Nothing: This weekend is the 4th Sunday of Advent. It all started in Nazareth, a small village of Galilee in northern Palestine. Nazareth was a poor, small village. It was laughable to the Romans who occupied her and insignificant to the Jews who surrounded her. In fact, in John 1:40, when Nathanael hears of Jesus, […]
The One who is coming after me: This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a day of joy and hope. For the second Sunday in a row we hear from St. John the Baptist—this time from the Gospel of John. The people ask him, “Who are you?” John tells them that he is the precursor of […]
Prepare the Way: The Gospel of Mark begins not with the birth of Jesus, but with John the Baptist quoting the prophet Isaiah, “prepare the way of the Lord.” Perhaps on this Second Sunday of Advent we can ask ourselves, “How are we truly preparing to meet Jesus?” Repentance: John the Baptist preached repentance for […]
Calendar: This Sunday marks the beginning of a new Church year. Each of us mark anniversaries and birthdays. We celebrate milestones. We define ourselves by those dates and spans. In the same way, in the course of the liturgical year, we receive repeated exposure to the major events of salvation history. The calendar year continuously […]
The King: This Sunday is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time (can’t believe Advent—and a new Church year–starts next weekend already!). The readings this weekend reflect the end of time when Christ our Savior will judge us. Whatever we’ve done for and to another we did it to and for Him. Saint Mother Teresa would […]
First Ever: This Sunday is the First ‘World Day for the Poor’ asked for by Pope Francis. In his letter announcing this he wrote some challenging words for all of us: “’Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth.’ These words of the Apostle John voice an […]
The Ultimate Wedding: When we began our four-part series on the Sunday experience, it was mentioned that attending Sunday Mass is like attending a wedding Mass/banquet with Jesus as the ultimate Bridegroom. The Scriptures tell us that God the Father invites us to His Son’s wedding, but many refuse to come because of other commitments. […]
Grounded: On this 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time Jesus exclaims that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” The word ‘humility’ is derived from the Latin word ‘humus,’ which means ‘grounded’ or ‘from the earth.’ Pope Francis remarked that, “Christian humility is not within the virtue of saying: ‘I […]
Pop Quiz: Today Jesus is tested by a scholar who asks him, “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest?” Jesus responds “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall […]