THIRTY-THIRD 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! 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 [...]
Adopt-a-Family, Christmas Food Basket, Mercy Hospice Giving Tree
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip our nation and - indeed, our world - I’m sure you’re all aware of the impact it’s having on millions of families who have lost their jobs or had their work hours severely reduced. Many parishioners in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, are among those struggling families. We also have families in our own parish who could use some assistance as Christmas arrives; it’s less than six weeks away! We have several parish initiatives that will allow you to give to [...]
THIRTY-SECOND 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! 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 [...]
Emerency Aid to Hurricane and Wildfire Victims/St. Charles Seminary Annual Appeal
Emergency Aid to Hurricane and Wildfire Victims As if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t already have us in its fearful grip as the daily count of those infected and killed continues to rise, it seems that very day we hear more tragic stories about new hurricanes obliterating towns in Florida and throughout the Gulf Coast and the seemingly endless wildfires throughout the west. Just as we probably all know someone who has been stricken – and, perhaps, even killed – by COVID-19, we probably have family and friends living in the [...]
ALL SAINTS DAY – November 1, 2020
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, [...]
Stewardship Weekend
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt. 22: 21). As we heard in last week’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. We read in the Bible that, after God had created the heavens and the earth, he planted a garden [...]