Solemnity of All Saints and Feast of All Souls
This Tuesday, 1 November, we will join with the universal Church is celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints. On Wednesday, we will celebrate the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, commonly known as All Souls. Both of these annual feasts speak powerfully about one of the very important tenets of our faith – belief in everlasting life for everyone – and have ancient roots. The Solemnity of All Saints dates back to the days of ancient Roman, when the people throughout the Empire often deified and worshipped their ancestors, and [...]
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)
Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2 This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Wisdom. Like the Book of Sirach that we heard from last week, it is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The full name is the Wisdom of Solomon in the LXX manuscript; Book of Wisdom in the Vulgate. 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 [...]
STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND AND MISSION SUNDAY
STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt. 22: 21). As we hear in St. Matthew’s Gospel, when some of the religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about whether or not to pay the Roman taxes, Jesus reminds his listeners that everything belongs to God. After all, he is the creator of the universe and gives us all that we have. And so, on this Stewardship Weekend, I invite you to reflect on how we can all be [...]
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)
Sirach 35:12 - 14, 16 - 18 (in the Catholic Study Bible: 35:15b - 17, 20 - 22a) This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Sirach. As is usually the case, this passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel. Let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of this book. The Book of Sirach is one of the very last books of the Old Testament. It was written between 195 and 180BC by a man who identifies himself as Jesus, son of Eleazar, [...]
MISSION SUNDAY and STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY
MISSION SUNDAY and STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). This Sunday’s gospel reading ends with a very disturbing question. We hear our Lord ask it 2,000 years ago and it is still one that we need to answer today. Sadly, so many people – including some of our family members and friends – have abandoned their faith for a wide variety of reasons. We, however, relish our faith and find great strength, encouragement and direction in it. Jesus Christ, [...]