Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18; Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10 THE OBEDIENCE OF ABRAHAM AND JESUS God tested Abraham by asking not for an ordinary sacrifice, which would have been a partial burning with the meat divided between God and the people and eaten by those who sacrificed, but for…

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 9:8-15; Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15 PEOPLE OF THE COVENANT If there is one word that stands out in today’s readings, it is “covenant.” God’s faithfulness and goodness serve as examples to us of how to live. Genesis tells the story of Noah and of God’s covenant not only…

Sunday’s Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46; Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45 GIVE GOD THE GLORY A curious feature of the first half of Mark’s Gospel is the pattern of Jesus working a miracle, then telling the recipient of the miracle to keep still about it. Many theories have been offered: Mark is setting…

Sunday’s Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalms 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39 TIRELESS DISCIPLESHIP The stories we’ve been hearing these weeks come from the very first chapter of Mark, and they show us the public ministry of Jesus in its infancy. Today’s account shows some of the strain or adjustment of his new…

Sunday’s Readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28 TRUE PROPHETS In Deuteronomy today we hear that God’s very words will fill the mouth of a true prophet, but a false prophet will, in a manner of speaking, put mere mortal words into God’s mouth. In Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus teaching…

Sunday’s Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 THE DEMANDS OF DISCIPLESHIP Today we encounter readings that already have a Lenten feel about them. Nineveh undergoes a forty-day fast, the psalmist reminds us that God alone can show sinners the way, Paul shows us how fleeting the things and events…

Sunday’s Readings: 1 Samuel 3:3B-10, 19; Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 6:13C-15A, 17-20; John 1:35-42 THE LAMB OF GOD “Behold the Lamb of God!” We hear this phrase every Sunday at Mass, but there’s a good chance that many Roman Catholics do not know who in the Bible originally spoke it. The phrase…

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 WATCHFUL CONFIDENCE We 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…