The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Jer 17:5-8  +  1 Cor 15:12,16-20  +  Lk 6:17,20-26
February 17, 2019

“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!”

It’s hard to confuse the choices presented in today’s Scripture readings.  The sharp contrast between the blessings and maledictions proclaimed by the prophet Jeremiah and our Lord Jesus offer only two choices:  life or death, blessing or woe.  Even more important, though, is the fact that the Christian’s choice must be rooted in the divine virtue of hope.  “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord”, we proclaim in today’s Responsorial Psalm. Continue reading →

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Genesis 1:1-19  +  Mark 6:53-56
February 11, 2019

God saw how good it was.

In today’s First Reading the Church proclaims the first nineteen verses of the Bible.  The Church proclaims the First Reading at weekday Mass from Genesis for almost two weeks during Ordinary Time:  this week and next.  Today and tomorrow the First Readings present the narrative of God’s six days of creation, and His rest on the seventh. Continue reading →

The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Isa 6:1-2,3-8  +  1 Cor 15:1-11 [or 15:3-8,11]  +  Lk 5:1-11
February 10, 2019

“Be not afraid.”

In the year of Our Lord 64, Saint Peter laid down his life for the Church.  Some thirty years after the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, Peter was held prisoner in the city of Rome, as was his fellow apostle Paul.  Both had been taken there in chains, to that city which was the center of the known world.  It was the capital of the greatest empire in existence, and a city which from Jerusalem appeared to be “the ends of the earth”.  Yet it was the center not only of the empire, but also of paganism.  The temples dedicated to Roman gods were numerous, scattered throughout Rome.  In the center of the city was the Pantheon, dedicated to all the pagan gods. Continue reading →

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Hebrews 11:32-40  +  Mark 5:1-20
February 4, 2019

…they began to beg [Jesus] to leave their district.

Demonic possession is an extremely serious matter.  While some today dismiss it, suggesting that all reported cases of possession are in fact psychological disorders, the Church takes today’s Gospel passage at its word. Continue reading →

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Jer 1:4-5,17-19  +  1 Cor 12:31—13:13 [or 13:4-13]  +  Lk 4:21-30
February 3, 2019

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

While the readings of any given Sunday’s Mass generally build up to the passage from the Gospel, this Sunday the Second Reading is more likely to grab our attention.  This passage of Saint Paul, so commonly heard at weddings, has much to teach us, but only if we resist the tendency to interpret it according to our own standards.  Instead, we need to allow it to lead us to the heart of the Gospel, where God’s standard is far greater:  more demanding, but also more fulfilling. Continue reading →

St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor of the Church
Hebrews 9:15,24-28  +  Mark 3:22-30
January 28, 2019

“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

Jesus’ parables most often describe the Kingdom of God.  But today He preaches about the Kingdom by what in theology is called a “via negativa”:  that is, defining someone or something by what he, she or it is not, rather than what he, she or it is.  Jesus today shapes our understanding of what the Kingdom of God is not in rebutting the claims of the scribes. Continue reading →

The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Neh 8:2-4,5-6,8-10  +  1 Cor 12:12-30 [or 12:12-14,27]  +  Lk 1:1-4;4:14-21
January 27, 2019

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

Today’s Gospel passage is unusual in that it’s taken from two non-consecutive chapters.  The two sections from Luke don’t seem related at first hearing.  The first section is the first four verses of Luke.   It’s a prologue, in which St. Luke gives his rationale for you to listen to his Gospel account. Continue reading →

St. Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
Hebrews 5:1-10  +  Mark 2:18-22
January 21, 2019

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

Today’s Gospel passage might seem confusing to those who wish to be devout Christians.  Along with the contrast between Jesus and John, there is a contrast between feasting and fasting.  Jesus’ disciples in this passage do not fast because He is with them.  Should Christians today, then, take part in the discipline of fasting?  Or would fasting imply a denial of Jesus’ presence and power in our lives? Continue reading →

The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Isa 62:1-5  +  1 Cor 12:4-11  +  Jn 2:1-11
January 20, 2019

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory….

Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana tells us many important things.  For example, the fact that there were six ceremonial water jars, each holding about 25 gallons, tells us that Jesus produced 150 gallons of wine for this wedding celebration, which in turn tells us that this… was a Catholic wedding. Continue reading →