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…..
March 5 (Second Sunday of Lent, Year A) Today we get to witness the meaning of the word theophany. It is a visible manifestation to humankind of God. It usually occurs when the Lord wants to capture the attention of a particular follower and He does it in a most, unexpected and unusual manner. Oftentimes it can only appear as if a miracle is occurring, especially when the Lord uses the phenomenon of nature, such as fire, thunder, or a…..
February 26, 2023 (First Sunday of Lent, Year A) Today is the first Sunday of Lent (Year A). The Church invites us to celebrate Jesus Christ the second Adam, who by the power of the Holy Spirit overcame temptation and sin. Through his obedience to the Father’s will, Christ restored the world completing the need for salvation for all people. Today’s First Reading (Gen. 2:7-9; 3:1-7) recounts the beginning of our need for salvation with the story of Adam and…..
February 19, 2023 (Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A) In the Gospel for today (Mt. 5:38-48) Jesus continues with his Sermon on the Mount. He takes the opportunity to elaborate on his teaching of the Law. For as he explained last week, he came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, that is clarify and perfect it. Last week Jesus used many examples of antithesis, or contrasts, to describe forbidden behavior. He used these to explain the…..
February 12, 2023 (Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A) Today’s Gospel from Matthew is paired with a wisdom passage from the ancient author Sirach (Sir 15:15-20). Together they teach us how to choose right from wrong in the process of keeping the commandments. Sirach, also known as Ben Sira, was a sage or wisdom writer who lived and wrote in Jerusalem during the second century BC. He was thoroughly imbued with love for the wisdom tradition, and also for…..
February 5, 2023 (Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) After learning about last week’s blessings of the Beatitudes, this week’s readings teach us how to share what we have received in the name of Christ. In the First Reading (Is. 58:7-10) Isaiah is speaking to the people who have been or are going to be released from captivity in Babylon. Now that they have finally achieved that which they longed for – to return to their homeland – they…..
January 29, 2023, (Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) When Jesus traveled around Judah and Galilee he spoke often about “the Law.” This would be the numerous laws given to Moses by God at the time of the Exodus. Many times, it appeared to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was contradicting the law, but this was not the case. Jesus himself said he came not to abolish but to fulfill the law. By this he meant to perfect and…..
January 22, 2023 (Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) Once again in this cycle of readings we find a passage from the prophet Isaiah (Is 8:23—9:3) paired with one from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 4:12-23). Having a community largely made up of Jews, Matthew used many of the Jewish scriptures from the Old Testament to demonstrate that Jesus was the messiah expected by the Jewish people. The same is being done here. Today’s portion of Isaiah recalls when…..