bible
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Here are the Old Testament and Gospel readings for this Sunday (Oct. 25): Exodus 22:21-26 Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out…
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This week is a good reminder: Be careful what you ask for. Last week, I was at a conference and saw a guy who was wearing an American flag cross pin on his lapel. I didn’t get a chance to talk with him about what he was communicating with that choice, so I don’t mean…
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I’m hoping God prefers his prophets to be reluctant and conflicted. There’s a story from Jeremiah 28 that came up in Monday’s Mass readings and has stuck with me since. I’m no expert on the Old Testament, especially not the prophets, but I’ll do my best to give you an overview. We tend to think…
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Why are the disciples different from the crowd? There is a section from the Gospel of Matthew (13:10-17) in which the disciples ask Jesus why he talks to the crowd in parables, and Jesus’ answer has never really been that satisfying to me. Basically he says, you guys are special, so you get the decoded…
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The readings through the octave of Easter (the eight days from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday), include the different sightings of the resurrected Jesus as their Gospels. Since that means pulling from four different sources, they jump around a little chronologically, and they feel more like a collection of snapshots captured by different photographers…
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There’s no place like home. This passage from Isaiah (65:17-21), which is the Old Testament reading for mass today (March 16, 2026), is meant to be a promise of hope. The image it presents – an entirely new reality, in which the past tears are wiped away and only joy exists, where no child dies…
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They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. -Psalm 106:37 When I can, I try to sneak off to daily Mass during my lunch break. Unlike the liturgy on Sundays, these are quiet, simple and quick: it’s usually at most a few dozen people in a mostly empty church, with no music (unless your…
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I seem to have taught the Facebook algorithm that I like t-shirts with faith-based slogans (which is fine by me). One popular one says “Be salty; Stay lit”, cheekily translating Matthew 5:13-14, in which Jesus tells his disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, as part of…
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“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” One of the things I like to do early in the week is read through the Scripture passages that will be used that week at Mass. Catholics have a set (2-year) cycle of passages for each weekday mass, and a separate (3-year) cycle for Sundays. A lot…
