Brian Mullins is a permanent deacon in the Rockford Diocese who has been assigned by his Bishop to Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish in Genoa, Illinois.
In the first reading today, we find the widow in a situation where she only has a little bit of food left. She proclaims that after she makes what she has left for her and her son, they are just gonna “lay down and die.” Elijah tells her that GodContinue Reading
I used to joke about that footsteps in the Sand poem. You know the one that talks about how someone thought that God had deserted them because there was only one set of footsteps? “When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.” InContinue Reading
Saint Paul uses a deceptively simple phrase in this morning’s first reading. “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.” So have no debt, except the debt of love. That on the surface seems easy enough, but a debt of love has far-reaching consequences. Love is an obligation thatContinue Reading
In today’s readings, we are reminded of one of the essential marks of our Church. In the creed, we declare that we are “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic.” That means that our faith is built on the foundation of the Apostles’ teachings, with Jesus Christ as the unifying stone thatContinue Reading
Jesus, this morning doesn’t answer the question being asked. Instead of giving a number, He points us to a more critical question. Not how many will be saved, but “how can we be saved?” “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt toContinue Reading
When we read today’s Gospel, it can seem like Jesus isn’t in the nicest of moods. He declares that He came to set fire to the earth and follows that up with “how I wish it were already blazing!” The words he uses indicate a passion, a desire, an urgeContinue Reading
In his letter to the Romans this morning, Paul uses the analogy that makes sense to the people of his time. He speaks of slavery, which was seen then as a part of society. This image would be something everyone could identify with on some level. What he says isContinue Reading