Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

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 Advent marks the beginning of the new Liturgical Year, and with that 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 Gos...

In the Nicene Creed we state that we believe Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end."  This belief didn’t originate in the Creed, these words have their origins in the scriptures.  This Sunday's Gospel reminds us that God alone determines our fate after death, but that fate is also determined by our own choices in life – our free will to follow a path of righteousness or selfishness.  In one of Jesus' final sermons to his Apostles (in a continuation from last week's Gospel), Jesus gives us concrete examples to follow: The Word for Christ the King Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 Matthew 25:31-46 Our first reading comes from Ezekiel, the exiled priest who found his prophetic voice in Babylon.  At a time where the exiled Jewish community is feeling abandoned by God, Ezekiel is called to bring a message of hope.  He speaks of God as a shepherd who seeks to bring back...

God the Father has endowed us with many gifts.  Not only does scripture recommend that we give thanks for these gifts (as in our readings from Proverbs and Psalms), but it recommends that these gifts must be put to use for the greater good and the love of God. The Word for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 Matthew 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21 We open with a reading from the book of Proverbs.  This book falls within the category of “wisdom literature” in the Bible.  Like its other wisdom book counterparts, it is a collection of wise sayings used as a type of “catechism” to teach right living in the eyes of God.  Proverbs is thought to originate during the period of the Israelite monarchy but doesn’t reach its final form until the post-exilic period.  Our passage for this coming Sunday gives us the example of the value of a “worthy wife,” and how we should honor that value.  “Wisdom” in...

Be prepared.  Our world is full of uncertainty.  Anything could happen at any time which can affect our lives, either personally, locally, or globally.  As Southern Californians, we live with the constant threat of the next big earthquake when we’re not fighting with fires, flash-floods, and traffic collisions.  We’re taught regularly what we physically need to do in the case of a disaster, but what about spiritually?  Are we prepared for the next spiritual crisis that comes into our lives?  Our readings for this Sunday have some advice… The Word for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Wisdom 6:12-16 Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Our first reading from the Book of Wisdom could be summed up as “good things come to those who wait”.  Wisdom (always envisioned as a beautiful feminine figure) will come to those who keep vigil for her sake.  There’s a sense of eager anticipation to this reading.  Those who seek wis...