Adult Faith Formation & Initiation

You may have noticed that I did not post anything for the Nativity of the Lord (what we Catholics used to call "Christmas").  I did that for two reasons.  First is because I typically only focus on the readings for Sunday Masses, and the Nativity of the Lord doesn't fall on a Sunday this year.  Second is that I feel I don't really need to say anything about the Nativity of the Lord.  The readings, regardless of which Mass you attend, are pretty self explanatory.  To lend more column inches to them seems, well, redundant.  And while the Nativity of the Lord may be a Holy Day of Obligation, it, like Easter Sunday, is typically well attended by even part time Catholics.  Where I see the real challenge is getting those who attend Mass at Christmas to attend Mass the first Sunday after Christmas. The first Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord is always celebrated as the Christmas Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  Since the Christmas season is a celebra

This 4th Sunday of Advent we focus on the Incarnation:  God made manifest through the birth of Jesus.  Nothing captures this moment better than our Gospel, but as we will see, our other readings would suggest that this meeting between God and his people has been coming for some time… The Word for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27-29 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 To better understand our readings for this week, I think we should first look at our Gospel.  In a story that is unique to Luke’s Gospel, we hear the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to announce God’s plan for the birth of his Son.  It’s not hard for us to imagine Mary’s amazement in this moment.  Not only is this humble girl from Nazareth (already likely anxious over her betrothal to Joseph) being approached by an angel, a messenger for the Lord, but the angel’s message is almost unbelievable:  God has chosen her to bear his Son.  But Mary isn’t naive and challenges Gabriel about this pla

The third Sunday of Advent marks the midpoint of the season – in Catholic terms this is like “hump day” for the Advent Season where we can happily see the end of our Advent journey is within sight.  Referred to as Gaudete Sunday, it takes its name from the Latin word for rejoice .  We will hear this word several times throughout this Sunday's Mass in our prayers and our readings.  We light the rose-colored candle on our Advent wreaths, rose-colored decorations, and perhaps even the priest wearing rose-colored vestments.  The rose color is a mixture of the violet of Advent and the white of Christmas.  Not only is Christmas a joyous occasion to celebrate the birth of our Lord, but it reminds us that we are joyous (not fearful) of his return. The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11 Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 We open with a great announcement from Third Isaiah, that the anointed brings glad tidings to the poor.  If his word

Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight his path!   This is the clarion call we receive for this 2nd Sunday of Advent.  Preparation is the message as we are bombarded with through all sorts of advertising right now – to find the perfect gift, create the perfect meal, decorate the perfect home, all the while surrounded by the perfect sense of family.  Trouble is, when we seek this type of perfection, we often find ourselves disappointed.  Not only have we missed the point of the season, we’ve allowed the secular world to obfuscate our understanding of the Gospel message: The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 2 Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1:1-8 We open with one of the finest songs of forgiveness and triumph from the Prophet Isaiah.  There is an established pattern in all our worship – that before we ask for something from God we first must ask him for forgiveness for our sins.  We see this every time we celebrate the Mass as we begin with the Pen

With the 1st Sunday of Advent we welcome a new Liturgical Year, but unlike our secular celebration of the new year we don’t do it with champagne and noisemakers.  Instead the Church begins her new year with a season of solemn reflection and preparation for the coming of Jesus.  Not his coming as an infant – that moment has past – but for his coming again in glory.  His second coming.  But this is not something to fear, it is something to rejoice!  And what better way to celebrate his second coming than by remembering our rejoicing for his first coming!  Advent is our chance to ask ourselves, “are we ready for his return?” The Word for the 1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7 Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:33-37 The beginning of the new Liturgical Year brings with it a new Lectionary cycle.  Last year, Cycle A, we spent with the Gospel of Matthew, but now we transition to Cycle B with a focus on the Gospel of Mark. Our first reading comes from the P