1 Samuel 26:2, 7 – 9, 12 – 13, 22 – 23
We hear from the First Book of Samuel this Sunday. It is one of the Historical Books. We haven’t heard from it for a long time, so let’s review it a little. It is the first of the Historical Books, which present the history of Israel from the time of Samuel to the Maccabees, from approximately 1000 to 100BC. Of course, it is important to remember that histories in those days did not serve the same purpose as our […]
“You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor 12:27). Each of us is a unique, unrepeatable reflection of God’s presence in the world and, as we hear so powerfully declared in today’s second reading, each of us is Christ’s body. And, God calls each of us to live according to his plan, not our own. This past Saturday, we commemorated that dark day, forty-nine years ago, when the United States Supreme Court handed down the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, legalizing abortion for any reason. Since that […]
After a delay of almost two years, I am excited to announce that our new pipe organ is on its way from Padua, Italy! You may recall that we had contracted with Fratelli Ruffatti, one of the finest organ manufacturers in the world, to construct a new organ for us; the contract was signed in April 2018 and the organ was completed in March 2020. It was scheduled to be installed over the summer of 2020 but we all know why that didn’t happen. Like so many aspects of our […]
Isaiah 62: 1 – 5
As we return to ordinary time, that is, time ordered according to God’s plan for his Kingdom, we hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Since it is from chapter 62, we know that it is from Trito-Isaiah, and concerns the post-exilic time for Israel. This part of Isaiah has, as its primary purpose, the encouragement of the anawim as they return to rebuild Jerusalem. Our first reading contains just such a passage of hope for God’s people at one of the lowest moments of […]
(Opening prayer: Jn 1:29 – 34)
Isaiah 40:1 – 5, 9 – 11
We hear again from the prophet Isaiah this Sunday, from the beginning of the portion of this book that most scripture scholars identify as part of Deutero-Isaiah (chapter 40 – 55). As you will read in your footnotes, these chapters – 40 – 55 – are usually designated Second Isaiah (or Deutero-Isaiah) and are believed to have been written by an anonymous prophet toward the end of the Babylonian exile. There are several significant difference between the first 39 […]
On this, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we all realize that Christmas is just a few days away! And, you will notice that the two Christmas trees – one at the St. Therese Shrine and one in the baptistery – that had been filled with about 300 tags suggesting gifts for women and children who will be spending Christmas at Mercy Hospice and Women of Hope – are gone; so are all the tags! Over the past few weeks, so many of you have so generously taken the tags and […]
Micah 5:1 – 4a
This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Micah. Like Baruch and Zephaniah of the last two weeks, we don’t hear from Micah very often – in fact, we only hear from him once in the three year Sunday liturgical cycle and five times in the weekday cycle – so let’s review what we know about and his book. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, as you will see from your Bible Timeline. Unlike Isaiah, however, he was not native to Jerusalem – according […]
Isaiah 61:1 – 2a, 10 – 11
The Third Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday because, in both the first and second readings, we are called to rejoice; the Lord is near! As we quickly approach Christmas, we wait in eager anticipation of the coming of the Lord. Let’s keep that in mind as we reflect on this Sunday’s readings.
This Sunday, we will hear again from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The section we will hear is from the 61st chapter, so we know that it is from […]
Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship. (Baruch 5:1-4)
With these words that we hear at Mass today, the prophet Baruch helps to prepare us for the coming of our God. As Jerusalem […]
Baruch 5:1 – 9
This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Baruch. The name is interesting; as you all know, it is derived from the Hebrew – בָּרוּךְ – which means “Blessing.” We don’t hear often from Baruch; in fact, this is the only time we hear from him on Sunday in the entire three-year cycle. It is one of the many options at the Easter Vigil, but is seldom selected because others are more appropriate. So, let’s review what we know about him and his book.
The opening […]
