Lisa Brenninkmeyer's Blog

Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 17:11–19

“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy …”[1]

These words may be familiar to us, as they are often prayed over us during Mass, so well-known that we could almost recite them in our sleep.

Yet, how often do we ponder what they actually mean?

This week’s Sunday gospel can shed some light for us.

In Luke 17, we encounter ten lepers who call out to Jesus for pity and m...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 17:5–10

Paper in one hand, rosary in the other, I was prepared to face Jesus in the sacrament of Penance. When the green light flashed on, I walked in, fell to my knees, asked for forgiveness, then began to list my sins: “I gossiped four times. I had critical thoughts six times. I was prideful one time.” The priest interrupted: “Just one time?” 

Hi, humility. Thanks for showing up.

We, masters of self-deception, tend to think we are better than we are. ...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 16:19-31

For much of September, I believe so many of our hearts have been heavy. There has been so much violence, so much loss. It seems as if nearly every day we have been reminded of how fragile life is, how quickly peace can be broken, and how much suffering surrounds us. 

In Sunday's gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. He exposes their attachment to wealth, and He warns them about the state of their hearts. Onc...

Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 16:1–13

What’s in your Amazon cart?

For some, this is a cute and funny icebreaker question. For me? A little terrifying.

Because if one could peek into my Amazon account, I’d be found out.

Not for anything scandalous, but for something far more revealing. If you really want to know what idols I’m tempted to place on the altar of my heart, all you’d have to do is scroll through that familiar site with the smile logo.

Now, in fairness, my actual Amaz...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 3:13–17

Dear Savers,

Hello! My name is Laura, and much to my daughter’s chagrin, I enjoy shopping at secondhand stores. There’s something about the unexpected discovery and thrill of the hunt that has me frequently picking and foraging through your dusty aisles, scouring the cluttered shelves for the diamond in the rough—that one hidden treasure. And boy, have I found treasures! In a recent visit, I uncovered not one, but two crucifixes on your shelves;...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 14:25–33

The subheading in our Bibles for this gospel passage reads, "The Cost of Discipleship," and before reading anything else on the page, that phrase alone should make us pause.

Jesus is about to tell us what it will cost us to follow Him. There will be a price. There will be sacrifice. Something will be required of us if we want to call ourselves a friend of Christ. 

By now, we might think we know what's coming. We've heard this before, right? We'...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 14:1,7–14

I never expected to learn "How to Host a Proper Dinner Party" from the Bible. (Although I did find "How to Best Remove the Fat of a Bull Sin-Offering" in Leviticus 4:8!)

Move over, Emily Post—Jesus is the next big etiquette influencer.

All kidding aside, in this Sunday's gospel, Jesus uses the familiar setting of a dinner party to teach us far more than etiquette. He offers us radical lessons in humility and hospitality.

On Humility: Quit the ...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 13:22–30

I spent last weekend on the bathroom floor, soaking my chickens’ feet in warm water and Epsom salts. Chicken Little acquired bumblefoot, a common bacterial infection, but without treatment, it can be fatal. With the location of the inflammation being on the bottom of her feet, my husband was curious: “How did you know she had bumblefoot?” The answer was easy: “I know my chickens.”

My husband knows information about the chickens: the breeds we s...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 12:49–53

When I was twenty-one, I was newly returned to the Church and on fire for the Lord. It was an amazing, beautiful, and exciting chapter of my faith. But I think in many ways, if I'm being honest, I was insufferable for my family to be around. Not because my family wasn't Catholic, but because what I often thought was zeal and piety was really just judgment, pridefulness, and scrupulosity.

One night, during a college break, my younger sister and ...

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 12:32–48

When I read the opening words of Sunday's gospel—“Fear not, little flock" (Luke 12:32 RSVCE)—I wondered how this blog hadn't landed in the lap of our dear friend and chicken aficionado, Laura Phelps. Undoubtedly, she would have had some beautiful wisdom about these tender words from our Lord and the lessons to be learned from a little flock of chickens. 

The image is so sweet and captivating that I was tempted to write about it myself. And thou...