Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

What is the cost of discipleship?  Since the beginning of their journeys together, Jesus has been teaching his disciples of the difficulties they face by following him.  They will need courage, and strength of conviction as they continue to follow him and preach the Gospel.  Our readings for this 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time reminds us that following Jesus is not only difficult, but can come at the cost of our very lives. The Word for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalm: 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27 We open with a reading from the prophet Jeremiah.  In a passage that is typical of what I call “the prophet’s lament,” we hear Jeremiah complaining to God about how he has been duped.  His life as a prophet has brought him nothing but derision and reproach, yet he cannot help himself… he still must preach God’s message.  The pain of holding back is still greater than the pain he must endure by those who don’t care for his...

Who’s in charge?  Whenever we find ourselves working in a group situation this is a very fundamental question.  While all the members of the group may have certain skills they can bring to the table, it takes a leader to effectively marshal those skills (and individuals) to their goal.  In fact, it’s built into our human nature.  Think about any crisis situation… without someone to step in and take charge, chaos reigns.  Yet when it comes time for someone to step up, many people also find comfort in letting someone else do it. When it comes to Church, however… the People of God, the question of who’s in charge is both simple and complex… and is the core question considered in our readings for this 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Word for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 22:19-23 Psalm: 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20 Our first reading comes from a rather obscure passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah.  In fact, this passage...

This summer RCIA will be hosting a summer series in which we will be going through the 10-episode series Catholicism by Fr. Robert Baron. For more information and to sign up please visit the Catholicism Series Page . Questions please email us at ourladyofrefugercia@gmail.com

Who is God for?  EVERYONE!  The answer is almost automatic for modern day Catholics… one barely even needs to think about it to know this is true, yet our scriptures for this 20th week of Ordinary Time remind us that this understanding was not always so obvious nor accepted. The Word for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Psalm: 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28 We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah… Trito-Isaiah or 3rd Isaiah to be more precise, authored during the post-Exile period.  This week’s passage has the prophet telling us that God will accept the sacrifices of all peoples… that is, people who are not of Israel.  The God of Israel is telling his people that he’s not just the God for them, but for all others who follow his commands.  The foreigner, the Gentile, also have an open invitation to join in the Covenant.  There are two ways to look at this passage.  On one side we see this a ge...

Revelation.  The word itself is a noun formed from the verb “to reveal,” and for Christians, the revelation is that Jesus is Lord.  This is one of the most basic truths of Christian theology, yet for the average Christian (and for many non-Christians) the word revelation is not always understood.  Putting grand theological ideas aside for the moment, revelation, simply stated, is the act of how God reveals himself to us.  To help us understand this idea of revelation, we turn to our readings for this 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Word for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time 1Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Psalm: 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33 We open with a reading from the 1st book of Kings.  We enter the passage with great prophet Elijah as he is seeking shelter in the sacred mountain in the Sinai (mount Horeb).  While in the cave God tells him to stand outside, because the Lord will be passing by.    A strong wind comes, but th...