Since the beginning of the Church her people have always recognized those who were models of holiness and piety. They were given the title “saint,” and what began as a local custom developed into a more structured practice under the Holy See beginning in the 10th century. In recognition of the Solemnity of All Saints falling on a Sunday, we forego our usual readings in favor of these chosen specifically for this special holiday: The Word for the Solemnity of All Saints Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 1 John 3:1-3 Matthew 5:1-12a Our first reading comes from the Book of Revelation – probably one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and confusing books of the Bible – and it’s no wonder, with its apocalyptic style thick with symbolic images and numerology it can be very hard to follow. So let’s try to unpack our passage for this week. The passage opens with John seeing an angel, speaking with God’s authority, to the four other angels charged ...
What is the measure of a person? From a Biblical perspective, it’s how you treat others. In fact, the Scriptures are quite consistent on this point. From the Mosaic Law Code in Exodus, to the teachings of the prophets, to the parables of Jesus, to the teachings of Paul and the Apostles, we are constantly reminded about how a God-loving people are expected to act toward one another. Our readings for this coming Sunday provide us the best examples of this most important teaching: The Word for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Exodus 22:20-26 Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10 Mathew 22:34-40 We open with a reading from the book of Exodus. When we think of the Exodus, we always remember the Ten Commandments, but we tend to forget that these Ten are just the beginning of the extensive Law code. Just as with the preamble to the Constitution for the US, there’s a whole lot more that follows, providing the nuts-and-bolts (the context and appli...