Reflections

Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24 Ahaz was king of Judah from 735-715 B.C., and Isaiah was then the major prophet alive. Judah was being attacked by the kings of Aram and of Israel and Ahaz was very afraid. Isaiah told him not to fear and the Lord will give him a sign of his…

Is 35:1-6a, 10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 The 3rd Sun of Advent is known by its entrance antiphon that exhorts us to “rejoice,” in Latin Gaudete; and the reason it gives is: “The Lord is near.” As the Gospel narrates, John is already in jail and sends a delegation to Jesus to inquire, not for…

Is 11:1-10; Rom 15:7-8, 12-13, 17. Mt 3:1-12.             Today we are presented with the figure of John the Baptist dressed in camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and who feeds on locusts and honey. He is an image of mortification and self-denial.  In the season of Advent we are invited to…

Advent means “coming.” Jesus had come 2000 years ago. He came to each one of us at our baptism to make us adopted sons/daughters of our heavenly Father. He comes to each one of us now when we receive him worthily in Holy Communion. He will come for each one of us at the hour…

2 Sm.5:1-3; Col. 1:12-20; Lk. 23:35-43 Jesus is King because he is Son of God. Because he is Creator: “through him all things were made” (Jn 1:3). In the Book of Psalms, God is King because he rules over the whole of creation. At the Annunciation the Angel Gabriel said to Mary: “The Lord God…

Mal. 3:19-20a; 2 Thes. 3:7-12; Lk. 21:5-19. On the Feast of Christ the King we will see the Lord’s return in glory, which many preachers call the “end times” and in theology “eschatology.” The reading from the Gospel of St. Luke relays to us the events that will help us recognize it. At the opening…

2 Mc. 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thes. 2:16-3:5; Lk. 20:27-38 As we near the end of the Liturgical year, the readings from Scripture con- centrate on the resurrection of the body. On Nov. 1 & 2 we meditated on the Communion of Saints, today we meditate on the resurrection of the body. The 2nd Bk. of…

November 1 and 2 are important days for our Catholic faith. We profess: “I believe in the Catholic Church, the communion of Saints.” November 1 we commemorate all the saints who we believe entered heaven. Rev. 7:3-8 tells us that a seal was put on the foreheads of 12,000 from every tribe of Israel, totalling…

Wis. 11:22-12:2; 2 Thes. 1:11-2:2; Lk. 19:1-10 The first reading from the Book of Wisdom tells us: “For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made…you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls… Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind…

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18. 2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18. Lk 18:9-14. The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God is biased for the oppressed, the orphan and the widow; “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” Already in Exodus 22:22-23, Yahweh warned Israel: “If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely…