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.
There seems to be some serious irony going on in the readings for today. The disciples who have seen Jesus work miracles, turning even the smallest amount of food into enough for thousands of people, are worried that they only have one loaf with them. The twist hereContinue Reading
In this morning’s Gospel, we see the Pharisees coming forward to argue with Jesus. They want Him to perform a “sign from Heaven.” It’s not enough that Jesus was teaching wise words and opening the scriptures. Being a Rabbi was not sufficient for them. Neither was itContinue Reading
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. It marks the first time that the Immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to the 14-year-old girl, Saint Bernadette. She would appear 18 more times. Saint Bernadette lived in an old dilapidated jail near the castle of Lourdes with her parents. TheContinue Reading
In the first reading, Saint Paul tells the Corinthians: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” Often we think of that as an “I’m going toContinue Reading
I want to spend just a moment this morning focusing on the book of Hebrews. It can be a challenging book to understand because it’s a treatise, a document attempting to mount the Christian philosophy’s “legal defense.” The author of Hebrews makes his closing argument in these verses, givingContinue Reading
We are lucky here. In our towns, our homes, especially in the United States, we have access to so many wonderful things. Clean water, food, and most importantly to the Sacraments, daily if we so choose. The Pandemic has reminded us how fragile that is. How easy it isContinue Reading
Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the one from yesterday’s Mass. Jesus reminds His disciples that we shouldn’t take the knowledge of who Jesus is, place it under a basket and hide it; we let that light shine for the whole world to see. He did not mean forContinue Reading