August 15, 2021 The Feast of the Assumption (Year B) Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. It is the tradition of our Church that Mary, the mother of Jesus was assumed bodily into heaven after her death. She was immaculately conceived, that is born without sin, and so holy that God spared her body from the corruption of the grave. This feast was declared an official dogma of the Catholic Church in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Although…..
August 8, 2021 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) This is the third week now that we are reading from the Bread of Life Discourse in the Gospel of John (Jn. 6) and associating it with a figure from the Old Testament. In the first week (Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), it was a comparison between Elisha the prophet (2Kgs. 4:42-44) and Jesus (Jn. 6:1-15), who both perform a miracle, multiplying a scant amount of bread to feed a…..
August 1, 2021 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) This Sunday’s Gospel is a continuation of the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6) from last week’s reading. It is again a comparison between Jesus and a prominent figure from the Old Testament concerned with feeding the people. But this time it is Moses and the miraculous bread from heaven. As we meet the Israelites in this portion of the story of the Exodus (Exod. 16:2-4, 12-15), they have narrowly…..
July 25, 2021 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) An interesting thing happens on this Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year B in the Three-year cycle of the lectionary. We take a break from the near continuous readings from the Gospel of Mark and turn to the Gospel of John for a few weeks. In particular we read from one of the most important passages of John, which is the Bread of Life Discourse found in Chapter Six……
July 18, 2021 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) There are many symbolic images found in the prophetic books of Old Testament which quite frequently carry through to the New Testament, especially in the parables of Jesus. One of these is the image of God as a vine and Israel as the branches or a vineyard. Another is God as the Bridegroom and Israel as a bride. A third is one that we hear about today, the Good Shepherd…..
July 11, 2021 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Last Sunday we looked at the way in which Jesus functioned as a prophet in comparison to Ezekiel from the Old Testament and the ways in which they lacked recognition from people of Israel who refused to heed their messages. Today’s readings follow a similar pattern as we meet the prophet Amos in his prophetic role, as well as the disciples being sent on a journey by the Lord to…..
July 4, 2021 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) In the Gospel for this Sunday (Mk. 6:1-6) Jesus refers to himself as a prophet. When we hear the word prophet we think of well-known names from the Old Testament, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. One might wonder what the ministry of Jesus, as the Son of God and Messiah, might have in common with the type of missions that we associate with the other prophets of the Bible. But…..
June 27, 2021 Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) The topic for today’s readings is not a pleasant one – death. It is a fact of life, something unavoidable. Every person experiences it one way or another, especially considering the fact that we are mortal beings. But, as always, even with such a bleak subject, the Author of life has the final say. The First Reading for today gives the explanation for this plight of humanity. It comes from…..
June 20, 2021 Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) When Jesus first began traveling with and preaching to his disciples, they knew there was something special about him. In fact, they had dropped everything they were doing without hesitation to follow him. But even with his authoritative teaching and many signs, the disciples were still unsure of his true nature. Although identified as the Son of God at his Baptism, they did not yet realize that he was, in…..
June 13, 2021 Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) The message from today’s readings may seem obscure at first glance. This is because both passages are filled with hidden meanings in the form of metaphors and parables. Nonetheless, if we look at the symbolism carefully, we find that they hold a deep message about God’s love for His people and the workings of His church in the world. In the First Reading (Ezek. 17:22-24) we hear the Lord speaking…..