Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The first reading is from the Prophet Amos. He is the first Old Testament prophet whose oracles (sayings) have been handed down in the form of a book. More correctly, his oracles were handed down in written form on a scroll. His prophetic ministry took place in mid 8th century B.C., around 745 B.C....Read full story »
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This column for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time explained the background for the oracles of the prophet Ezekiel. The dates of his prophetic ministry and his oracles are tentatively set at 593-573 B.C. As noted, Ezekiel was a young priest in Jerusalem who was taken to Babylon in the first...Read full story »
Thursday, July 05, 2018
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B First Reading: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Second Reading: 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 The Old Testament Book of Wisdom is the source of the first reading. This book is also called “The Wisdom of Solomon” because in 9:7-8, 12,...Read full story »
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptizer
This year the celebration of the birth of John the Baptizer replaces the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The fact that the Baptizer’s birth outranks a Sunday reveals the importance of John’s role in salvation history. The first reading is from a part of the oracles of a prophet called...Read full story »
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
The first reading for this Sunday is an excerpt from the Prophet Ezekiel. The dates of his ministry as a prophet extend from about 593-573? B.C. Ezekiel was a young priest in Jerusalem, probably a member of the Temple clergy who was taken into exile in Babylon (Iraq today) in the first deport...Read full story »
Thursday, June 14, 2018
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
The original solemnity in honor of the Eucharist is Holy Thursday, a celebration of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The joy which would naturally accompany this celebration of the Eucharist is dampened by the overshadowing sorrow of betrayal and death which follow the Last Supp...Read full story »
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Solemnity of Pentecost
The first reading is Luke’s narrative of the Christian Pentecost event in his Acts of Apostles. In last Sunday’s first reading for the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles were told by Jesus that they “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and will b...Read full story »
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Ascension of the Lord
When searching for the meaning of the ascension, we are faced with a problem. What happen-ed? When did it happen? How did it happen? At the original ending of the Gospel of Mark, our oldest gospel, there is no ascension of Jesus, only a promise of a post-resurrection appearance. The gospel which th...Read full story »
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Sixth Sunday of Easter
The first reading is a watershed moment in Luke’s Acts of Apostles – the conversion of Gentiles to the Christian faith. The background: Cornelius was a Roman military officer at Caesarea on the Mediterranean seacoast. He was a devout man, generous to the poor, and prayed constantl...Read full story »
Thursday, May 03, 2018
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The context of the first reading is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Eventually, he would become St. Paul, but that would take the next thirty years. He had been a violent persecutor of the Christian movement in Jerusalem. He had witnessed and was involved in the lynching of Stephen, one of the fi...Read full story »
Thursday, April 26, 2018
