Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10; Acts 10:34-38; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 BAPTISMAL DEATH AND RESURRECTION As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we also honor our own baptism as our initiation into the Christian life and community. In the Gospel, the baptism of Jesus, with his immersion and then emergence from…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 JOURNEY TOWARD GOD In our celebration of the Epiphany, two interwoven themes are present in the readings today. God is beginning something new, and God gathers all of humanity to participate. For Isaiah, God’s bright light, manifested in the people of…
Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalms 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:41-52 FAMILY LIFE Christmas celebrates the Incarnation, the “enfleshment” of God as a human person. In Jesus, God is bodily present in the human story. Today we honor the Holy Family, helping us to see that God is active in daily family life. God…
Sunday’s Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 REJOICE! The prophetic writings we hear in today’s scriptures call us to rejoice and celebrate the goodness of God. Zephaniah, Isaiah, Saint Paul, and John the Baptist in Luke’s Gospel all follow the rich tradition of the Biblical prophets, a tradition that reaches full…
Sunday’s Readings: Baruch 5:1-9; Psalms 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6 A DEEP CHANGE OF HEART When John proclaimed a baptism of repentance, as today’s Gospel relates, he called people to a deep change of heart. For John the Baptist, repentance was not simply regret for past failings, but a commitment to orient…
Sunday’s Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalms 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 WATCHFUL CONFIDENCEWe the Church enter into Advent and the new liturgical year with a call for a watchful confidence. Our readings were originally addressed to communities undergoing great loss and confusion. Jeremiah speaks confidently of God fulfilling the ancient promises…
Sunday’s Readings: Daniel 7:13-14; Psalms 93:1, 1-2, 5; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37 CHRIST, THE KINGThe selection from the book of Daniel presented in today’s first reading was part of an attempt to weave a vision of ultimate success for the Jews under persecution. Exactly whom the author had in mind when he refers to “one like…
Sunday’s Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Psalms 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30 GOD’S REIGN By pointing to the end times, today’s readings speak to the coming reign of God, when God will make all things new. In Christ, this time has already begun. We, by our energized watchfulness, can further God’s reign.…