5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16 The Book of Isaiah’s third section is the source of this first weekend’s reading. Scholars believe that this section was written perhaps in Jerusalem for the Hebrew remnant that had returned from Babylon. This would put this section of Isaiah at a date […]

3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 The Book of Isaiah supplies this weekend’s first reading. It offers us a powerful lesson. Isaiah lived in a time when God’s people were skating on thin ice. They still had their independence, at least after a fashion. Hebrew kings still reigned […]

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 This weekend the church celebrates the ancient Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, commemorating, and reflecting upon, the visit of magi “from the East” to the crib side of the newborn Savior. For the first reading, the church presents a passage from the […]

CHRISTMAS Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 The liturgy includes several Masses for Christmas. These readings are those assigned for Mass during the day. The third section of Isaiah supplies the first lesson. To understand the reading, it helps to be aware of the historical context surrounding the composition of this part of Isaiah. God’s […]

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 The Book of Isaiah is the source of this weekend’s first reading. Isaiah was between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. He realized that unwise alliances, and behavior that forgot God, put the Hebrews’ kingdom of Judah at great risk. The […]

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44. The church organizes the biblical readings at Mass into three cycles, A, B and C. This weekend, that of the First Sunday of Advent, begins the new church liturgical year. Therefore, the readings for this weekend, and until Advent 2023, will be within Cycle A. […]

33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 The Book of Malachi is the source of this weekend’s first reading. Malachi was not a proper name for a person in ancient Israel. Rather, it was an abbreviation of an informal title, “Messenger of God.” This prophet is thoroughly in step with […]

31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-22; Luke 19:1-10 The Book of Wisdom provides this weekend’s first reading. As the natural environment has absorbed more and more public interest, the pope and other agencies of the church have addressed the problems of exploiting nature. This reading, while composed many, many centuries ago, […]

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Exodus 17:8-13;2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8 The Book of Exodus is the source of this weekend’s first reading. As might be assumed from the book’s name, Exodus is a chronicle of the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt, where they were slaves, and their passage to the land God promised them. Along […]

27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 The first reading for this weekend comes from the Book of Habakkuk. Little is known about this prophet. Scholars believe that this book was written between 626 BC and 612 BC when outside forces threatened the Hebrews. Habakkuk wrote after God’s […]