Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
“And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. …And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:15ff). As we continue our celebration of the Christmas Octave with the celebration of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, my heart is filled with thanks and joy as I once again celebrate Christmas with you here at St. Katharine of Siena Parish! This is my tenth year to celebrate [...]
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year B)
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! 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Samuel. You will recall that this is one of the Historical Books of the Bible. Along with 1 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings, it records the [...]
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year B)
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 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 [...]
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year B)
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 40th chapter, so we [...]
SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE
On this, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to reflect on the kingship of Jesus Christ. It’s quite different from how we ordinarily think of a king. Rather than a ruler who makes his power known over his subjects, our God is like a shepherd tending his flock. As we hear in this Sunday’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, God will look after his sheep “as a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep” (Ez [...]
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THE KING THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
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 34th 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 [...]