Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

What better way to bring the Christmas season to a close than with the celebration of the moment where Jesus was consecrated to his ministry – the celebration of The Baptism of the Lord.  Whereas Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, Christmas is the season where prophecy and expectation are fulfilled – born to us is the Christ, the one we have been waiting for is here! The Word for The Baptism of the Lord Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 (or Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11) Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 (or Psalm 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30) Acts 10:34-38 (or Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7) Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 This Sunday’s celebration offers us two possible sets of readings, so I have chosen the alternate readings for this commentary since these are the ones we have used recently most often. Our first reading, from Second Isaiah, is a prophecy of hope for the people of Israel held captive in Exile in Babylon.  To our Christian ears, however, it also sounds a lot like John the Baptist preaching...

If Easter is our highest holy day, the Epiphany is rightly the second.  It is the celebration of the realization that through Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection that God's salvation is a gift for all people, everywhere.  It is this feast that defines us as Christians, revealing not only that this child, Jesus, is the Christ, but that the grace of reconciling the people to God is not exclusive – it is a universal invitation for all people. The Word for the Epiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-2 Our first reading comes from the later chapters of Isaiah (third or trito -Isaiah).  Here the prophet sees a glorious vision for Jerusalem:  The city shall be radiant and become a beacon for all the nations.  And that is the key point of this reading today – That all people, all kingdoms, will see Jerusalem, God's city and God's people, as the light and life, and be drawn to her and the glory of the Lord....

The first Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord is always celebrated as the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  And like most feast days, our readings do not change with the lectionary cycle.  Since the Christmas season is a celebration of the Nativity, it seems only appropriate that we focus on the family into which Jesus was born.  It should be no surprise then that our readings focus on parental and family themes: The Word for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10 Colossians 3:12-21 or Colossians 3:12-17 or 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 Luke 2:41-52 Our readings for this Sunday offer quite a variety of options from which the presider may select, so those of us in the assembly will want to listen carefully.  Since most presiders select the first of the options, that is what I will unpack for us here: Our first reading comes from the Wisdom of Ben ...

Since The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) rarely falls on a Sunday, I’ve never taken the opportunity to write about the readings for this holy day, since my focus is generally on just the Sunday readings.  But I find myself in a festive mood (and with some time on my hands) so I thought I would dive into the readings for this, the start of the Christmas season. As with most other holy days, the time of the Mass dictates the readings.  For The Nativity of the Lord, there are four separate selections:  The Vigil Mass, Mass During the Night, Mass at Dawn, and Mass During the Day.  It is also important to note that, like with the Triduum and Easter, the readings for The Nativity are always the same, and do not change with the Liturgical cycles.  And if you’ve ever read my synopsis of the Easter readings, you know that I lament about those “twice-a-year” Catholics because the readings for Easter Sunday don’t truly express the wonder and meaning of the day without th...

This Sunday is the 4th and final Sunday of Advent.  The Nativity is quickly approaching and like an expectant parent, the reality of what is to come is beginning to set in.  During the Sundays of Advent we’ve been hearing the prophecy of God sending us a Savior, and now with that moment nearly upon us, we see the prophecy in our readings becoming much more specific, giving flesh to what was just an idea, leaving no doubt that this is going to happen and that we should be prepared. The Word for the 4th Sunday of Advent Micah 5:1-4a Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 Our first reading comes from the Book of the Prophet Micah.  While Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah, and his prophetic message is similar, Micah, unlike Isaiah, is not a native of Jerusalem, so through his voice we see the view of an outsider looking in.  Though we don’t hear from Micah very often in the Liturgy, his prophecy is the one that gives us the birthplace of our Savior – Bet...

“Shout for Joy!”  The opening lines of our first reading expresses the feelings we should be having during this third Sunday of Advent.  Also known as Gaudete Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”), we celebrate that we have now past the half-way point of our penitent reflection – the “hump day” of Advent, if you will.  What have we to be so joyful about?  Our readings provide the answer: The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Zephaniah 3:14-18a Psalm 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke3:10-18 Our first reading comes from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah.  Though we don’t hear from Zephaniah very often in our Sunday Liturgies, and though the book itself isn’t that long (only 3 chapters), the importance of his message not only can be seen in his predecessors Jeremiah and Baruch, but may even have had a profound effect on the Judean monarchy itself by moving King Josiah to begin his campaign of religious reform.  Our passage this week, though similar to the passages...