Isaiah 40:1 – 5, 9 – 11

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  According to Leslie F. Hoppe, OFM, a contemporary scripture scholar, this book is, by any measure, among the greatest works of religious literature because it probes the mystery of a people’s life with God.  All of the Bible does that for us if only we allow it to read us, but the Prophet Isaiah does it so well.  The section we will hear is from the 40^th chapter, so we know […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Ezekiel 34:11 – 12, 15 – 17

This Sunday, as we celebrate the 34^th and last Sunday in Ordinary Time with the celebration of the great feast that has the impressive name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we will first hear […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

As you may have noticed, I usually begin our Bible Study/Faith Sharing with the first reading and then review the Gospel; if there is time, I then reflect on the second reading.  I do this because the first reading is usually selected to prepare […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Wisdom 6:12 – 16

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Wisdom. Again, the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel.  We need to seek wisdom in our lives in order to prepare for the time when God calls us […]

Revelation 7:2 – 4, 9 -14

This Sunday, we interrupt our ordinary celebration of Sundays of the Year because an important Solemnity happens to land on Sunday:  All Saints.  This feast gives us the opportunity to reflect on a very important aspect of our faith: our belief in God’s promise for everlasting life with him in heaven.  Before we review the readings that are recommended for this Sunday, let’s review the development of belief in everlasting life in the history of our faith.  As I have mentioned in the past, it […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Exodus 22:20 – 26

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Exodus. Although it is just a small part of a long expansion of the Decalogue (cf. 20:1-17 and 21:1 – 23:33 and finally the mention of Moses writing down these laws in […]

OPENING PRAYER: Isaiah 24

Isaiah 45:1, 4 – 6

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 45, we know that it is from Deutero-Isaiah. We recall that Deutero-Isaiah prophesied 587 – 539BC, during the Babylonian exile.   During this time, the political scene in the Ancient Near East changed dramatically as a result of the rise of Cyrus II (the Great).  Until he came into power in 559BC, the great powers controlling the Ancient Near East were usually Semites, originally of the […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Isaiah 25:6-10a

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 25, it would be understandable if you were to conclude that it is from Isaiah himself.  There is lively debate among scripture scholars, however, as […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Isaiah 5:1 – 7

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 5, we know that it is from Isaiah himself.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied from around 742 until 686BC, from the reign of King Azariah, […]

Ezekiel 18:25-28

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.  Let’s remember the “who, what, when, where and why” of this book.  You will notice that the reading picks up from last Sunday’s Gospel issue of fairness.  It will also provide us with a perfect introduction to this Sunday’s Gospel.  The chapter begins, however, with a very interesting recanting of what we see attributed to God in the Decalogue.  Let’s look at 18:1-4 and compare that with Ex 20:5 and Dt 5:9.  To make his point, the […]