Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

With the season of Lent now upon us, we enter a period of penitent reflection that includes an increased emphases on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Our readings for Sunday Mass not only remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, but our three-year lectionary cycle also allows us to explore that story in the light of an over-arching theme for the season.  For Cycle B (Gospel of Mark), that theme is covenant.  Covenant is that agreement between God and his people that marks the special relationship we have with our God.  It is a word we will hear in our readings this Sunday, and a word we will continue to hear in our readings throughout this Lenten season. The Word for the 1 st  Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 Our first reading for this 1st Sunday of Lent starts with one of the first covenants between God and his people – that between God and Noah at the end of the great flood.  Also known...

If you want to have some fun, ask a Catholic (or any Christian) about the Holy Spirit.  The answers you get will likely be as varied as the people you ask.  Our faith is based on a “Trinitarian” view of God:  God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  As a Church we do quite well teaching about God the Father, and we do an excellent job teaching about Jesus, but when it comes to the Holy Spirit we tend to treat the subject like a “third wheel” or “odd man out.”  We spend so much time learning about God the Father and God the Son that we end up with little time to spend on the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps our readings for this week can help us to better understand the Spirit… The Word for the 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 For this 6th Sunday of Easter we open with a story from Acts of the Apostles where we hear how Philip has had great success in bringing the Gospel to the people of Samar...

What happens when you have too much of a good thing?  When a business wins that lucrative new contract or expands into a new location?  Or taking that same idea a bit closer to home, what happens when two families merge through marriage, or when a family welcomes a new child?  We consider this kind of growth to be a good thing, but as with all things, these successes also come with their own baggage.  Our readings for this 5th Sunday of Easter have our Apostles facing similar challenges in the face of their growing successes. The Word for the 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-7 Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12 Our reading from Acts of the Apostles learning the hard way about the challenges that grow out of their continued success when their number of followers continues to grow.  Up to this point the Apostles have been doing their best to address the needs of the community, both spiritual and physical, but the community has grown so large now that...

This coming Sunday is knows as Good Shepherd Sunday because our Gospel is the well known “Good Shepherd” story, where in John 10:11 Jesus is quoted as saying “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  In an interesting twist, however, our Gospel reading stops just sort of this verse, ending with verse 10.  Regardless of the fact that we don’t actually hear the phrase “The Good Shepherd” used in the Liturgy, the understanding of Jesus in the roll of “Shepherd” is well understood, and perhaps in avoiding the often used quote, we have an opportunity to better understand the context of the story, because it’s not so much about Jesus’ roll as shepherd but how we as “sheep” responding to our shepherd’s call. The Word for the 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 1 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10-1-10 Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles picks up shortly after where we left off last week.  As we remember, Peter was s...

Easter is about revelation! On Easter Sunday we revealed that the tomb was found empty. Last week Jesus revealed himself to the Apostles in the upper room, reminding us that “Blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe.” This Third Sunday of Easter, Jesus is revealed through the breaking of the Bread. The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 22-33 Psalm 16:2, 5, 7-11 1 Peter 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35 In our first reading from Acts of the Apostles we have Peter standing before all of Jerusalem giving witness to who Jesus was and what happened there. Not only is this meant to remind those who witnessed these events, but it provides those of us who were not there (and Luke’s primarily Gentile audience) the understanding that this messiah was in fact killed by his own people, but through that act it was also their greatest king, David, and the many other prophets who followed, who prophesied his coming.  Our Psalm takes up this theme, reminding us that the Lord will show...

He is risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!  Easter is not over… it has only just begun!  While some folks might be ready to pack up the Easter decorations, many of us know that the party is just getting started!  Easter is not just one day, but an entire 50 day season!  Having traveled through the 40 days of Lent reflecting on the story of our salvation, the focus of our readings now turn to the story of the birth of our Church. The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 For the Season of Easter, our first reading during Mass, instead of being from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), we read from The Acts of the Apostles.  Why the change?  Because it is in this book we get the sequel to the “Greatest Story Ever Told.”  After Luke completed his Gospel, he soon came to realize that this was not the end of the story, but a beginning… the beginning of the Church.  And like ...