First Sunday of Lent Deuteronomy 26:4-10, Rm 10: 8-13, Luke 4: 1-13 Dear sisters and brothers, In one of the prefaces for lent, the presider prays in the name of the community: Each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the pascal mystery with mind and heart renewed [...]
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7, 1 Corinthians15:54-58, Luke 6: 39-45 Dear Sisters and Brothers, There is no lack of moral issues that call for action by people of good will. Among these are racism, poverty, immigration, the environment, the sanctity of life, sexual abuse, human trafficking, the hunger and homelessness—to name [...]
Seven Sunday in Ordinary Time 1Sam 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23, 1Cor 15: 45-49, Luke 27-38 Dear Sisters and Brothers, On this seventh Sunday, the Church reminds us of the essential virtues and elements of our Christian life. They include mercy and compassion, love of God and neighbor, self-control, appreciation of [...]
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jeremiah 17:5-8, 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20, Luke 6:17, 20-26 Dear sisters and brothers, As consumers, we think about buying more or better or new. If one has the means, one can buy his or her way into a state of satisfaction, even happiness (although short lived). Our consumption [...]
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 6: 1-2a,3-8, 1 Cor 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Unworthy Ministers In a certain church there was a man in the choir who couldn’t sing very well. The choir director suggested that he should leave the choir. Others felt he should be given more time [...]
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 1: 4-5, 17-19, 1 Cor 12: 31-13:13, Luke 4:21-30 Dear Sisters and Brothers, I think one of the reasons Jesus got into trouble in Nazareth was because he was so ordinary. His friends and neighbors could not conceive that he was any better than they were. St. [...]
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Dear Sisters and Brothers, You have heard frequently of the Babylonian exile and how the Persians conquered the Babylonians fifty years later and allowed the Jews to return home. Many of the Jews in Babylon had become rather [...]
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:1-11 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Concern for Others is the Beginning of Miracles: St John in his gospel mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus two times: at the marriage feast at Cana, the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus and at [...]
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Is 40: 1-5, 9-11, Titus 2: 11-14, 3: 4-7, Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22 Dear sisters and brothers, The Grace of Baptism Years ago, there was a conference in England to discuss the question, “What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world?” At [...]
The Epiphany of our Lord Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12 Dear Sisters and Brothers, God has sent us His Son, Jesus Christ. The Son is given for all of us, not just for a chosen group—for all of us. So, we chant in the Christmas Season: Christ is born for us! [...]