Posts by Erin Szurgot
The 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…
Read MoreHow To Be a Little One
“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” -Mt 11:25 St. Therese of Lisieux wrote about the importance of making yourself little so that God can work. What does it mean to make yourself little? These two quotes below give a good idea…
Read MoreRemain in Me as I Remain in You
“It will suffice to tell you in a word: only your personal and profound union with Christ will assure the fruitfulness of your apostolate, whatever it may be.” -St Pope Paul VI These words capture the heart of today’s Gospel. No matter what your vocation is, if you do not have a deep relationship with…
Read MoreLove One Another As I have Loved You (John 13:34)
When I was praying about what to write for Holy Thursday, it was clear our Lord wanted me to share St. Therese’s commentary on His new commandment given at the Last Supper: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Excerpt This excerpt is from Story of a Soul. St. Therese is meditating…
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