Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Wow – those are two really bold, demanding statements, aren’t they!?! And yet, they’re straight from God, one through Moses, as we heard in today’s first reading from the Book of Leviticus, and the other from Jesus himself as we continue to hear from his Sermon on the Mount. That’s what we – we who believe in God and follow his son, Jesus – are called to do. It’s a […]
CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEAL
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. …As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:34-36, 40).
For the past 62 years, Catholic Charities Appeal has provided assistance for millions of people throughout the […]
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“If you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.” Of course, fire burns and destroys; water gives life. Using this very powerful imagery, we hear Sirach in this evening’s first reading instruct the people of Israel – and us – to trust in God and keep his commandments, for they – and we – will be saved by doing so. Before us are life and death, good and evil, Sirach says. Whichever we choose […]
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Let there be light.” These are the first words of God recorded in the Bible. We all know how important light is to us; just stub your toe in the darkness in an unfamiliar room and you remember how important it is. Every major religion extols light and identifies God with the light. The ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra, the god of the sun. Jewish people use the menorah to celebrate the Hanukah miracle of faith triumphing over evil and they declare in psalm 27 that “The Lord is my light […]
Presentation of the Lord
In all of sacred scripture, there are only two accounts that tell us of the life of Jesus between his birth and his public ministry: his presentation in the temple – as we celebrate today – and his finding in the temple when he was twelve years old. We hear the account of Jesus in the temple every three years on Sunday but the account we heard today about his presentation in the temple occurs on a Sunday only when the second of February is a Sunday; the last time […]
PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
In the Book of Exodus, we read about the Lord striking down “every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn of the animals” (Ex. 12:29). Pharaoh then called Moses and told him to “leave my people at once, you and the Israelites! Go and serve the Lord as you said” (Ex. 12:31). As they left Egypt, God commanded Moses: “Consecrate to me every firstborn; whatever opens the […]