Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6 The Book of Ezekiel furnishes the first reading. The prophet speaks in the first person. He says that he literally heard God speaking to him. God told Ezekiel that he was sending him to the Israelites, who had rebelled against God’s holy law, so that they would be […]

Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41 This weekend the Sunday liturgies return to Ordinary Time after the long period of Lent, the Easter season, and a series of important feasts. The first reading from the Bible for this weekend is from the Book of Job. Job, who has been popularly mislabeled over the […]

Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 The Book of Exodus is the source of this feast day’s first reading, the story of an event that occurred as the Hebrews were making their way across the Sinai Peninsula, in flight from Egypt and slavery. To modern ears, the story may sound gruesome, giving the details […]

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 In the church’s liturgical year, only Easter and Christmas eclipse Pentecost. The importance, and grandeur, of these feasts of course derive from the events being commemorated, but the church also records the lessons taught by the feasts, and through the readings for these feasts, instructs us in […]

Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18 The first reading this weekend is from Acts of the Apostles. Acts is fascinating. It reveals the priorities and beliefs of the first Christians. The setting is Jerusalem. A Christian community has formed, very visibly and deliberately clustered around Peter and the other Apostles. Prayer, […]

Mark 11:1-10; Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 This weekend, in a liturgy powerful in its ability to transport us to the momentous events of the first Holy Week, the church celebrates Palm Sunday. A procession will precede each Mass, ideally involving the entire congregation, who will carry palms blessed by the celebrants. The procession, […]

Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45 The first reading for this weekend comes from the Book of Leviticus. In sequence, Leviticus is the fourth book in modern translations of the Bible. As such, it is part of the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch includes the five books of the Bible attributed to Moses. These five […]

4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28 The Book of Deuteronomy furnishes the first reading this weekend. Deuteronomy appears in modern Bibles as the fifth book in sequence in the Old Testament. It is one of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, all attributed to Moses. […]