet here on Earth. Who do we invite to the table of the Lord?

"Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." Today's readings teach us about the universality of God's kingdom.

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord... He has remembered his promise of mercy." Mary's deep love for her Son inspires our own faith. She leads us to the risen glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus." As disciples of Christ must be prepared to endure opposition for our beliefs. Jesus keeps us focused on our journey to the Kingdom of God.

"You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect the Son of Man will come." We must always be ready to spring into action when Jesus calls us to help him establish the Kingdom of God.

"Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges us to not trust in our possessions but in God's providence.

"For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them the Our Father, a remarkable prayer of intimate trust in God's generous love.

"Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak." Listening to God's Word is equally important to doing God's Word.

"Which of these three was neighbor to the robber's victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." The Parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to be instruments of God's mercy.

"Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'" Our joy is in our identity with Jesus, not in what we do. Our names are written in heaven because we are his beloved sons and daughters.

"For freedom, Christ set us free... But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather serve one another through love." With the total commitment to Christ comes the freedom to love!

"He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied them with honey from the rock." Until the Lord comes again, may we be nourished and satisfied in the Eucharist.

"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. . . and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Since we are created in God's image, every relationship of ours is an opportunity to reflect the divine love of the Most Holy Trinity.