THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Isaiah 42:14, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mark 1:7-11 This weekend the church invites us to celebrate the great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, great because it commemorates a very important event in the life of Jesus and in the unfolding of salvation but also draws our attention to marvelous […]

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37 This weekend the church begins Advent. It begins the use of biblical readings from Year B of its three-year cycle. It also is the start of a new liturgical year. Each liturgical year is carefully planned so that the seasons, and the […]

33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31;1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30 The Book of Proverbs provides this weekend’s first reading. This book was composed when both the Holy Land, and the lives of its inhabitants, God’s Chosen People, had experienced massive changes as a result of the military conquest of the Holy Land, […]

NOV. 1, FEAST OF ALL SAINTS Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Matt 5:1-12 Today the church celebrates the Feast of All Saints, liturgically replacing the observance of the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Setting aside a Sunday in Ordinary Time for a feast day signals that the church regards the feast to be highly […]

27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43 The first section of the Book of Isaiah is the source of this weekend’s first reading. In it, the prophet speaks directly to the people. He speaks as God, in the first person. He employs an image with which his contemporaries would have been […]

25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20:1-16a The last section of the Book of Isaiah provides this weekend with its first reading. Virtually none of the prophets of ancient Israel wrote when times were good, or at least when the prophets perceived the times to be good. Certainly, the author […]

23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20 For the first reading this weekend, the church gives us a passage from the ancient Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s name in Hebrew in effect was a prayer, “May God make (him) strong.” It was fitting since, as the prophet himself said, and indeed said […]

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20 The first section of the Book of Isaiah provides this weekend with its first reading. The author of this section of Isaiah lived when the southern Hebrew kingdom, or the kingdom of Judah, still existed. Only later was this kingdom, and the other Hebrew […]

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33 The First Book of Kings is the source of this weekend’s first reading. The two Books of Kings highlight the kings of the united kingdom of Israel — Saul, David and Solomon — but neither book ultimately is a political history. Both […]