Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

Our readings for this week focus on the topic of marriage.  These passages will likely sound very familiar because they are often quoted, but unfortunately, never truly understood and almost never viewed in their full context.  Yet these ideas do form the Catholic understanding of marriage and help establish the Church’s position on divorce and annulment, so some careful examination is needed: The Word for the 27tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 Hebrews 2:9-11 Mark 10:2-16 Our first reading is from the second creation story in the Book of Genesis.  Wait, second creation story?  Most Catholics are aware that Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and most are aware that it begins with the story of creation, but unless they’ve engaged in any critical Bible reading or study, any details beyond that tend to get a little fuzzy.  So let me explain: The first chapter of Genesis does in fact give us the story of creation, starting wit...

Who speaks for the Lord?  Do you have to be a prophet?  A priest?  A bishop?  The Pope?  What about you?  The answer, according to our readings this week, is “whomever God calls,” and that could be you. The Word for the 26tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Numbers 11:25-29 Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 James 5:1-6 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 Our first reading comes from the Book of Numbers.  This book is a continuation of the Exodus story, from the point where they leave the Sinai (after receiving the Law) to the point where they are ready to enter the Promised Land.  The book gives us some history of these years interspersed with sections of legal codes.  This Sunday’s passage deals with the commissioning the elders, those 70 individuals chosen by Moses to receive some of the Spirit so that they may prophesy (preach) among the people.  But during this time there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were not with the group at the tent, but who also recei...

God’s ways are not our ways.  This is one of the points Jesus was trying to make with his Apostles in last week’s gospel, and that theme continues be examined in our readings for this week: The Word for the 25tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 Psalm 54:3-4, 5, 6, 8 James 3:16-4:3 Mark 9:30-37 Our first reading comes from the Book of Wisdom.  By way of reminder, the Book of Wisdom was written about fifty years before Christ.  For Jesus and his followers, this was a contemporary work, and like most wisdom literature it served as a sort of catechism for the Jewish community.  In this case the community wasn’t from Jerusalem but from Alexandria, and it was written in Greek (not Hebrew) while patterned on a style used in Hebrew verse.  For most Christians reading this passage it sounds very much like how Jesus was treated.  It can be hard for us to remember that this verse comes to us a couple generations before Jesus was even born.  Still, the ...

What is the cost of discipleship?  Let’s be honest, Christianity can be a tough sell.  In order to follow Jesus it means making sacrifices, changing and forming our lives to model what Jesus taught us.  To what God wants of us.  For many this is a difficult path to follow and even harder to explain to others. The Word for the 24tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 50:5-9a Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 James 2:14-18 Mark 8:27-35 Our first reading is an elegant poem from second Isaiah.  Coming from one of his well known “servant songs,” this first reading is a lament of sorts, as Isaiah bemoans the trials he must endure in his mission as a prophet.  For all his complaints, however, he knows his mission is just.  With the Lord God behind him, who could prove him wrong?  Our Psalm reflects this idea of God standing behind us, both in this life and the next, as we sing, “I walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.”  We are the Lord’s hands, fe...

Ephphatha .  Translated from the original Aramaic, it means “be open.”  For those who have been through the RCIA process, this word is familiar as it is used in the minor rite just ahead of the Easter Vigil.  It’s meant to be a calming meditation prior to the celebration of the Easter Sacraments, intended remind us to “be open” to the moment.  Open to the Spirit moving within and around us.  Open to the possibilities ahead.  This word, and our gospel for this week, is a great way to resume our regular catechetical sessions, hoping that our souls will be “be open” to hearing the Holy Spirit.  To be open to the process and be open to the Word to see what God is offering us. The Word for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 35:4-7a Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 James 2:1-5 Mark 7:31-37 Our first reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah.  It is a time of fear for the people of Judah.  The Northern Kingdom of Israel has fallen to the Assyrians and now th...