A Shepherd's Voice

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Lk 13:22-30  - Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as He went and making His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - LK 13:18-21 - Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Again He said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - LK 12:39-48 - Jesus said to His disciples:  “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.  Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Bishop Strickland and Terry discuss the importance and truths contained in Saint John Paul, II's Encyclical, Veritatis Splendor

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel -  LK 12:35-38 - Jesus said to His disciples:  “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.”

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - LK 11:42-46 - The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces.   Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to Him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this You are insulting us too.” And He said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - LK 11:37-41 - After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited Him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that He did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Lk 11:1-4 - Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your Name, Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - LK 10:38-42 - Jesus entered a village  where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed Him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at His Feet listening to Him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Mt 18:1-5, 10 - The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in My Name receives Me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of My heavenly Father."

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Lk 9:51-56 - When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and He sent messengers ahead of Him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for His reception there, but they would not welcome Himbecause the destination of His journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.