February 25, 2024 Second Sunday of Lent (Year B) In last week’s readings we saw the way in which the covenant God made with His people at the time of Abraham was completed and fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus. This same theme appears again in the readings for this week although it may not seem readily apparent. In fact, when we look at the readings for this Second Sunday of Lent, we find what appears to be…..
February 18, 2024 First Sunday of Lent (Year B) As we begin our Lenten journey on this first Sunday of the season, we are reminded by the readings that it is a time of repentance. We see it in the Noah story where the earth and its inhabitants are cleansed by the great flood. Some see this story as a prefigurement of the repentance offered through Baptism (1Pt 3:21). We also hear about repentance from Jesus in the Gospel when,…..
February 11, 2024 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) In the Gospel reading from Mark for today (Mk. 1:40-45) we see Jesus continuing his healing ministry throughout the land of Galilee as he encounters a leper who seeks to be healed. It is a passage which demonstrates quite well the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But more so, it is a story which holds a mysterious theme of secrecy. The leper in the story kneels…..
February 4, 2024 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) As we proceed through the readings for Ordinary Time in Year B, we continue to see one of the unique, literary aspects of the Gospel of Mark. Being the shortest of the gospels, the stories of Mark are more or less strung together with very little narrative in between. This makes Mark’s Gospel very fast- paced, filled with a lot of action happening in a very short period. We can…..
January 28, 2024 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) The beauty and depth of God’s word in scripture can be seen in the infinite number of ways various passages can be interpreted. They can be viewed with an historical critical method, unpacking them according to genre, historical circumstances of the specific time period, and the author’s intention for the original audience. A second way to interpret is a moral approach, from a standpoint of sin and grace, as well…..
January 21, 2024 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) This weekend we have Mark’s version of the call of the first apostles (Mk. 1:14-20) which we read last week from John. We hear about Andrew, with his brother Simon, and also John, the son of Zebedee, this time mentioned specifically by name, along with his brother James. We see again how readily they respond to the call of Jesus. They simply abandon their nets and follow him (Mk. 1:18)……
January 14, 2024 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) This weekend we see a common theme among the readings consisting of the call of certain people to the service of God. This call or commissioning of a person for a particular task is a type of story which is commonly found in the Bible. For example, in the book of Exodus, Moses encounters God at the burning bush and is told he will lead the rescue of the Israelites…..
December 24, 2023 Fourth Sunday of Advent At first glance the link between the readings for this Fourth Sunday of Advent seems readily apparent. In the First Reading from 2Samuel (2 Sam. 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14a, 16) God promises King David that he will establish for him an everlasting dynasty which will give rise to a special heir who will become like a son to God. And in the Gospel from Luke (Lk. 1:26-38), we find the familiar scene where the…..
November 12, 2023 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Today’s readings offer us a description of what it is like to have wisdom and how to use wisdom, or good judgment, when it comes to awaiting the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. The First Reading is taken from one of the less well-known books of the Old Testament, the book of Wisdom (Wis. 6:12-16). Although often written in the name of Solomon, this work is the composition of…..
October 29, 2023 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) It would be safe to assume that most people, whether familiar with the Old Testament or not, have heard the story of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. These are the passages where we find the “Law of Moses,” or divine precepts given by God to Moses and the people of Israel so that they might learn to…..