Sunday’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121122.cfmIsaiah 35:1-6,10; Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 THE ONE FOR WHOM OUR HEARTS LONG Put yourself in the scene of today’s Gospel passage. John the Baptist is in prison. He has heard stories of what Jesus is doing, and wants reassurance that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. John’s disciples and…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 ARMONY Have you ever known a moment when, just for a brief instant, you felt that all was right with the world? It is just such a moment, stretched into eternity, that the writer of Isaiah describes in today’s first reading: the…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44 PEOPLE OF THE LIGHT We are called to reflect the light of God’s love through the ways in which we live our lives. Imagine the impact if each of us took this call to heart, every day, at home, work,…
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3; Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5; Col 1:12-20; Lk 23:35-43 THE TRUE KINGSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST What kind of King is Jesus? How do you envision him? Remembering that they were promised a king from the line of David, the Israelites hoped for a Messiah who would set their political problems aright…
Sunday’s Readings: Malachi 3:19-20; Psalms 98:5-6, 7-8, 9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 THE END OF DAYS As we prepare for next Sunday’s feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we hear descriptions of dire and catastrophic events. Sometimes it seems as though we ourselves are living in the end times, when life…
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalms 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38 ETERNAL LIFE What happens after we die? Most religions and philosophies provide some notion of this, but we are confounded by the mystery of it all. Today’s readings give us a glimpse through the faith of martyrs and in…
Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 11:22-12:2; Psalms 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10 A COMPASSIONATE GOD Today’s reading from the book of Wisdom presents an image of a patient God who “rebuke[s] offenders little by little” (Wisdom 12:2), an image endorsed by the psalmist, singing of how the LORD is “slow to anger…
Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalms 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 MADE RIGHT BEFORE GOD Although the opening lines of today’s first reading claim that the Lord “knows no favorites” (Sirach 35:15) and is “not unduly partial toward the weak” (35:16), the remainder of the passage makes it clear that the…