Opening Prayer:  Daniel 7: 13-14

Daniel 12:1 – 3

As we come to the end of the liturgical year – next Sunday is already the last Sunday of the Year when we celebrate the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – we remember it as Christ the King – we are given an opportunity to reflect on the end of time.  All three readings speak of the end of the world and the final judgment.

This Sunday, we will first hear from the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Again, […]

1 Kings 17:10-16

As we approach the end of the liturgical year – the Feast of Christ the King is in just two weeks and Advent begins in three weeks – the focus of our Sunday readings turns to the end times and what is expected of those who claim to be faithful disciples of the living God.  As disciples, we are expected to know and live out the covenant relationship that God has initiated and we have accepted.  Jesus is the norm by which we are to live as Christians.  […]

Deuteronomy 6:2-6

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Deuteronomy.  It is again clear that this reading was selected to complement the gospel reading this Sunday, which also speaks of the great commandments.  This reading is taken from the section in the Book of Deuteronomy that presents the law that Moses relates God has presented to his people.  They are to continue to follow this law as they enter into the Promised Land.  After presenting the Ten Commandments, and recalling how God had given them to the people at […]

Isaiah 53:10 – 11

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the prophet Isaiah.  It is from chapter 53 so we recognize that it is from deutero-Isaiah, which dates to the time of the Babylonian exile.  We will hear two verses from the last of four “Servant-of-the-Lord” also known as “Suffering Servant” oracles.  Because he fulfilled the divine will by suffering for the sins of others, the Servant will be rewarded by the Lord.  I invite you to read from 52:13 to fully understand the two verses we […]

Wisdom 7:7-11

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of Wisdom. This book is known as the Wisdom of Solomon in the LXX manuscript and the Book of Wisdom in the Vulgate. It was most probably originally written in Greek, not Hebrew, somewhere between 100 – 50BC, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, one of the largest centers of the Jewish Diaspora, by an anonymous author. He was a devout, Greek-speaking Jew, acquainted with Greek philosophy and culture, probably a native of Alexandria. The purpose of the author was to strengthen […]