31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34 The Book of Deuteronomy is the source of the first reading. One among the first five books of the Bible, Deuteronomy contains for Jews the basic rule of life, as a guide for living from the best source of advice, Almighty God. Moses is […]

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 The first reading for this weekend is from the Book of Isaiah, precisely from its third and last part. Isaiah on several occasions describes, or refers to, a loyal and devoted servant of God who endures outrageous insults and severe misfortunes but never despairs, […]

25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37 The Book of Wisdom furnishes the first reading for this weekend. This book was written in an effort to say that being faithful to God, and indeed worshipping the One God of Israel, represented not superstition but the greatest human wisdom. To be […]

23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37 The first reading for this weekend, from the Book of Isaiah, speaks of the blind, the deaf and the lame. Today’s culture is very different from that in which this section of Isaiah was written. Physical impairments now can be managed in most cases. […]

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69 The Book of Joshua, the source for this weekend’s first reading, looks at the period in the history of God’s people when Joshua led them. It was after the death of Moses. Even though these connections may seem to be clear, biblical […]

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51 The First Book of Kings provides this weekend’s Liturgy of the Word with its first biblical reading. As the name implies, the kings of Israel are the central figures in these books, however, prominence is given the prophets, such as Elijah in this […]