Fr. Kubicki 2 Minute Prayer Reflections

In today’s gospel from the beginning of the second chapter of Mark’s gospel, we see the image of Jesus healing a paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof because of the great crowd at the door.

Sometimes people think of the Church as one human institution among others, and they fall into the temptation that human ingenuity and personnel management, and public relations, will solve the Church’s problems.

The Bible teaches a lot about prayer. For example, in the story of the call of Samuel which can be found in chapter 3 of the first book of Samuel, we see Samuel’s mentor Eli teaching him the simple prayer: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

After the season of Advent and Christmas, the feast of The Holy Family, Mary Mother of God, The Epiphany and the Baptism of our Lord, we are now back to ordinary time on the Church calendar.

What was the greatest day of your life? If you’re like most people, you probably didn’t think of the day you were baptized, and that’s probably because you were too young to remember it. Having just celebrated the feast of the Baptism of our Lord,

Today is the last day of the Christmas season and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The second person of the Blessed Trinity became human, shared our human nature, all in order to raise it up.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan. As we approach this feast, we should reflect on this event in the life of Christ and think about what it is and what it means to us.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St Raymond of Peñafort. He is know as the father of the Church’s law or Canon Law. St. Raymond was born in the year 1175 and by the age of 20, he was a professor of philosophy.

Today, the Church honors a humble brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross; St. Andre Bessette. He’s a good example of how you don’t have to do big things to become holy.

In the Church’s Calendar, these are some days to honor some of the saints who lived and worked in the United States. Today we honor St. John Neumann, an Eastern European immigrant of the 19th century.

Today, the Church celebrates  the feast of the first native born United States citizen to be canonized a saint – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was canonized by Pope St. Pius VI in 1975.

Names are important. When we are growing up and people make fun of our names, it hurts. In a sense our names are ourselves. That’s certainly the case for Jesus. Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany and we remember how Jesus was manifest. That’s what the word Epiphany means, manifest to the three Mahi who visited from the East.

Today we celebrate the first day of the new year. In the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. As we enter this new year, we pray that our heavenly mother will cover us in her love and keep us and our families holy,

As we come to the end of the 2021 calendar year, a year that has continued to be very challenging, because of the pandemic but also because of everything going on in the country and throughout the world, we need to continue to pray and put our trust in...

As we prepare for the coming of the new year, it is goo to pray and discern what resolution we should make for the upcoming year. Adding prayer to our daily lives will help us to keep focus on all other responsibilities during our year.

Sometimes people think that if you do the right thing, and try to love God above all and your neighbor as yourself, everything should go well for you. but Jesus and the martyrs show us that this isn’t necessarily true.

According to the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, when the three Magi or kings came to find the newborn king of the Jews, they went to Jerusalem and talked to King Herod.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John the Apostle. He was also called the apostle whom Jesus loved and stayed with the Blessed Mother at the foot of the Cross when Jesus died.

Today is the Sunday after Christmas when we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. Since we are following the gospel of St. Luke this year, we hear in today’s gospel how Jesus stayed behind at the Temple when he was with his parents on pilgrimage in J...

Today is the most solemn celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The world needed a Savior after mankind fell in to sin. The greatest gift ever  is that God sent His only son Jesus to redeem mankind.

Amidst all of the preparations and celebrations, hopefully most of us have found some quiet time to reflect during this Advent, on the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today is the second to last day of the Advent O Antiphons. “O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid every sad division cease, and be thyself our Prince of Peace.

Today’s O Antiphon is: “O Come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer, Our spirits by thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.”

Today’s O Antiphon is: “O come thou key of David come, and open wide our heavenly home, make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. This verse comes from chapter 22 of the book of the prophet Isaiah.

In these last days of Advent, the Church gives us some beautiful verses to increase our longing for the coming celebration of the birth of our Savior on Christmas. Today’s O Antiphon is: “O come thou rod of Jesse’s stem, from every foe deliver them.

Today’s O Antiphon is: “O come thou holy Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height, in ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe.” This verse is a reminder of the old testament scene when God gave the ten commandments to Mo...

As we begin our final preparations for Christmas, the Church gives us some beautiful poetic texts called the O Antiphons. They appear in the popular Advent song titled; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

One of the great figures during the Advent season and one whom we meet in today’s gospel at Mass is St. John the Baptist. Today’s gospel from the 7th chapter of St. Luke has Jesus talking to the crowds about John who was a cousin of his.

Advent is filled with so much anticipation and hope for true peace in our world and in our families. This peace we seek can only be found in the heart of Jesus who’s birth we celebrate on Christmas.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John of the Cross. St. John was a Carmelite who wanted to leave his order so he could pursue an even stricter life of contemplation and penance.  St. Theresa of Avila convinced him to stay and to be a refor...

Today, the Church honors St. Lucy, a holy virgin and martyr of the 4th century. She is the patron saint of those with eye problems because her name is derived from the Latin word for light.

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin word Gaudete, is an imperative – a command. It means Rejoice! because Christmas is near.

This is a time of year when folks have all sorts of family traditions which bring the pleasure of anticipation and familiarity. The same is true for our Church, our Christian family which has many traditions.

The season of Advent helps us prepare for the beauty of Christmas. Our Lady is a great model and guide to help us through this time of waiting for this most blessed feast.

In Mexico, on this day in 1531, a Our Lady appeared out of nowhere to a Native American named Juan Diego. She told him that she wanted a Church built at that sight and a few days later she gave him a sign to show the bishop,

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the The Immaculate Conception, a day when we celebrate how our Immaculate mother Mary was preserved from sin.

The saints often have fascinating stories and St. Ambrose is no exception. It was through his preaching that the great St. Augustine renounced his heresies and wild living and became a Christian.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was one of the bishops present at the first ecumenical councils in Nicaea which, the council which decreed that Jesus was both God and man.

The readings at Mass today talk about road building. Today’s gospel talking about John the Baptist, says “every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. Winding roads will be made straight and rough roads shall be made smo...

On this first Saturday of the month, ad ay on which we traditionally honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her Immaculate Heart, we are also celebrating the memory of St. John of Damascus who was very devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Baptism makes all of us missionaries, called to bring the good news through word and deed to people of every place and time. Some people are called to leave their homes and to go among the people of a different culture.

Advent is a time when we learn how to prepare for Christmas. A great way to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, is to meditate on the third Joyful Mystery: the Nativity.

Today, the Church honors St. Edmond Campion. There was a time in the 16th and 17th century when many in England were persecuted and even killed for their Catholic Faith.

Today is the feast of one of the apostles, who according to the gospel of St. John, was the first apostle who Jesus called. He is the brother of St. Peter and his name is St. Andrew.

Many people, including some Catholics may wonder where the Church gets Advent from. Advent comes from the Latin word meaning ‘coming.’ We are preparing ourselves for the birthday of Jesus. His coming among humanity to share our lives.

Every day is a gift from God that we can offer back to God, making a prayer of offering of all the prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of the day in the morning offering.

On this day in the year 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the Sister of Charity named Catherine Labouré. Our Lady asked Catherine to make a medal which we now know as The Miraculous Medal.

According to most reports, today is the biggest shopping day of the year, and retail stores and malls, parking lots and roads leading to them will be jammed with shoppers.

Today in the United States, we are celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. It’s been said that two of the most important things for children to learn, are the words please and thank you. The same is in our relationship with God.

Today is the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs of the 19th century – Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions. One of these companions was a French priest and missionary, Jean Theophane Venard.

Today, the Church honors Blessed Miguel Pro who was killed in Mexico in 1927 for being a Catholic priest and ministering to the faithful in Secret. His final words were; “Viva Christo Rey,” which translated is “Long live Christ the King.”

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Cecilia, an early Church martyr. According to tradition, as she lie dying from the effects of torture and a botched execution, she sang God’s praises.