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St Peter Walking on the Water Alessandro Allori [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Matthew 14:22-33 (English Standard Version) After the crowd had eaten and were satisfied: Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do n...

    I wonder if you can relate to this event in the Gospel of Matthew ( Chapter 14:22-36 ). It's the familiar passage of Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water after Jesus told him to "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  It's a big step which I think we can all appreciate. I was reading a reflection in the Gaudete App for August 3, 2026 and I was stirred by a couple of lines. First, in referring to Peter's courage and faith, it says, "Imagine how strong Peter felt in the Lord, walking on water, defying the laws of nature!" " And when he started to sink . . . "[Peter] looked at himself, he doubted, he remembered he could not walk on water, and he started to sink. We cannot do what the Lord can do, and we are called to remember that, believe in him and keep our eyes fixed on him. He gives the courage we do not have when we need it." How often have we felt confident that God was calling us to do something, on...

“People gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Verne the Patriot in Luverne, Minn.” (AP Photo/Sarah Raza (July 18, 2026)) " A Minnesota town now boasts the world's tallest nutcracker " Sarah Raza, AP (July 18, 2026) "Crossing the open farmland of southwestern Minnesota, you'll encounter an otherworldly sight: a massive head with a beard, mustache and red-striped top hat looming over the horizon. Pull into the small town of Luverne and the figure — a nearly 66-foot (20-meter) tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam — comes into full view...." I've never been to Luverne, Minnesota, and will probably never go there. But I've seen other oversize statues in my home state: Rothsay's prairie chicken, Alexandria's viking, Paul Bunyan in Bemidji, Belgrade's crow, and "Pelican Pete: World's Largest Pelican" in Pelican Rapids. One of these days I may talk about roadside attractions in the Midwest. But not today.... More at...

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Lambert Lombard [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)    Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Matthew 14:13-21 (English Standard Version) At that time: When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ...

  "We can live our lives on earth without faith . . . but there's a flatness to all of that. Life blossoms with faith. Life has meaning with faith. And you and I are called to find the yeast of the kingdom and work it into our lives."  "Another thing about yeast is that once it is in the dough, it's changed forever . . . once we have the yeast of the kingdom within us, we're changed forever. We can't take it out." I was watching a video by Msgr. James Vlaun (President/CEO of Catholic Faith Network) where he was reflecting on yeast and bread. He went on to talk about the yeast of the kingdom of God and how just a small amount of it can make a difference in our life.  Is your life animated by the yeast of the kingdom, by your faith, so that it raises up those around you? I am including the link to his video and I encourage you to watch it. https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video/2026-07-27-reflection-401  Pray for peace, joy, and an end to ...

This is going to be another comparatively-short one. Today I'm focusing on part of another step in those family property/estate/whatever arrangements I mentioned last week. Or, rather, on something that came up during the process.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (How, as a Catholic, I see marriage, a brief and personal look: starting with what a priest asked me.How, as a Catholic, I see marriage, a brief and personal look: starting with what a priest asked me.)

Girl with a Pearl Earring Vermeer [ Web Gallery of art ] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13: 45-46; Gospel). I n his Introduction to the Devout Life (1608) the mystic St Francis De Sales (1567-1622) wrote: 'Both now and in the past it has been customary for women to hang pearls from their ears; as Pliny observed, they gain pleasure from the sensation of the swinging pearls touching them. But I know that God's friend, Isaac, sent earrings to chaste Rebecca as a first token of his love. This leads me to think that this jewel has a spiritual meaning, namely that the first part of the body that a man wants, and which a woman must loyally protect, is the ear; no word or sound should enter it other than the sweet sound of chaste words, which are the oriental pearls of the gospel.' [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ir...

      I was listening to a few different reflections the other day when this twofold prayer came up: "Lord, let me praise and please you this day."  Wow.  I mean, Wow.  This little prayer says it all, and it's really not complicated. What does it mean to praise God?   We praise God by appreciating all that he is, and living humbly and gratefully, before him.  We praise God by adoring him. What does it mean to please God? We please God by wanting what he wants, loving how he loves, forgiving how he forgives (as best we can.) We please God by living a life of trust in him.  Ultimately, we please God by being the person he has called us to be, and by putting him before all else. So if you struggle with how to pray, or you get lost or bored in long, tangled words and thoughts, just pray: "Lord, let me praise and please you this day."  As you go through your day, offer everything you do to praise and please him. It's really that simple. ...

Sauk Centre weather and forecast Wednesday, July 15, 2026: briefly, hot. It's been quite a week. Smoke, probably from fires near the Minnesota-Canada border and elsewhere raised — or lowered — air quality here to hazardous levels. I've probably got the best respiratory system in the household, but even I was feeling less than perky. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A brief, for me, recap of this week: a family visit, and two science news articles.)

Sheaves of Wheat Vincent van Gogh [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Matthew 13:23-43   [Shorter version: 24-30] (English Standard Version) At that time: Jesus put another parable before the crowd, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” So the servants said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along...