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5th Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

Our Cycle B readings bring the theme of covenant to a close this week (as next week we celebrate Palm Sunday).  Through our readings this Lenten cycle we’ve been witness to key covenant moments that God had, first with Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, then David.  As we know, however, in all these covenants, the people fell eventually away… turned away from God.  Now it’s time for something new… what we Christians understand to be the New Covenant… The Word for the 5th Sunday of Lent Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15 Hebrews 5:7-9 John 12:20-33 First we hear from Jeremiah, who’s prophecy covers the final days of the Kingdom of Judah.  This week’s passage comes from a time of trouble, where the end for Jerusalem is near.  Yet in the face of certain doom, Jeremiah is able to preach of a restoration where we here the Lord's desire to make "a new covenant with the house Israel and the house of Judah."  This prophecy of the restoration is echoed in our Psalm, which
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4th Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

This Sunday we continue our Lenten journey through Salvation History with a continued focus on covenant.  We’ve already given witness to the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses.  This week we turn our attention to the Davidic Covenant (the covenant with King David), or more accurately, the covenant with the monarchy of Israel. The Word for the 4th Sunday of Lent 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 Ephesians 2:4-10 John 3:14-21 Our first reading comes from the end of the 2nd book of Chronicles.  Though our intent this Sunday is to remember the Davidic Covenant, our Lectionary has chosen an interesting approach.  Rather than give us a story about King David, we are presented with a story from the end of the Babylonian Exile.  Why approach the covenant with David from this tail-end view?   It’s an approach that actually fits very well with the Book of Chronicles, for you see, the Book of Chronicles is much more than a retelling of the story we heard in books of Samu

3rd Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

Please note that some parishes/Masses may be celebrating the 1st Scrutiny for those in the RCIA.  For those Masses you will here the readings for Cycle A Our theme of covenant continues as we enter the 3rd week of Lent.  On the first Sunday of Lent, we heard the story of Noah reminding us of the first covenant.  Last week we heard the story of Abraham and Isaac reminding us of the second covenant.  This week we hear the Ten Commandments, which are at the heart of the third covenant set with Moses and the people of Israel. The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Lent Exodus 20:1-17 Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 11 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 John 2:13-25 Our first reading comes from the book of Exodus and the passage that gives us the Ten Commandments.  Most of us know the story of how God had Moses go up the sacred mountain to receive the commandments written on stone tablets, at which point we assume Moses presented these commandments to the people.  But if you follow the text we see that God gives Moses the

2nd Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

Lent is a season where, scripturally, we revisit the story of our salvation history.  It’s the story of where our great patriarchs and prophets met the Lord God, and how our relationship with God as a people continues to grow and evolve.  We also know from our review of the readings last week that our overarching theme for Cycle B is covenant .  After God’s covenant with Noah last week, we now visit the next great covenant, that between God and Abraham: The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10 Our first reading, from the book of Genesis, is one of the great stories about Abraham.   By this point in the narrative God has already made a covenant with Abraham, but now God is putting that covenant to the test.  God asks Abraham to make a sacrifice of his young son Isaac.  Isaac, as we know, is the only child born by Abraham’s wife, Sarah (a birth promised by God).  By challenging Abraham to kill his son,

1st Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

The Season of Lent is now upon us.  When you think of Lent most Catholics will say that it’s a season of penance, for giving something up, for prayer and for giving alms.  In fact, the phrase, “Pray-Fast-Give” has become a popular expression of Lent for many Christians.  These are all right, of course, but not entirely. According to the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy promulgated from the Second Vatican Council, “The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery.”   While those who are preparing for Baptism use this season of Lent as a period of “Purification and Enlightenment,” all Catholics are called to remember their own Baptisms.  As such, we will be looking to see where in our readings during this season the theme of Baptism becomes apparent. The Word for the 1st Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

This Sunday marks the end of our brief winter’s journey through Ordinary Time with our readings serving as an appropriate transition to the Lenten season by addressing the issue of how we treat those who are sick and in need.  How appropriate for our times!  While we have an obligation to protect the greater population by separating out those who are sick (a lesson we were reminded of by the pandemic), we sometimes forget that we also have an obligation to care for those in need.  Our readings this week give us the opportunity to examine these issues. The Word for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 Mark 1:40-45 Our first reading comes from the Book of Leviticus.  This second book of Moses takes its name from the priestly tribe of the Levites for whom this is a handbook for serving the Hebrew people.  Since this book is often referred to as “priestly law,” it is easy for us sometimes dismiss it or otherwise confuse it as

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Why is there evil in the world?  Why does God let bad things happen to good people?  These are common questions we hear in society, and yet even as believers in God, as followers of Christ, we often feel inadequate to address these types of questions.  The fact is that we, humanity, have been struggling with these questions since the beginning of time and much has been written on the subject through the millennia.  Our readings this Sunday can give us some guidance: The Word for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23 Mark 1:29-39 We open with a passage from the Book of Job (pronounced with a long “o”).  The story of Job is fairly well known in Biblical circles, yet we Catholics only hear from the Book of Job twice during our Sunday Liturgy, both times this year in Cycle B.  It’s difficult to get a good understanding of this book with so little exposure to it, yet it is one of the best didactic (teaching) tools we have to exam