Daily Gospel Reflection on Veritas Catholic Network

Christ Desires to Heal the Leprosy on Our Souls

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today's Gospel Reading is Matthew 8:1-4. A Leper comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”. Jesus does will it and he continues to will healing for us. In the biblical imagination, leprosy is symbolic of what happens in the soul because of sin. So Jesus is showing us that he not only wills to heal our bodies in our ailments, but He wills to give us His mercy and love.
Jesus, please will the healing of our soul, those place in our souls that have “rotted away”. Lord, make us clean.

Not Everyone Who Says "Lord, Lord" Will Enter the Kingdom of Heaven

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Matthew 27:21-29. Not everyone who says to Me “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but everyone who listens to His word and acts on them will. Those who build their faith on solid rock, a faith that is unshakeable will do so.
Jesus is telling us that we must place the fullness of our trust in Him, so that when we have doubts, our faith holds firm. There must be daily practice of the faith in prayer, because if we don’t have it, our faith will collapse in moments of struggle.

Beware False Prophets

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Matthew 7:15-20. Just as a good tree can’t bear rotten fruit, we must beware false prophets, and we will know them by their fruit. Those false prophets are bad actors, those who say things that people want to hear, that just make them “feel good”, but ultimately aren't Gospel truths.
Let us pray for the grace to bear good fruit and to be good trees. 

Don't Throw Your Pearls to the Swine

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel is Matthew 7:6,12-14. Jesus tells us that sometimes we need to know when to walk away. When to walk away from those who refuse to receive the Good News, ultimately, because they don’t want to. 
Jesus tells us that there is more to the Gospel than just being a good person. We have to go further than that which is strictly required of us. Will we do the something more that’s not just for ourselves, but for the glory of God, for the salvation of souls.
Let us today have the grace to not throw our pearls before swine or give to dogs what is Holy. Today, let us persevere in His love and mercy. 

Behold, the Lamb of God

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is from Luke 1: 57-66,80. It’s the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the one to point to Christ as the Lamb of God. He calls people to prepare for the Lord. So too, we must prepare our hearts well to receive His grace and mercy.
 

Jesus Calms the Storm

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Mark 4:35-41. During the middle of a storm, Jesus falls asleep in the boat with his disciples. His disciples are afraid, wake Him, and He calms not only the sea, but their hearts.
Jesus is here with us in this moment, even if it seems He is "asleep". We can truly rely on Him.

St. John Fisher is the Kind of Priest & Bishop We Need Today - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel is Matthew 6:24-34, it is the feast of St. John Fisher. St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More stood together and opposed King Henry VIII when he  desired to found his own church so he could divorce his wife. Both men paid for their defense of the papacy with their lives. St. John Fisher was also known for his own dedication to Jesus, for his penance, courage, and prayer. He is model bishop and priest. He is the kind of the bishop we need in the life of the Church, one willing to forgo personal comfort and secular popularity to stand for the Gospel, to stand for Jesus Christ.
Today we pray, through the intercession of St. John Fisher, that all priests and bishops would have the courage to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness, to live the faith with generosity and love.

St. Aloysius's Example of Serving the Sick - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel is Matthew 6:19-23. Today is the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. Jesus instructs us to store up treasure in Heaven instead of treasure on earth. St. Aloysius is a great example of this, choosing to be a Jesuit, placing others and study before his own treasures and comfort. When a plague broke out in Rome, St. Aloysius served those that were sick and ultimately succumbed to it himself. St. Aloysius wrote a letter to his mother on his deathbed asking her to pray for him so that he would focus not on his own discomfort, but instead on Jesus.
Let us pray, through the intercession of St. Aloysius, for the grace to deny ourselves comfort and follow the Lord. 

Jesus Gives Us the Our Father - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Mt 6:7-15. Jesus gives us the Our Father, instructing us to not babble on while praying. When we pray with these words, words that Jesus Himself gave us, we do something very good. The Our Father is also a model for our personal prayer before the Lord. Let us say the Our Father, for what it is, the words Christ gave us to pray to our Father, and also, as the model for all of our other prayers. 

St. Romuald's Example of Prayer and Penance - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 6:1-6 &16-18. It is the feast of St. Romuald of Ravenna. St. Romuald was a monk who lived his early life as “dissolute youth”, as a slave to this world. After watching his father kill an enemy in a duel, St. Romuald fled to a monastery to live a life of penance and prayer. St. Romuald is a great example of performing righteous deeds not for recognition, but so that we might grow in relationship with God Himself.
St. Romuald, pray for us!

Be Perfect As Your Heavenly Father is Perfect - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s reading is Matthew 5:43-48. Jesus says to “be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. It isn’t enough to simply live as all others live. We are called to live a life of love, to love even the weakness of our brothers and sisters, to see in them the Lord Himself.
Where does one begin “being perfect”. At the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5 we find the Beatitudes, these beatitudes train us in how to live the Christian life to the full, and thus, how to be “perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect”.

Go Not With Your Fallen Nature - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today's Gospel Reading is Matthew 5:38-42. Jesus tells us to not go along with those things that are the result of fallen nature. Not an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but rather, turn the other cheek. Jesus teaches us that it isn’t about “getting even”, it’s about the call to love and to forgive. We are to let go of the desire for revenge and instead seek to love in all moments.
There can be no peace in the world if we are always looking for revenge. The world is in great need of conversion, let us pray for that conversion today.
 

God Uses ALL Your Good Works, Even If YOU Don't Know How - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Mark 4:26-34. Today we  are given two parables, on whereby the seed grows, but the sower knows not how, and the other, the parable of the mustard seed, that goes from the smallest of all seeds to the largest bush. Together, these parables emphasize that we must trust that the Lord is using all of our work for good, despite our inability to recognize where, when, and how the works will bear fruit.
Let us be servants of the Kingdom that starts with a small seed and grows beyond what we can understand, because it is God that makes it grow.

Nothing, If Not You, Oh Lord - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 16. It is a prayer to God, crying out that He will be our protection and saving grace. So often we hope in our own abilities and talents. As we listen to this Psalm it is a reminder to entrust everything to God, and as such, we say “you are my inheritance, O Lord”.  St. Thomas Aquinas at the end of his life had a vision of the Lord, who offered him a reward for his service. Aquinas responded by saying “Nothing, if not You, Lord”.
Let us pray for the grace to respond in kind.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Find God in the Still, Small Voice - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s reading is from 1 Kings 19:9-16. Elijah has run away from persecution and is trying to find shelter and safety. God then speaks to Elijah in the intimacy of Elijah’s heart, in the still small voice. There are times when God speaks in large signs and wonders, but most frequently, He speaks to us in simple and small ways. Today let us ask for the grace to listen to His voice, find Him in silence, and to worship Him as He passes by.

The Feast of St. Anthony of Padua - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, Fr. Sam connects the story of St. Anthony with Christ’s call for our righteousness to surpass that which the law requires. Jesus tells us if we arguing to truly live the Christian faith we must go beyond the law. We go beyond the call of the law out of love and deep conviction of heart. Let us pray for the grace to go beyond the law into perfect charity!

You Still Have to Follow the Commandments! - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel reading is Mt 5:17-19. Jesus doesn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. As such, the Beatitudes can be read as the fulfillment of the law, of the Commandments. The Beatitudes reveal not the rules, but the proper disposition of heart we must cultivate to properly live the fulfillment of the law.
Not one iota is removed from the law, and thus, we must be obedient to it. We must also teach others to obey the law. In order to do so, we must first tell others that there is a God who loves them and thus shows them how to live.

As Salt of the Earth, We Sometimes Must Be Gritty - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised be Jesus Christ! Today’s Gospel reading is Mt 5:13-16, it is the feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle.
Jesus instructs us to be salt if the earth and light for the world. We can only be these two things if we have cultivated the spirit of the Beatitudes. Salt is gritty, as such the Gospel sometimes “rub you the wrong way”, it can convict your conscience of your sin. It can sting.
When we celebrate the feasts of the Apostles we are reminded of our own vocation to bring the Gospel to the world. St. Barnabas, pray for us.

Live Focused on God - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Today’s Gospel Reading is Mt 5:1-12.
Today we hear the Beatitudes, a tremendous compliment to the Commandments. While the Commandments are truly “commands” we must follow, the Beatitudes illustrate the spiritual growth for which we must always strive. Jesus wants us to truly cultivate in our hearts the spirit of poverty (Blessed are the poor in spirit) so we might always turn to the Lord.
The Beatitudes teach us to always live a life focused on God. Today let us pray for the grace to be men and women of the Beatitudes.

Aim For Heaven, This World is Passing Away - Daily Gospel Reflection

Praised Be Jesus Christ!
The Second Reading from Mass comes from 2 Corinthians 4:13-5.
St. Paul reminds us that the material of the world is transitory, it’s passing away. We must aim for the eternity of heaven in this life, not wealth, power, or status. We must always focus on the relationship with God to which we are called, a relationship which begins here and maintains in Heaven.