December 5, 2025Friday of the First Week of AdventReadings for TodayJesus healing the Blind by Lawrence OP, license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Video As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” Matthew 9:27Picture these two men for a moment. Just before this passage, Jesus had cured a leper, healed a Roman centurion’s servant, restored Peter’s mother-in-law to health, made a paralytic walk, and stopped a woman’s years-long hemorrhages. He had cast out demons, freeing people from their oppression, and even raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead. This context is crucial as we imagine these two blind men crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!”Word was spreading rapidly about Jesus and His miracles. In that time and culture, blindness often led to a life of begging unless family could provide. These men suffered greatly, from both their physical blindness and from the marginalization that accompanied it. Then they began to hear stories—one after another—about this new rabbi, a prophet from David’s line, possibly the Messiah everyone awaited. They heard of His miracles and immediately hoped He could heal them too. So when Jesus was passing by, they didn’t hesitate.Although physical healings were not Jesus’ primary mission, these acts were powerful expressions of His compassion and divine authority. By healing, He brought peace and joy to troubled hearts, but more importantly, He demonstrated that His words carried divine authority. The Gospel of Matthew is arranged so that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—a summary of His teachings—comes first. Then follows a series of miracles. While these miracles were acts of love for those He cured, they also serve to convince us today to listen to and obey His word.We are called to emulate the faith of these two blind men. We must believe that Jesus is the answer to all our needs, the only one who can heal our souls. We can see their physical blindness as a metaphor for our own spiritual blindness. Just as they cried out for physical healing, we must cry out for spiritual healing.Reflect today on the disposition of these two blind men. Though we know little about them, we do know they cried out to Jesus for mercy and healing. Their prayer must become our prayer; their hope, our hope; their passionate cry, our plea for mercy. The healing they sought is mirrored in the healing we seek today, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is in this sacrament that we find Jesus passing by, where we cry out for mercy and where we are spiritually healed. Let us long for healing from our spiritual blindness and cry out to Jesus with persistence, following Him relentlessly in prayer. He will hear and answer us.My healing Lord, though Your many miracles show Your divine power over nature, demons, and every illness—even death—the greatest healing You offer is the healing of my soul from sin. Please have pity on me, Lord. Heal the spiritual blindness I have so that I may come to know You, follow You, and live according to Your will. Jesus, I trust in You.Novena to the Immaculate ConceptionNovember 29-December 7See all of our Advent Resources[embedded content]Saint Andrew Christmas NovenaTraditionally prayed 15 times a day from November 30 through Christmas Eve.More Gospel ReflectionsDivine Mercy ReflectionsScripture Meditations for AdventSaints/Feasts for TodayMass Reading Options Adblock test (Why?)

December 4, 2025Thursday of the First Week of AdventReadings for TodaySaint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor—Optional MemorialImage via Adobe StockVideo “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.” Matthew 7:24 & 26Jesus’ words remind us that each of us will inevitably face hardships: “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.” He doesn’t suggest that these storms might come; He assures us that they will. Just as a house must be prepared for bad weather, so must our lives be ready for suffering, hardship, and ultimately, death.Imagine someone building a house on sand. When the storms come, the foundation erodes and the house begins to crumble. All the effort spent building that house is wasted because the foundation was weak. In contrast, those who build their houses on rock can remain confident as the storm arrives, knowing their foundations are secure.The metaphor is clear. The house represents our lives, and our foundation is either Christ or sin. If we build our lives on habits of sin—such as love of money, materialism, hedonism, impurities, anger, deceptions, and selfishness—our lives will inevitably crumble when hardship strikes.Jesus’ own life perfectly illustrates this teaching. He was lied about, unjustly arrested, brutally tortured, condemned to death, and nailed to a cross. Yet through it all, the perfection of charity in Jesus’ soul never wavered. He had built His human life on the most solid foundation by fully embracing the Father’s will without hesitation. Jesus listened to the Father’s voice and acted upon it perfectly; as a result, nothing could steal His peace. Even in the face of the Cross, Jesus manifested the perfection of every human virtue, generously bestowing grace upon every repentant sinner who takes up his cross and follows Him.Reflect today on the crosses you have faced and those you might face in the future. How have you handled these struggles? Are you prepared for the storms that will come your way? Most importantly, are you ready for the day our Lord calls you home? Those who face death with a solid foundation do so with extraordinary hope. That foundation is built by listening to Jesus’ words daily and acting upon them. Those whose foundation is habitual sin will despair in the midst of hardship and fail to remain firmly grounded in Christ. Build your life on Christ and His perfect will now and every day, and He will protect you, filling you with every virtue necessary to achieve the heights of holiness in this life and much glory in Heaven.My Lord and Firm Foundation, I pray that my life will be built upon You and Your will alone. Give me ears to hear You and a firm will to follow You so that my love for You and others is so strong that I can endure all things in You, and by You, be brought to the glories of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.Novena to the Immaculate ConceptionNovember 29-December 7[embedded content]See our Advent resources!Saint Andrew Christmas NovenaTraditionally prayed 15 times a day from November 30 through Christmas Eve.Scripture MeditationsMore Gospel ReflectionsDivine Mercy ReflectionsAll Saints/FeastsSaint of the Day – Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and DoctorMass Reading Options Adblock test (Why?)

December 3, 2025Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, PriestReadings for TodayReadings for Wednesday of the First Week of AdventImage via Adobe StockVideo At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. Matthew 15:29–30Why did Jesus perform so many miracles when He walked the earth? The Church Fathers and saints offer various insights. His miracles were personal acts of compassion, expressions of divine love welling up within His human Heart. They were also testaments to His divine authority, reinforcing His teachings and instilling faith. Additionally, Jesus’ miracles fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and served as powerful metaphors, such as the healing of physical blindness, symbolizing the gift of spiritual sight.But why don’t we see similar miracles today? In many ways, we do. Throughout history, miracles have accompanied the ministry of great saints. Saints Francis of Assisi, Vincent Ferrer, and Phillip Neri, to name a few, were known for the countless miracles attributed to them during their lifetimes and through their intercession after their deaths. More recent saints, such as Saints Thérèse of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalska, Padre Pio, André Bessette, and Charbel Makhlouf have also been credited with miracles, both during their lives and since their deaths.Miracles often accompany saints who have entered into profound union with Christ through prayer and service. These saints, filled with compassion, become channels of God’s healing grace. Their miracles give credence to their ministries and fulfill Jesus’ promise: “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).If you desire to see miracles, strive for holiness. Though the sanctity that seems to make miracles a normal part of life is extraordinarily high, it is achievable by God’s grace. For the saints, the goal was never to perform miracles; miracles were simply a by-product of their burning love for God and others.Reflect today on the fact that God desires you to become as holy as the greatest saints. He wants His divine charity to overflow from your soul into the lives of others. The holier you become, the more God can use you as His instrument, sometimes even through miracles. Strive to be one of those rare saints whose union with God transforms the world with love.My miraculous Lord, though the gift of salvation far exceeds the value of miracles, You have used miracles to reveal Your compassion and deepen our faith. Please make me holy so that I can become a greater instrument of Your grace in whatever way You choose. Jesus, I trust in You.Novena to the Immaculate ConceptionNovember 29 – December 7Advent Prayers and Reflections[embedded content]Saint Andrew Christmas NovenaTraditionally prayed 15 times a day from November 30 through Christmas Eve.More Gospel ReflectionsDivine Mercy ReflectionsAll Saints/FeastsSaint of the Day – Saint Francis Xavier, PriestScripture MeditationsMass Reading Options Adblock test (Why?)