Adult Faith Formation & Initiation

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33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Our journey through Ordinary Time is almost at an end. Next week we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (or simply, Christ the King), marking the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. In our readings, Jesus also knows the end is near. We have spent this long stretch of Ordinary Time walking with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel, and now, nearing the city of Jerusalem for the last time, our thoughts turn to the end times… The Word for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Daniel 12:1-3 Psalm 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 Mark 13:24-32 Our first reading comes from the book of Daniel. Daniel is to the Hebrew Scriptures what the book of Revelation is to the Christian Scriptures – a prophet’s dream-like vision of the end of days where the righteous will be saved and the unrighteous are condemned to Hell. The book of Daniel isn’t a prophetic book, but rather more like the book of Job, taking its name from the story’s hero. While Daniel was

32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

As members of the church we are taught to give of our time, our talents, and our treasure in service to the Gospel. But how much is enough? Scripture is quite clear on this subject – this is an “all in” proposition, as our readings this week tell us: The Word for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time 1 Kings 17:10-16 Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 Our first reading comes from the 1st Book of Kings. In our passage Israel is suffering a great drought, and the great prophet Elijah is on the run from King Ahab. He comes to the gates of Zarephath, a city North of Israel between the cities of Tyre and Sidon. There he meets a widow and her son. Tired and thirsty from his journey, he asks the widow for some water and some bread, whereupon we learn that they too are suffering, having only enough flour and oil to last one more day. Elijah asks her again to make him some bread with the promise that the Lord will make sure that her jars of flour and oil will not run dry unt

31st Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

As a society we have an obsession with rules. “We must do this,” or “we can’t do that.” While rules provide a necessary structure to our society which allows it to function, they can also be used to abuse or oppress members of society, particularly minority members of a society. There are also those who feel they are above the law, able to use their position and wealth in society to circumvent the rules or distort them to their will. But we who profess to be Christian believe there is no law above God’s Law, which is perfect, as we learn from this week’s readings: The Word for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Deuteronomy 6:2-6 Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 12:28b-34 Our first reading is from the book of Deuteronomy. Scholars believe it is this text that King Josiah found in the temple and read aloud to the people, causing them to weep and wale. In this passage Moses is presenting God’s commandments to the people reminding them that by following these commandment

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

One of my favorite readings is from the great prophet Isaiah where he says, “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” (Isaiah 50:4). Similarly, our readings today are meant to rouse us! They speak of God’s greatness, his love for his people, and how our faith will lead to salvation. This week’s readings remind us that God is there for us. Always. All we need to do is call out, have faith, and follow him. The Word for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Hebrews 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52 Our first reading comes from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah. As you may remember, Jeremiah came to his calling as a prophet under King Josiah, the great reformer of the later Southern Kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah saw the eventual downfall of the kingdom and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, but even though he foresaw the fall of Judah, this week’s passage gives us a

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

For some time now Jesus has been trying to explain to his disciples that he is going to be put to death, but the Apostles either can’t see this or they refuse to see it. Jesus, however, a student of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” understands this all too well, that speaking the word of God will often lead to personal suffering: The Word for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45 Our first reading comes from the book of the Prophet Isaiah. In a passage from late Second Isaiah, he tells us that God’s servant will suffer. This is the fourth of Isaiah’s “servant songs” which foretells of a redeemer sent by God to save humanity, but that redemption comes at a cost – the death of his servant. While the opening hook is troubling for us to hear ( The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity ), as if God takes delight in his servant’s suffering, we need to continue with the passage to see that God’s being pleased comes not f

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

What is truly valuable? As a species humanity seems constantly preoccupied with this question, starting from our individual perspective and building up to our families, our parish, our community, all the way up to the entire world view. Whole industries have grown around this idea of value, from the advertising industry that tries to convince you of the value of what they’re selling, to insurance companies that can set a monetary value on everything, including your own life. Our faith tradition also has some thoughts on this question, as addressed by our readings this week: The Word for the 28tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 Hebrews 4:12-13 Mark 10:17-30 Our first reading is from the Book of Wisdom. You may recall that we had a passage from this book three weeks ago, but by way of reminder, the Book of Wisdom comes to us from the Jewish community in Alexandria some 50 years before Christ. Typical of wisdom literature in the Bible, it’s meant t