October 30, 2022, Thirtieth-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) The story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, although not intended to be a scientifically historical account of the evolution of the earth, contains some details which cannot be disputed as being factual. One of these is that everything God has created is identified as being good. Throughout the narrative, God sees the work of His hands – the sky, the water under the basin, the earth, the…..
October 23, 2022, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings provide a lot of insight into the importance of humility if one desires to live a Christian lifestyle. The first of these is found in the reading from the book of Sirach (Sir 35:12-14, 16-18), one of the less familiar wisdom writings of the Old Testament. This book was composed by a Jewish scribe named Yeshua [Jesus], son of Eleazar, son of Sira, sometime in the second century…..
October 16, 2022, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings provide us with wise advice concerning persistence in prayer. It begins with Moses in the First Reading from Exodus (Exod. 17:8-13). The setting is the time period after the escape from Egypt when the Israelites, with the help of the Lord and Moses, fled their imprisonment from slavery and then wandered the desert around Mt. Sinai for forty years. For this entire time God remained with, guided, and…..
October 9, 2022, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings from 2Kings (2 Kgs. 5:14-17) and the Gospel of Luke (Lk. 17:11-19) both deal with the ancient skin disease known as leprosy. This was a very serious disease, very contagious and potentially fatal. The physical ramifications were horrendous, attacking the body, leaving sores, missing fingers, missing toes, and damaged limbs. There was no hope for a leper. Nothing short of a miracle could bring a cure. It was…..
October 2, 2022, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings are about skepticism and doubt. Emotions which no person can deny having many times in their life. And the majority of the time, when these emotions are within the realm of faith, they can be the most difficult to reconcile. In the First Reading from the book of Habakkuk (Hab. 1:2-3; 2:2-4) we can sense the palpability of the prophet’s frustration. Habakkuk prophesied during the time of the…..
September 25, 2022, Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings are a warning against the impact that excessive wealth can have on our lives. And as so often happens Jesus has a parable to address this issue. We hear it first in the reading from Amos (Am. 6:1a, 4-7), a prophet who preached in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the 8th century BC. Amos called attention to the many sins that the kings and the people were…..
September 18, 2022, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today we learn a lesson about the place of wealth in our lives, and not letting money and possessions be the guide to how we live. The message from Amos in the First Reading (Am. 8:4-7) is rather clear. However, in the Gospel (Lk 16:1-13) Jesus teaches this to us in a parable which seems a bit confusing. Amos was a prophet who preached in Israel around 800 BC, during…..
September 11, 2022, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today we hear a number of stories which reveal to us the magnitude of forgiveness granted to us by our Heavenly Father. These parables demonstrate that He is a loving God who offers forgiveness and acceptance to sinners in even the most tenuous of situations. It begins first with Moses and the reading from Exodus (Ex. 32:7-11, 13-14). This is a story which occurs after the Lord, along with Moses,…..
September 4, 2022, Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings are about wisdom, about knowing the way of the Lord and acting accordingly if we are to attain salvation. Of course, this is something which is not easy to understand and do as humans. We begin with a prayer from King Solomon in the book of Wisdom (Wis 9:13-18b). At one point in Israel’s history the people demanded that their leader, prophet, and judge, Samuel, appoint for them…..
August 28, 2022, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings are a lesson in humility. Perhaps one of the most difficult human traits to emulate. It has been one of the fallible characteristics of humanity since the beginning of time; since the time of Adam and Eve. Placed in a beautiful garden with all of the necessities of life, Adam and Eve had only one restriction, that is not to eat from the tree of life. But they…..