One possible theme that courses through all three readings is this idea that someone, or some group of people, is being called by God. And of course, since God’s Word is a living word, and we are listening to that living word, this call must apply to us just as much as it applied to people in Biblical times. It’s God who initiates it, but it’s up to us whether we respond or not to God’s invitation, God’s call. Don’t ...
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Although not obvious, there is a common thread in all three Scripture stories we have today. They are all stories of someone being called by God which should get us thinking about our own call. Along with being called is often our relentless low opinion of ourselves countered by God’s high estimation of us. If we let God’s opinion win out, we become—like every Saint in the history of the Church—useable and pliable in hands of God. Being willing to ...
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With sunset today (Sunday), the Christmas Season comes to an end. On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, a couple of questions linger. Firstly, why is the baptism of Jesus, who is somewhere between the age of 30 and 33, placed in the Christmas Season? It doesn’t seem to fit in the storyline of a baby laid in a manger attracting the attention of shepherds, wisemen and angels. The second puzzling thing is: Why is Jesus, the sinless ...
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January 1st each year is a weighted day. It’s obviously, New Year’s Day in the secular world. Furthermore, for the Church, it is also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and World Day of Peace. Putting together Mary, Mother of God and World Day of Peace makes a lot of sense in my mind.
There’s an ancient Jewish blessing, that we heard in that first reading from the Book of Numbers. In its paraphrased version it says, “May God bless ...
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You may have noticed that our gospel readings are not in chronological order. The opening line of today’s gospel tells us that the Wise Men had left. They paid homage to the new-born King, left their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and went home. Next weekend, the Feast of Epiphany, we will be told about the arrival of the Wise Men. Act surprised next weekend!
So, the Wise Men are gone back to their homeland. But as you know from ...
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For well over a thousand years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, prophets—special envoys of God—were sent to remind people that God had not abandoned them. In fact, they were to wait for the Messiah, whose desire it was to be close to people and to bring them salvation. Most of the people, because they did not see the Messiah in their own lifetime, just gave up waiting. But a small group of people didn’t give up at all. They ...
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The readings we have today for the Feast of the Epiphany remind me of the word catholic (with a small “c”). The word catholic is not found in the Bible, by the way, but what it means is found everywhere in the Bible. Catholic means universal, inclusive, all-embracing. It was coined and applied to the Church around the year 110 by St. Ignatius of Antioch. If we are to keep calling ourselves the Catholic Church, then the challenge is to ...
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All three readings, proclaimed worldwide by the Church today, remind me of the saying, “the seed never sees it’s flower.” If we take it literally, the seed is underground, so it naturally can’t see the blossom above ground. But more to the point, the seed (unless it is a bulb) must die long before the plant ever produces a shoot, a stem, or a flower. The metaphor is true for humans as well. Some of our greatest efforts will only ...
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John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness. We are not told how he got there. He just suddenly appears, which automatically moves our minds to mystery. A mystery is about to unfold, and it’s about to unfold in the desert of all places. Cities, like Jerusalem, are where the hustle and bustle of life happens. And just like us, people were going to the desert to escape the rat race that life can often turn into. I think they were ...
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In the secular world, we celebrate New Year’s on January 1st, but from a liturgical point of view, the first Sunday of Advent is the beginning of a new Church year. We say “good-bye” and “thank you” to the gospel writer Luke who has been our guide for the past year, and we buckle ourselves in and allow gospel writer Matthew to be our pilot for this new year.
The new liturgical year begins much in the same way as the ...
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