Posts by Erin Szurgot
How to Love God
In today’s Gospel our Lord speaks about the first commandment, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Christ then affirms what the scribe says that loving God and neighbor is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. So how do we love God with all our heart,…
Read MoreNo Human Being Must Separate
In today’s Gospel, Our Lord speaks about a very difficult teaching: no divorce. Throughout time this has always been a difficult teaching to accept. We can see this clearly from both the Pharisees and disciples’ questioning of Jesus and reaction to His answers. Divorce is quite common today, and we have all probably been touched…
Read MoreLove and Obedience
Why was God pleased with the animal sacrifices required of the Jews in the Old Testament? The first reading today makes clear that these sacrifices do not take away sin. The only sacrifice that cleanses us from sin and opens the doors of Heaven is Our Lord’s death on the cross. The Psalm for today…
Read MoreThe Holy Family Models Family Life
The Church today remembers the children Herod killed in an attempt to kill Jesus. This is such a difficult feast to understand, but it is important to remember that the Church declares that all these children are martyrs and saints in Heaven. Our Lord can turn the most wicked of deeds, the murder of innocent…
Read MoreThanksgiving to God
While most people know that the USA celebrates Thanksgiving today, few people know the origins of this holiday. The first Thanksgiving was actually a Catholic Mass! The first Spanish settlers landed in St. Augustine, Florida on September 8th, 1565, to build a settlement. When they arrived, the first thing they did was celebrate a Mass…
Read MoreThe Importance of a Yearly Retreat
“Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” -Luke 6:12. In today’s Gospel, our Lord went up a mountain to spend a long time in prayer. We should imitate what our Lord does and go up a mountain to spend a long time in prayer as…
Read MorePay Attention to What I am Telling You
When reading today’s Gospel, it is important to have the context of what happens immediately preceding and following the verses. Immediately preceding the Gospel, our Lord casts out a demon that His apostles could not cast out. The apostles were “amazed at His every deed” (Lk 9:43). During the Gospel, our Lord tells His apostles…
Read MoreDoing the Right Thing for the Right Reason
Today’s readings show the importance of both the external work and one’s interior disposition to make an act good. “to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you know how one must imitate us…. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a…
Read MoreGod Works Through Us
There were three parts of today’s Gospel that I think are very impactful to meditate with. First, the feeding of the five thousand foreshadows the Eucharist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples…
Read MoreHow to Ask God for Things
Today’s Gospel shows beautifully the proper way that we should ask God for things. “A leper approached, did him homage.” When asking for something, we should first praise God for His goodness and all the blessings He has given us. We should have the disposition that we expect Him to answer our prayer not because…
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