32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13 The Book of Wisdom supplies the first reading for this weekend. The title itself of the book teaches a lesson. As centuries passed, foreign influences virtually overwhelmed the Holy Land. Times perennially were hard. Understandably, many Jews left their ancestral homeland in […]

  30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40 The Book of Exodus provides this weekend with its first reading. In ancient Jewish tradition, Exodus came from Moses. Therefore, in a most special way, it is the very word of God, since Moses represented God and was the link between God […]

  28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 25:6-10a; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14 The first part of the Book of Isaiah provides this weekend’s first Mass reading. Understanding the cultural, social, political and economic context surrounding the composition of biblical texts always helps to capture their meaning. As a general rule, times were not good […]

  26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32 The Book of Ezekiel provides this weekend’s first reading. Pivotal in Jewish history was the time spent by Hebrew captives, and by their descendants, in Babylon, the capital of the then powerful Babylonian Empire. This empire overtook the Promised Land militarily, ending the […]

  24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Sirach 27:30-28:9; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35 The Book of Sirach is the source of this weekend’s first biblical reading. Sirach’s author was Joshua, the son of Sirach. (He should not be confused with Joshua, active centuries earlier as a disciple of Moses and leader of the Hebrews as they […]

  22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27 The Book of Jeremiah provides this weekend’s first reading. Since Jeremiah was the son of a priest, Hilkiah, he was reared amid great devotion to Hebrew religious tradition. A prophet for two generations, he unfailingly was outspoken, easily provoking opposition and controversy. Angry […]

  20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 56:1,6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28 The third section of the Book of Isaiah provides this weekend’s liturgy with its first reading. Understanding this part of Isaiah requires some knowledge of the cultural context of the time. It was not good. Life for the Jews had changed very […]