June 22, 2024 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 16, 2024 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…..
June 2, 2024 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year B) After all the celebrations and feast days of this Easter season it may seem as if we are going backward in time with a Gospel reading about the Last Supper. But there is a very important reason for this as we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and its meaning for the covenant established by Jesus for the…..
May 26, 2024 The Feast of the Holy Trinity Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our faith. It is the belief that there are three distinct persons in one God, co-equal, co-divine, and fully united in will. This is a tradition which sets Christians apart from other faiths, like Judaism and Islam. These other religions sometimes accuse Christians of being polytheistic for this teaching, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church clarifies: “Christians…..
May 19, 2024 The Feast of Pentecost This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit to the disciples by God as promised by Jesus at the time of his Ascension. It is a story from Luke which is familiar to us because we hear it every year in the First Reading for this day (Acts 2:1-11). It takes place in Jerusalem at the time of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost where the disciples are…..
May 12, 2024 Seventh Sunday of Easter Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus. Traditionally this feast is observed forty days after Easter on Ascension Thursday and is considered to be a Holy Day of Obligation. However, most provinces now celebrate the Ascension on the Seventh Sunday of Easter so that more of the faithful can fulfill the obligation on this most holy day. The importance of this feast for the Church is demonstrated by the fact…..
May 5, 2024 Sixth Sunday of Easter The Gospel for this Sixth Sunday of Easter (Jn 15:9-17) is a continuation of the reading from last week where Jesus gave his followers a lesson on discipleship with the parable of the Vines and the Branches. With this metaphor, their key to success consisted of remaining close to Jesus, and thereby the Father, and to remember everything that he had taught them. As the passage continues today, Jesus adds another element for…..
April 28, 2024 Fifth Sunday of Easter Last Sunday we read about the Good Shepherd, an image that Jesus borrowed from the Old Testament to describe his relationship to his disciples. This weekend we see Jesus borrows another metaphor to instruct his disciples. It is known as the Vine and the Branches. This image was used quite often in the Old Testament to refer to the people of Israel who symbolized a vine, or vineyard, with God as the vine…..
April 21, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Easter At first glance there does not seem to be much in common between the readings for today. In his speech to the people in the book of Acts, Peter talks about a cornerstone that has been rejected by the builders. And in the Gospel from John, Jesus compares himself to a shepherd guarding and leading his sheep. One might wonder what a cornerstone, or foundational stone of the Temple, might have in common…..
April 14, 2024 Third Sunday of Easter Both the First Reading and the Gospel for today describe an event following the Resurrection of Jesus. One of the things they have in common is a reference to the scriptures from the Old Testament which were fulfilled by Christ. In particular, they describe Christ’s suffering before his death as something that had been revealed in the prophets and the psalms. This aspect of Christ’s passion, in fact, has a firm basis in…..