“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be watchful! Be alert!…’ ” Advent is a challenging time for Catholics. With the exception of Mass, it’s easy to let Advent be consumed and overshadowed in our daily lives, as society pushes Halloween into Christmas with a small glint of Thanksgiving thrown in. “….You do not know when the… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – October 26, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – October 26, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday October 26, 2014 Lectionary: 148 Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for October 26, 2014, the Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – October 19, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday Says October 19, 2014 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Lectionary: 145 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 This week’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah starts out with an unexpected note calling the pagan king God’s instrument. During the Babylonian, he planned to free the captives and… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – October 12, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday October 12, 2014 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 142 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 25:6-10A This week’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah, is a great setup for this week’s Gospel, but it also stand alone as a beautiful prophetic vision of what the Lord promises. The prophet promises that… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 28, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday, September 28, 2014 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 136 (Jerusalem Bible Translation) (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Ezekiel 18:25-28 This week’s first reading from the prophet Ezekiel sounds very harsh on first read. To put this into better context, we have to look back in the chapter to see that the prophet has already… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 21, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday September 21, 2014 Lectionary: 133 Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 21, 2014, the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass by previewing and reflecting on the readings. The selected readings this… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 14, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday September 14, 2014 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638 (NAB readings)(Jerusalem Bible Readings) Normally, this feast falls within the week, but this year, we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in place of the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This will make for another uncommon Sunday… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 7, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – September 7, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday September 07, 2014 Lectionary: 121 Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 7, 2014, the Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 31, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday August 31, 2014 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 124 (NAB Translation)(Jerusalem Bible Translation) First Reading Jeremiah 20:7-9 In this week’s first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear some of the personality that earned him the nickname the “crying prophet.” Living a prophet’s life sounds like it would be blessed since it is… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 24, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday August 24, 2014 Lectionary: 121 Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 24, 2014, the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass by diving deeper into the Word of God. The… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 17, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday August 17 2014 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 118 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible) Reading 1 Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 The first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear a message about God’s intention to have a select people. Israel was centered around their identity of their faith and inheritance as God’s chosen people. At… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 10, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday August 10, 2014 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115 (NAB Readings)(Jerusalem Bible) Reading 1 1 Kings 19:9A, 11-13A This reading from the book of Kings is one of my favorite stories to quote in the old testament. We start off with Elijah in a cave, and he’s there because he’s been trying… [Read More]
Sunday Says – August 3, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday August 03, 2014 Lectionary: 112 Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 3, 2014, the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass by diving deeper into the Word of God…. [Read More]
Receptivity and Love in the Parable of the Sower
Over the last two Sundays and a daily mass in between in between, we have been hearing the parables where Christ describes the Kingdom through the imagery of the sower and the seeds, and we also heard Psalm with the same imagery. Here is the version read two Sundays ago “A sower went out to sow. And as… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – July 27, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday July 27, 2014 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 109 (NAB Translation) ( Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 This first reading from the first book of Kings is a classic favorite, and it is hopefully familiar to you. Solomon was son of the great King David and had of high… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – July 13, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday July 13, 2014 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 103 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 55:10-11 In this week’s first reading from Isaiah, it’s important to remember where we are in this story. The Hebrews were at a point of transition to return to their land of Judah, and it seemed… [Read More]
Sunday Says – July 6, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – July 6, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday July 6, 2014 Lectionary: 100 Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) We open up the Scriptures to hear God speak through Old Testament prophecies, in the Psalms of King David, the letters of St. Paul, and in the words of Jesus as… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – June 29, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday June 29, 2014 Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles Mass during the Day – Lectionary: 591 (NAB Readings) This is a great treat to celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on a Sunday. Most saints get overwritten by the regular calendar of the Sunday, but these two Apostles are a little… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – June 22, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday) Sunday June 22, 2014 Lectionary: 167 (NAB Readings) (Jerusalem Bible) Reading 1 Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14B-16A This week’s first reading from Deuteronomy takes us back to the story of Moses, but it’s much after the time of the Exodus from Egypt. At this… [Read More]
Transparency, Not Hypocrisy
Sometimes the Scripture is approached as if Jesus was an authoritarian parent, giving us demanding lists of do’s and don’ts. As I was listening to the readings at daily Mass on Wednesday, and to the priest’s beautiful homily that followed, I could see how someone might only hear the do’s and don’ts. Don’t blow trumpets when you… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – June 15, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday June 15, 2014 Lectionary: 164 Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for June 15, 2014, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for joining us for a just a few minutes as we explore Sacred Scripture and reflect in depth on the mystery of… [Read More]
Mind, Lips, and Heart for the Gospel
There is a little part of the mass that sticks out me (actually a lot of little things do but that is not the point hee hee) and it is just as the Gospel is about to be read. The priest announces, “A reading from the Gospel according to John.” and we respond “Glory to… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – February 16, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – February 16, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday February 16, 2014 Lectionary: 76 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 16, 2014. This Sunday’s readings focus on the Law as defined in the Old Testament and fulfillment… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – January 19, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – January 19, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday January 19, 2014 Lectionary: 64 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 19, 2013. We’re happy you’ve joined us here once again as we move through this period of… [Read More]
The Soul’s Movement at the Moment of Communion
Consider this article as a monologue or an interior thought, as if someone was thinking out loud and searching for an answer within themselves. At some points, I address the soul as “her,” instead of “it.” I do this partly because St. John of the Cross uses that kind of language in his writings. It… [Read More]
Signs of Contradiction
Three Persons, One God. 100% God, yet 100% man. To save your life, you must lose it. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Christianity is full of seeming contradictions. Life is full of contradictions. The Christian must be comfortable with these apparent contradictions. In fact, part of the mystery of… [Read More]
Confession and Pentecost; Grace and Power
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6 This verse is not like Confession; this verse is Confession. Four things happen. I entrust myself to God through a spiritual father, a… [Read More]
A Little Advent Scripture Study
Advent is a time of preparation for receiving Jesus into the world and into our hearts. My first Advent challenge to you is to sit down, ponder and meditate on the scriptural account of Jesus’ arrival in the world as your time allows. There are many wonderful resources for Scripture study, but for anyone seeking… [Read More]
Good Where We’ve Been Good Where We’re Going To
When you say yes to something you say no to something else. I learn this adage at a “Protecting Your Goals” class I had the honor of participating in last year. Whether you are addicted to volunteering or superbly balanced in your calendar-planning, this phrase is worth reflecting on. How do your time commitments reflect… [Read More]
Lessons from the Giving Tree and Thorns in our Side
Growing up did you ever read the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ? In this sad-for-a-kid-but-wonderful book, a tree and a boy become friends and the tree gives all it can to help the boy be happy. Here’s a video version if you haven’t read it, narrated by Shel). I’ve liked sappy stories my whole… [Read More]
I Want To Speak Now
We have things to say. The Gospel of Christ is a powerful message that is transformative and needed to be proclaimed. The message needs to be heard, so that is can work with and in people to help them discover who they are and whose they are. Today’s social and political reality has plenty of people… [Read More]
Seeing God’s love in the wildflowers
This weekend my husband and I went to the Ladybird Johnson wildflower center for a plant sale. It was our first time to go there and it was amazing to see all the different flowers! As a somewhat laissez-faire lawn person – I made sure to point out that many of these flowers are very… [Read More]
“The Perfect Love” just in time for Valentine’s Day
So today is Valentine’s Day. I remember when I was in middle and high school, my group of friends would go bowling and bring fancy decorated bags/boxes for later exchanging those little pre-maid valentines you get at Wal-Mart. Of course, later on, I would sort through them looking for one from whichever guy I was… [Read More]
Making Time for God in the Present
The New Year is almost here. Have you done everything you planned to this year? Are your goals set for next year? Have you compared your state-of-me with your peers, coworkers, friends, to make sure you’re making the same strides that they are?In the midst of our reminiscing of the past and our dreaming in… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast: November 6, 2011 Readings and Reflection
November 6, 2011 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1, Wisdom 6:12-16 Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13 Skip to 3:55 if you would like to go straight to the reflection. Reflection done by Cristobal Almanza – @SoulPainter Theme song – Ignite – Soundwave soundwave.cc Feedback Line Number: (512) 200-ACNM (2266) feedback@austincnm.com http://www.austincnm.com
Purgatory – A Sign of God’s Mercy and Hope for All Saint-Hopefuls
So I knew coming into this post that I was going to be writing after a few others had their pick of All Saints and All Souls topics. But my blog is about becoming a Saint! And we can never learn too much about them, right?So, let us place ourselves in God’s presence, and the… [Read More]
How Can I Keep from Singing?
I like to think I’m a funny person. I mean, my jokes are so funny, I laugh at them even though I know the punch line…But in this blog, I am going to be writing, comically at some times, about a serious issue – the issue of our very purpose on Earth….which is…. to be… [Read More]
