January 29, 2012: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalms 95:1-2, 6-9 First Corinthians 7:32-35 Mark 1:21-28 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Imagine how the man possessed by the unclean spirit would have felt after this dramatic incident. He had been tormented by an evil presence perhaps for years. His life was a series of momentary lulls amid [...]
January 22, 2012: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalms 25:4-9 First Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jesus’ first words in Mark’s Gospel are mysterious. He tells us: “This is the time of fulfillment.” What does this mean? It means that when Jesus Christ came onto the scene, it was a turning point [...]
January 15, 2012: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time First Samuel 3:3-10, 19 Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-10 First Corinthians 6:13-20 John 1:35-42 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ History’s great philosophers and religious leaders have given various answers to humanity’s central question: What is the meaning of life? But only Jesus Christ has given us the complete answer. And He gives [...]
January 8, 2012, Epiphany of Our Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13 Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-12 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ God is King; He comes to rule. Herod trembled, because he knew this. The wise men rejoiced, because they knew this. Even before Jesus can talk, He teaches us a precious truth about ourselves. In our [...]
January 1, 2012: Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God Numbers 6:22-27 Psalms 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21 _____________________________________________________________________________ Children take after their parents; their parents’ example teaches them how to be human. The same thing goes for our spiritual life. In today’s Second Reading, St Paul reminds us that through God’s [...]
December 25, 2011: Christmas Isaiah 62:11-12 Psalms 97:1, 6, 11-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:15-20 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ St John wrote his Gospel towards the end of his long life, and wrote for two different audiences. Primarily, he was thinking of people coming from a Hellenistic (Pagan-Greek) background. Secondarily, he was thinking of his fellow Jews. By calling [...]
December 18, 2011: Fourth Sunday of Advent Second Samuel 7:1-5, 8-11, 16 Psalms 89:2-5, 27, 29 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In just a few days, we will celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. When we do, this church building may contain a bigger crowd than any other time of the year. It’s [...]
December 11, 2011: 3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 First Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 ____________________________________________________________ Today is “Gaudete Sunday.” The word “gaudete” is Latin for “rejoice,” and in the Latin version of today’s Mass, it’s the very first word. The third Sunday of Advent has been “Gaudete Sunday” ever [...]
December 4, 2011: 2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Psalms 85:9-14 Second Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1:1-8 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ The first words of today’s First Reading are for us: “Comfort, give comfort to my people.” That prophecy was directed to “Jerusalem,” but in today’s Readings we find many different Jerusalems, though one is more important than [...]
November 27, 2011: 1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 63:16-17, 19 Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 First Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:33-37 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ There are four periods in the history of the world, and we are in the third – Advent always reminds us of this. The first period was from the dawn of Creation until Original Sin. [...]
