November 1, 2023 Solemnity of All Saints (Year A) Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day commemorating the blessed men and women who dedicated their lives to God in special and unique ways. Many of these holy saints, apostles, and martyrs, are unknown to us, but a lot of them, we also know specifically by name. They are honored for their charitable good works, theological accomplishments, visionary abilities, and especially martyrdom. Many of them have also had posthumous miracles attributed to…..
May 7, 2023, Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A) In today’s readings we can notice how the disciples had matured to apostles, from students of Christ to leaders of the Church. In the Gospel (Jn. 14:1-12) we can see the immaturity of the disciples using Thomas and Philip as an example. Jesus is speaking to the disciples. He has been telling them how, in a short time, he will be going to the Father. He is speaking, of course, of…..
November 27, 2022, First Sunday of Advent (Year A) Our readings for today, the First Sunday of Advent, contain a common theme dealing with preparedness. This should be no surprise as this is the season that we spend “preparing” for the arrival of Christ. We celebrate the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago. We celebrate that he remains with us today through the Church and through other people. And we prepare for his future coming at a time no…..
October 2, 2022, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today’s readings are about skepticism and doubt. Emotions which no person can deny having many times in their life. And the majority of the time, when these emotions are within the realm of faith, they can be the most difficult to reconcile. In the First Reading from the book of Habakkuk (Hab. 1:2-3; 2:2-4) we can sense the palpability of the prophet’s frustration. Habakkuk prophesied during the time of the…..
December 26, 2021 Today we celebrate the Holy Family in a special way. Bonded in love and in obedience to the Lord of life, reflecting the holiness of the Holy Family, centered on Jesus. By the grace of union with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, family life – with its challenges and joys – becomes a path to holiness. The reading from the book of Sirach sets the tone. God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority…..
July 12, 2020 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The readings for today contain a common theme, one which uses a metaphor to compare the sowing of a seed to the spread of the word of God. The first reference is from the prophet Isaiah, one of the most influential prophets throughout the history of Israel in whose name prophecy extends for several decades. The Book of Isaiah is believed to be the work of two or three different authors. The…..
July 5, 2020 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Among a list of words to describe Jesus one might find adjectives such as compassionate, forgiving, kind, loving, merciful, or righteous. The readings for today offer another example, one that we might not consider for the divine Son of God. It is the word “humble.” We hear it first in the reading from the prophet Zechariah (Zech. 9:9-10). This book was written during the postexilic period in biblical history when the Israelites…..
Last week we heard the familiar story of Adam and Eve and the original sin which led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This story is among many found in Genesis 1-11 which address the origins of the world and reveal certain fundamental truths about creation and the nature of humanity. From these narratives we find that God installs humans in a special manner as dignified beings formed in God’s image. Yet the human race falls into sinfulness…..