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Showing posts from August, 2017

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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 22 nd 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 from those who don’t care for his messag

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

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 is so obscure i

Is Religion the Answer for Teens in Crisis?

Posted from today's daily Angelus News email: Adolescents in Crisis: Why We Need to Recover Religion Some interesting ideas but I think they miss the mark... For those who weren't with us last night for Bishop Barron's video on G. K. Chesterton, we learned that Chesterton was equally at home on both the right and the left of the political spectrum, and while he may not have always agreed, he did always listen, and didn't let a person's views get in the way of friendship and civility. A lesson we could all use in these times... but I digress... This article comes from the National Register, founded by William F. Buckley Jr. You can't get much more conservative than that! So even if your leanings are more toward the left, there's some good nuggets in this article. As a life-long catechist, clearly I believe that being the member of a religious community is beneficial in many ways, and the article does point out the Pew studies that

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Who is God for?  EVERYONE!  The answer should be 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 20 th 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 generous offering

Freedom of Choice and a Nation of Converts

A very interesting article from The Atlantic magazine posted by our daily Angelus News email. Convert Nation:   More than one-third of Americans identify with a religion different than the one they grew up with. Being involved in the RCIA, you could say that I'm in the "conversion" business, and I often like to quote a study I read where that found that nearly 24% of Catholics come to the Church as adults. At the same time, our Catholic faith looses many of it's members, sometimes only temporarily, sometimes permanently. And that's not taking into consideration the many "holiday" Catholics who come back for Christmas and Easter. But I digress... This issue of choosing one's religion has always been something of a mystery and a fascination for me. Being of Irish and Italian heritage, who's relatives emigrated to the US in the late 19th century, my family has very deep roots in Catholicism. And I would be a fool not to rec

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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 19 th 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 that was not the Lord.  An

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

This week we interrupt this cycle of Ordinary Time to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  This is a fixed-date feast that falls on the 6th of August, so when it falls on a Sunday our usual readings are put aside because the readings for the feast take precedence… The Word for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9 2 Peter 1:16-19 Matthew 17:1-9 We open with a reading from the Book of the prophet Daniel.  The Book of Daniel is an unusual work, taking its name not from its author but from its main character, Daniel, a Jewish captive being held in the prisons of King Nebuchadnezzar during the Exile.  The book itself, however, is dated some 350 years after the events of the Exile, and is written in a “apocalyptic” style that doesn’t come into vogue until around 200 BCE.  Not only is the book’s literary style unusual, its classification is also unusual.  Listed as one of the major prophetic works, it could

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

What is the Kingdom of God?  We hear this term so often it can lose its meaning, assuming we had any clear understanding of this idea to begin with.  The “Kingdom” is what we’ve been promised.  The “Kingdom” is what we struggle to obtain.  The “Kingdom” is why we follow Christ.  But ask your average Catholic what the Kingdom of God is, and you’re likely to get many different answers.  Our readings this week help us to wrap our minds around what the Kingdom really means… The Word for the 17 th Sunday of Ordinary Time 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Psalm: 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:44-52 (shorter version Matt 13:44-46) Our first reading comes from the 1st Book of Kings.  King David has died, passing his crown to his son, Solomon.  In this Sunday’s passage, the Lord appears to the young king in a dream, and asks Solomon what he, the Lord, can give him.  Solomon responds humbly, addressing himself as the Lord’s servant, and asks for “an understand