Deacon Randy Kiel returns to the Catholic Morning Show for his weekly preview of Sunday's Mass readings, this week unpacking the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. He walks through Ezekiel 33's call to be a "watchman" who speaks God's truth without compromise, and Romans 13's teaching that love, not fear, is the fulfillment of the law. Deacon Randy and Bo Bonner also reflect on the Responsorial Psalm's call to soften rather than harden our hearts to God's voice.
Deacon Randy Kiel joins Bo Bonner and Deacon Mark Campbell, as he does every Thursday, to preview the upcoming Sunday's Mass readings — this week, the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (full readings at USCCB.org).
Deacon Randy begins with Ezekiel 33:7–9, where the Lord appoints the prophet a "watchman for the house of Israel," charged with speaking hard truths on God's behalf regardless of the cost. He applies this call to modern evangelism, asking listeners whether they're willing to be a watchman for the Gospel of Christ — someone who names the truth in love rather than staying silent.
Turning to the second reading, Romans 13:8–10, Deacon Randy and Bo discuss how Paul's teaching that "love is the fulfillment of the law" would have stunned first-century Romans, for whom law meant control, punishment, and the threat of persecution. Instead, God's law is fulfilled through love of neighbor.
Bo closes with a reflection on the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95), noting that its opening line — "if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts" — is better understood as "since," turning a conditional warning into a daily invitation to soften one's heart to God.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
#SundayGospel #DeaconRandyKiel #CatholicMorningShow #IowaCatholicRadio #Ezekiel #BookOfRomans #SundayReadings #OrdinaryTime #CatholicPodcast #CatholicFaith