Superior Priest

14Dec25 (25aA3) We sit with the Advent tension of the Christian life: already saved by grace, but not yet fully purified and ready for heaven. Using John the Baptist in prison—who seems to question, “Are you the one who is to come?”—we explore how faith can feel strained when the world still looks broken, and how Jesus answers not with theories but with signs: sight restored, the dead raised, good news preached to the poor. We consider two readings of John’s question—crisis of faith or a final act of humility to push his disciples toward Jesus—and we hear Advent’s practical call: be patient with ourselves and others, stop living on accusation, and learn John’s rule for holiness: “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

7Dec25 (25aA2) We look at what John the Baptist really means when he cries, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and how that “kingdom” is not just a distant heaven but God’s reign breaking into this world and into our own hearts. We explore prevenient grace and the strange mercy of a God who even gives us the desire to turn back to Him, the way liturgy (Ad orientem, Latin chants) trains our longing toward Christ’s coming, and why concrete acts of repentance—especially confession and daily Scripture—let us start living the Kingdom of Heaven here and now, not just someday after we die.

30Nov25 (25aA1) We explore what Jesus really means when He tells us to “stay awake” at the start of Advent, moving from tired midwatch and drowsy highway drives to the deeper problem of spiritual sleep. We talk about how Mass, confession, concrete Advent commitments (like a daily Examen), and even liturgical shifts—Ad orientem, the Advent wreath, fiddleback vestments, and simple Latin chants—can act like spiritual caffeine, jolting us back into watchfulness so we’re genuinely ready whenever the Lord comes.

23Nov25 (25cKing) Marking 100 years of the Feast of Christ the King, we look at why Pope Pius XI instituted it in 1925—amid collapsing monarchies, rising atheistic regimes, and the illusion that we can build peace without God. We explore how Jesus’ kingship is nothing like a democracy or a distant monarchy: his throne is the Cross, his rule is service, and his style of leadership looks more like “leaders eat last” than privilege and power. We’re invited to let Christ be King in our own hearts—especially in suffering—by rejecting sin, choosing love of God and neighbor, and uniting ourselves to the Good Thief’s humble plea: “Jesus, remember me.”

16Nov25 (25cO33). Hearing Jesus foretell wars, disasters, and persecution, we don’t chase date-setters. Instead, we resolve to live ready—so that if the world ended next week, we’d keep doing exactly what we should be doing today. We store up treasure in heaven, not just for retirement; persevere through trials that often purify and strengthen the Church; and trust Christ to give us the words when we must testify. We remember history (Jerusalem’s fall in A.D. 70) as a preview of final things, and we prepare daily—prayer, charity, fidelity—so that by perseverance we secure our lives.

9Nov25 (25Lateran) As we celebrate the Dedication of St. John Lateran—the Pope’s cathedral—we remember that holy places matter because God meets His people in real locations. Yet Christ also makes us living temples of the Holy Spirit through Baptism. Like Marines honoring Iwo Jima’s soil, we honor the Church’s sacred sites; but we honor even more the holiness God intends in us. We resolve to keep our “temple” clean, revere others as temples too, and journey toward the heavenly Temple where worship is fulfilled.

2Nov25 (25Souls). On All Souls Day, we remember that Christ wills to lose none and to raise us on the last day. We pray for the dead—trusting God’s mercy and the reality of purgatory’s purification—and we don’t rush to “canonize” loved ones at funerals. We offer Masses, seek indulgences, and practice simple prayers, knowing the Eucharist is the Church’s most powerful intercession. As we purify our own lives now, we help one another toward the fullness of heaven, confident that our prayers truly aid those who have gone before us.

19Oct25 (25cO29). From the persistent widow, we learn to pray without losing heart. We anchor our hope in Christ’s Resurrection, deepen it through Scripture and the witness of the saints, and live our purpose to love God and neighbor. We lean on community—like Moses supported by Aaron and Hur—especially Mary’s intercession (Memorare). Even when answers seem delayed, we keep asking, trusting that God is forming us as we persevere in faith.

12Oct25 (25cO28). We see Jesus heal ten lepers and learn that true wholeness comes when we return to give thanks. Like Naaman, we’re healed through simple, ordinary acts done in faith—Baptism’s cleansing, Confession’s renewal of conscience, and the Eucharist, which literally means “thanksgiving.” We resist sin’s numbing effect, practice daily gratitude, and thank God now for answered prayers, trusting that grateful hearts receive deeper healing and new life in Christ.

5Oct25 (25cO27). We ask the Lord to increase our faith and learn that even mustard-seed faith, lived with humility, can move mountains. We renounce entitlement, embrace our identity as unworthy servants who have only done our duty, and keep trusting God through both consolation and desolation. We commit to love of God and neighbor, persevere in prayer and the sacraments (Mass, Confession, the Rosary for peace), and let grace reorder our desires so we serve God—not ourselves.