Fourth Sunday of Advent
LUKE 1:26-38 (2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps. 89:2-5, 27, 29; Romans 16:25-27) Today’s gospel is Luke’s story of the annunciation to Mary. A previous annunciation had taken place – to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were elde...Read full story »
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Third Sunday of Advent
There are two parts to this Sunday’s gospel. The first part proclaims God’s approval of John the Baptizer’s mission , “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” This might be called the positive side of the proclamation. We know that there was an ongoing disp...Read full story »
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Second Sunday of Advent
MARK 1:1-8 (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85:9-14; 2 Peter 3:8-14) The opening verse of the Gospel of Mark: “The beginning of the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ, Son of God….” Some ancient manuscripts of Mark omit the title “Son of God,” thus a debate as...Read full story »
Monday, December 01, 2014
First Sunday of Advent
The Gospel of the first Sunday of Advent in Cycles A, B, C is always taken from the last dis-course of Jesus in Matthew, or Mark, or Luke. This year we have gospel readings of Cycle B, the Gospel of Mark. Mark’s version of Jesus’ last discourse takes up all of chapter 13. This chapter i...Read full story »
Monday, November 24, 2014
Christ the King
MATTHEW 25:31-46 (Ezekiel 34:11-12; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28) Pope Pius XI in 1925 instituted the Feast of Christ the King as a response to secularism and atheism. Originally this feast was celebrated on the last Sunday of October. When Pope Paul VI, 1963-1978, reformed the liturgical cale...Read full story »
Monday, November 17, 2014
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE A MATTHEW 25:14-30 (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) Matthew constructed fivemajor discourses or sermons attributed to Jesus. By composing five discourses he compares Jesus to Moses, since the first five boo...Read full story »
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
JOHN 2:13-22 (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17) When the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica falls on a Sunday, it replaces the Ordinary Sunday. A bit of history: St. John Lateran ranks first among the great basilicas of Rome. People may be unaware that...Read full story »
Monday, November 03, 2014
Commemoration of all the faithful departed
JOHN 6:37-40 (Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11) Since 1970, the feast which commemorates all the faithful departed takes precedence over the Ordinary Sunday. This year All Souls Day replaces Ordinary Sunday 31A. The choice of November 2 for this commemoration dates...Read full story »
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 22:34-40 (Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10) In a series of confrontations with religious authorities in Jerusalem, Jesus first astounded a delegation of Pharisees and partisans of the Herod family who were rulers of parts of Palestine through ap...Read full story »
Monday, October 20, 2014
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
MATTHEW 22:15-21 (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b) In the Gospel of Matthew the context of this reading is part of the final week of Jesus’ life. He is in Jerusalem. He has been publicly and royally proclaimed. This created a dangerous situation with the possibility of ri...Read full story »
Monday, October 13, 2014
