Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

Joyful anticipation – this is the meaning of Advent!  The First Sunday Advent marks the beginning of the new Liturgical year.  The green vestments and décor of Ordinary Time are put away, replaced with the purple vestments and décor of Advent.  Like Lent, Advent is a season of penitent reflection.  So as our secular culture charges into the beginning of a frantic holiday season, we Catholics are asked to slow down, take a step back, and prayerfully consider if we are prepared for the coming of Christ – that is, his second coming. The Word for the 1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 Our first reading comes from the second chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah.  The book of Isaiah is one of the longest of all the prophetic books and spans a period from before the Assyrian attack on the Northern Kingdom all the way through (and long after his death) to the end of the Babylonian Exile.  This S...

This Sunday we close our Liturgical Year with the Solemnity of Christ the King.  During these seemingly divisive times it’s important for us to remember that we owe our attention and allegiance primarily to Jesus Christ.  Everyone and everything else is secondary.  This celebration was created in response to the growing nationalism and secularism of the early 20th century.  Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in his 1925 encyclical letter Quas Primas.  At that time much of the world was still recovering from the Great War , the first World War, while revolutions in Russia, China, and Spain were sparking continued unrest.  All over the world citizens were calling into question their models of governance and economics.  Now 100 years later, it would seem today the world is in similar turmoil, calling us once again to recognize that above all else, we serve Christ. The Word for the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psa...

As we near the end of our Liturgical year, our readings take us to “the end of days.”  Jesus is in Jerusalem and he knows the end is near.  Our readings this week remind us that even in the face of adversity we must persevere if we are to gain eternal life: The Word for the 33nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Malachi 3:19-20a Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 We open with a reading from the prophet Malachi, who’s name literally means “my messenger” in Hebrew.  It was a pseudonym because the author feared retribution.  In this short passage the prophet gives us a view of post Exile Jerusalem, dating to around 445 BCE (around the same time as the Prophet Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem).  Here the prophet warns what will become of “evildoers” and the justice to be had for those who “fear the Lord”.  This was a time of great spiritual upheaval in Jerusalem.  God loves his people, but the prophet finds that love is not being reciprocated....

November 9th marks the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.  Why are we celebrating the dedication of a church?  Well, because this is perhaps the most important church in all of Western Christianity.  The official title of this church is:  The Cathedral Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist at the Lateran.  “The Lateran” in this case refers to the Lateran Palace which belonged to the Laterni family, an ancient noble Roman family.  The palace was acquired by Constantine and donated to the Pope in order to be the cathedral of the city of Rome.  This is where the cathedra, the Bishop’s Chair, sits.  Contrary to popular belief, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is not the Pope’s Cathedral.  The Pope is foremost the Bishop of Rome, so therefore his Cathedral Church is in the City of Rome (not Vatican City, which at the time of Constantine was little more than a hill outside of...

This coming Sunday is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, or more commonly referred to as All Souls Day.  As this special day falls on a Sunday this year, we put aside our readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time to focus our attention on those who have passed on before us.   The Word for All Souls Day: Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9 John 6:37-40 What happens after we die?  This is the question that our first reading from the Book of Wisdom tries to answer.  Here the passage states that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God.”  In other words, those good people who have passed on are in good hands.  The book of Wisdom comes to us about 50 years before the birth of Christ from the Jewish community in Alexandria.  In many ancient cultures sickness and death were equated to sin, so those who were passing before their time, that is, those who didn’t die of old age, must have done something ...

Humility.  It’s a virtue that seems to have been left behind in our current civil discourse.  To many, being humble is a sign of weakness.  Contrary to popular thinking, humility actually takes courage and strength, and affords even greater rewards as our readings this week will show: The Word for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 Our faith teaches that we must approach our prayer with humility.  Our first reading from Sirach is an example.  Here he reminds us that all our prayers are heard by God, but those coming from the lowest among us “pierce the clouds”.  This sage from the 2nd century BCE reminds us that though we are all equal in God’s eyes, he also hears the cry of those who are marginalized – the weak, the oppressed, the orphan, the foreigner.  This ideal has echoed through the ages, including in our Psalm when we sing, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” ...