May 21, 2023, Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A) Reflected in today’s readings is an interesting transition with regard to Jesus, that Peter and the other disciples go through from the time of the Last Supper until Pentecost. In the Gospel (Jn 17:1-11a), Jesus is finishing the Last Supper with the disciples, and he concludes with a prayer. This is the last time he will be able to speak to them as a group before his crucifixion. He raises his…..
May 14, 2023, Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) When we speak about God, without realizing it, we usually discuss God, the Father or Jesus, the Son of God. Somehow we tend to ignore the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who the Nicene Creed tells us proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is just that, a Spirit. Therefore, we have no way of picturing the Spirit. The Father we usually visualize as…..
April 30, 2023 (Year A) Fourth Sunday of Easter Today in the First Reading (Acts 2:14a, 36-41) we hear the final portion of Peter’s speech at Pentecost. It is a lecture on receiving forgiveness and finding the way to Jesus. It is an apt lead in to the Gospel where Jesus, too, speaks of avoiding sin and entering into his fold with the right behavior and actions. In the initial portions of Peter’s speech, Peter had introduced those in the…..
April 23, 2023 (Year A) Third Sunday of Easter The readings today demonstrate the importance of knowing and understanding sacred scripture, especially the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament, if one is to fully comprehend other verses or scripture passages being read. We see this in the First Reading, (Acts 2:14, 22-33) which is a speech by Peter delivered to the thousands of Jews and other nationalities concerning the events of Jesus. Peter addresses the crowd reminding them that although…..
April 16, 2023, Second Sunday of Easter Sunday (Year A) On this Second Sunday of Easter, we see the drastic change which has taken place in the disciples of Jesus after his resurrection. It begins in the Gospel (Jn. 20:19-31) on Easter Sunday, “the evening of the first day of the week.” The disciples have locked and hidden themselves away because they fear that the Jewish leaders will come to arrest them for being followers of Christ, who at this…..
April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday (Year A) One would think that most Christians, whether church goers or not, could give a brief summary of the events of Easter morning. The women proceed to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. When they arrive, they find the stone rolled away and the empty tomb. And they hurry back to tell their findings to the apostles. After this Jesus makes several appearances to disciples and followers. Well, this is indeed a…..
April 2, 2023, Palm Sunday (Year A) On this Palm Sunday 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 Jesus’ triumphant…..
March 26, 2023 (Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A) Today we hear two different stories about resurrection. Both reveal the type of love and compassion that God has for all His people. The First Reading is from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Eze. 37:12-14) who prophesied during the time of the Babylonian captivity. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Ezekiel, and he had a vision of the Israelites both in captivity and in Judah. They were living a…..
March 19, 2023 (Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A) Sometimes we may be very surprised at the type of people the Lord chooses to be His representatives. We see this in both readings for today. In the First Reading (1 Sm. 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a) the Lord sends the great judge and prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to choose the next king of Israel from the sons of a man named Jesse. When Samuel arrives Jesses presents seven sons to Samuel who…..
March 12, 2023 (Third Sunday of Lent, Year A) Water. Something we take for granted. If we are thirsty, we simply grab a cup from the faucet or open a bottle. But water, in fact, is one of the most important nutrients our body needs. In fact, the body requires a lot of water to maintain an internal temperature balance and keep cells alive. In general, a person can survive for about three days without water. We see the importance of water…..