Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogWhat must I do?
The question of the young man in today’s Gospel is a question, I am sure, all of us have asked at one time or another: “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus gives what seems to be a simple and direct answer: “Keep the commandments.” The young man...
The Assumption
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. This belief is part of the treasury of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of...
The God of Mercy
Today’s Responsorial Psalm has the refrain, “His mercy endures forever.” It is an important refrain that we need to keep repeating because as we pray these words, we are not only talking to God but God is talking to us, telling us what kind of a God He is. He is a...
Forgiven
When was the last time you made a dumb, embarrassing, costly mistake and you were not only forgiven but helped to make things right? Was there a time when your frustration caused you to lash out, when the expectations overwhelmed you and you responded with anger, yet...
The Feast of St. Clare of Assisi
Today across the Church universal and especially among the Franciscan communities, we celebrate the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi. It is a very appropriate Gospel chosen for the feast day. In the Gospel we hear: “Peter said to Jesus, ‘We have given up everything and...
Love and Hate
“Whoever loves their life loses it, and whoever hates their life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Hate yourself! At first this seems to be what Jesus is demanding in today’s Gospel: hate your life to preserve it. But we must be careful how we...
Vaccines and Being Pro-Life
One of the curious arguments for not receiving the COVID vaccine is that no government should tell a person what they can or cannot do with their body. In fact, there are a range of things for which the government and the common good, do just exactly that. Think of...
Paying Attention
Would that acquiring our funds for paying taxes were simply a matter of taking an afternoon off and going fishing. Wouldn’t that be nice! I think today’s Gospel is one of those accounts which people hear, give the holy nod (Jesus did it, I believe, I don’t exactly get...
Transfiguration
This had to be a special moment in the lives of the disciples. They had been with Jesus for some time and had experienced the ups and downs of Jesus’ ministry. The miraculous cures, the messages of compassion and forgiveness, but also the times when Jesus and His...
Peter – the Rocky Rock
Saints never have a bad day, never do anything wrong, they are “goody two-shoes.” At least that is what I thought growing up and why I had such a difficult time identifying with saints. They were not like me! When we dig deeper, however, we see that saints are a...