June 12, 2022, The Most Holy Trinity (Year C) Today is the celebration of the Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our faith – one God in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We hear mention of the Trinity quite frequently, probably most of us on a daily basis when we make the sign of the cross, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”…..
June 5, 2022, Pentecost Sunday (Year C) Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by Jesus on his disciples as the conclusion of the Paschal Mystery and the beginning of the Church. When looking at the lectionary, one can see that this is a unique feast because of the options of readings to choose from. In fact, Pentecost has a set of readings that serve as a vigil for the Saturday evening Mass, similar…..
May 29, 2022, The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C) For the most part the readings for Mass in the lectionary follow a standard format with a First Reading from the Old Testament containing a theme related to the Gospel. However, during the Easter season the First Reading comes from the Acts of the Apostles with narratives concerning the early Church. Today’s readings are quite unique in that the First Reading from the book of Acts (Acts 1:10-11) is a…..
May 22, 2022, Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C) After the period of the Reformation many of the Protestant denominations adapted a policy of sola scriptura, meaning if a particular practice was not found in scripture it should not be a custom of the Church. They even adjusted the sacramental rites down to two – Baptism and the Eucharist – because they believed that the remaining sacraments had no basis in scripture. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, did…..
May 15, 2022, Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C) They say that a picture paints a thousand words. And although there may not be a thousand words behind the picture that Jesus paints with the Gospel for today, there is definitely more than what is presented in this short passage than one might expect. The scene depicted is the Last Supper in the Gospel of John (Jn. 13:31-33a, 34-35). Judas has just left the dinner so that he might turn…..
May 8, 2022, Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) Obviously, the Bible passages we read during the Easter season deal mainly with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. These events of the Pascal Mystery are the basis for our Christian faith and the substance of our salvation. However, many of the narratives also emphasize the culpability of the Jewish people and the prospect of their salvation in light of the persecution of Jesus and his death. The question then becomes…..
May 1, 2022, Third Sunday of Easter (Year C) In today’s Gospel we see vestiges of the Last Supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples. We know that the Last Supper was a Passover celebration by considering the following exchange between Jesus and his disciples. He sent out Peter and John, instructing them, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover. When you go into the city, a man will meet you. Follow him into the house that…..
April 24, 2022, Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy (Year C) It can be difficult to understand why the twelve men chosen by Jesus to be his closest followers are sometimes called disciples and sometimes called apostles. It might seem like the two titles are interchangeable. But they are not. In fact, the two titles are very different, almost opposite in meaning. A disciple is like a student, learning from a teacher or someone of authority. And an…..
April 17, 2022, Easter Sunday (Year C) In the readings for this Easter Sunday, we meet some of the most prominent people of the Bible, those who are the most well-known to us. These include Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, and the elusive “Beloved Disciple.” It is the witness account of these disciples, and others like them, which helped to form what we know as “Christianity” today. In the First Reading from the book of Acts (Acts 10:34a, 37-43), we hear…..
April 10, 2022, Palm Sunday (Year C) On this Palm Sunday of Lent, we hear about the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. While riding on a colt the people and disciples who are present applaud Jesus as he rides, laying their cloaks on the road and shouting words of praise. They proclaim him as king and offer glory to him in the name of the Lord. However, this Palm Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday. After hearing of…..