Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

For the Western Church, the Christmas Season officially comes to an end this Sunday with  our celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.    The celebration of the Nativity is behind us and the new year stretches before us, so what better way to transition from Christmas to Ordinary Time than by celebrating the Lord’s Baptism.    Baptism marks a new beginning…    a rebirth.    For Jesus, this marks the beginning of his ministry, and serves as an excellent transition from the infancy narratives to the story of his life and ministry.    So this week we begin a new journey… The Word for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Isaiah 55:1-11 Psalm 12:2-3, 5-6 1 John 5:1-9 Mark 1:7-11 Our first reading is the famous “banquet invitation” which concludes 2 nd   Isaiah.    This song from Isaiah is a fitting end to his prophecy on Israel’s liberation from Exile in Babylon.    It sings of the goodness that ...

The first Sunday after Christmas Day is reserved for the Feast of the Holy Family.   By Church standards this a relatively modern celebration, established in 1921, first celebrated the first Sunday after Epiphany, but later moved to first Sunday after Christmas in 1969.   Coming as it does at this time of year, it crystallizes for us the importance of family life in our creation and formation.   Jesus, as the Incarnation, was born into a family and raised by that family.   Mary and Joseph may have had a sacred trust in parenting the Son of God, but it is also growing up in that ordinary family structure that brings Jesus closer to us.   Our readings this week offer a number of alternatives, but all focus on the importance of family life.   As it is most likely you will be hearing the first of all our selections, I will focus on these... The Word for the Feast of the Holy Family Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 or Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or ...

The phrase, "to judge the living and the dead" comes from our Creed, but has its origins in scriptures like this Sunday's Gospel.  It 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 (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 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 his lost sheep.  It’s a powerful image that we Christians easily recognize from Jesus’ teachings.  This message of the c...

November 9th marks the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.  Why are we celebrating the dedication of a church?  Well, because this is perhaps the most important church in all of Western Christianity.  The official title of this church is:  The Cathedral Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist at the Lateran.  “The Lateran” in this case refers to the Lateran Palace which belonged to the Laterni family, an ancient noble Roman family.  The palace was acquired by Constantine and donated to the Pope in order to be the cathedral of the city of Rome.  This is where the cathedra, the Bishop’s Chair, sits.  Contrary to popular belief, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is not the Pope’s Cathedral.  The Pope is foremost the Bishop of Rome, so therefore his Cathedral Church is in the City of Rome (not Vatican City, which at the time of Constantine was little more than a hill outside of...

This coming Sunday is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, or more commonly referred to as All Souls Day.  As this special day falls on a Sunday this year, we put aside our readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time to focus our attention on those who have passed on before us. The Word for All Souls Day: Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9 John 6:37-40 What happens after we die?  This is the question that our first reading from the Book of Wisdom tries to answer.  Here the passage states that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God.”  In other words, those good people who have passed on are in good hands.  The book of Wisdom comes to us about 50 years before the birth of Christ from the Jewish community in Alexandria.  In many ancient cultures sickness and death were equated to sin, so those who were passing before their time, that is, those who didn't die of old age, must have done something to a...

June 29th is celebrated as the Feast Day for Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles… a feast that this year happens to fall on a Sunday where we would normally be celebrating the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  While these two Saints have been celebrated since the earliest days of the Church, with their own feast days (St. Peter on June 29th, and St. Paul on June 30th), the 1962 revision of the General Roman Calendar combined the celebrations.  It is also the day set aside for when newly consecrated Metropolitan Bishops (or Archbishops) receive their pallium from the Pope… the white woolen band with three “fingers” worn over their shoulders as a sign of their office.  The Pope also wears a pallium as the sign of his office as the Archbishop of Rome.  Because we are celebrating the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, our readings naturally turn our attention to these two pillars of the Church. The Word for the Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles Acts 12:1-11 Psalm 34:2...

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, but for those who remember their Latin, you might better recognize it as the feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ).  The Feast was originally established in 1246 by Bishop Robert de Torete, of the Diocese of Liège, Belgium, but not without the 40 year effort of St. Julia of Liège, a Norbertine sister who had a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, who spent most of her life petitioning for this special feast day. The Word for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 John 6:51-58 When Jesus established the Eucharist at the Last Supper, his use of bread and wine was deliberate and purposeful.  They were the most ordinary of foods, yet represented what was necessary to sustain us.  In Jewish ritual, bread and wine are an important part of the Passover meal, and have long been associa...

February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  Since this date falls on a Sunday this year, we take a break from our readings for Ordinary Time to celebrate with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-4 Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or Luke 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord.  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused with priestly renewal of vows, which usually takes place on Holy Thursd...

This Sunday marks the end of our Church year with the Feast of Christ the King.  By church timelines, this feast day is very much born in the modern era.  In response to the growing nationalism and secularism of the early 20th century, Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in his 1925 encyclical letter Quas Primas.  At the time the world was still recovering from the Great War (World War I), but as we all know, the turmoil that followed created the economic and social instability that would eventually bring on the Great Depression and World War II.  Revolutions in Russia, China, and Spain were sparking unrest worldwide, and calling into question the their models of governance and economics.  It is in this chaos that Pope Pius understood the need to refocus our attention on who it is that we must serve. The Word for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe         2 Samuel 5:1-3     ...

With Memorial Day behind us, we Americans mark the beginning of the Summer holiday.  For some, school is already out, and for many others, school will be ending shortly.  With Easter and Pentecost now in our rear-view mirror, we approach a long spell of Ordinary Time... but before we slip into the ma-laze of the season, we focus on the most significant gift Jesus left us... his real presence in the Eucharist - the Body and Blood of Christ. The Word for the Body and Blood of Christ:        Genesis 14:18-20        Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4        1 Corinthians 11:23-26        Luke 9:11b-17 As one might expect, our readings all present images of bread and wine.  Our first reading from Genesis shows us a religious celebration attended by Abram, in which the priest Melchizedek offers bread and wine.  Our second reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians i...

Our Easter jubilation ended this past Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost, bringing us to Ordinary Time.  But after so many weeks of joyous Easter revelry, the Church isn't quite ready to put away the party favors.  So to ease us through this transition from Easter to Ordinary Time, the calendar gives us two significant celebrations... The solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (this Sunday), and the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (next Sunday).  For this week’s solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, each of the three members of the Trinity are represented by the readings. The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity :         Proverbs 8:22-31         Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9         Romans 5:1-5         John 16:12-15 First, God the Father is represented our first reading from Proverbs.  The imagery would seem to tell ...

This week we celebrate the end of the Easter Season with the Feast of Pentecost, the remembrance of when the Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles just as Jesus foretold prior to his Ascension (which we celebrated last week). The Word for the Pentecost:         Acts 2:1-11         Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34         1st Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 OR Romans 8:8-17         John 20:19-23 OR John 14:15-16, 23b-26 Confirmation, tradition says, is when we receive the Holy Spirit, and gain the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), Fear of the Lord (awe of God).  Confirmation is our adult “Amen” to our Baptism (which is why adults going through the RCIA receive this Sacrament right after their Baptism).  But how are these gifts manifest in us?  Are we any differe...

Instead of the celebrating the 7th Sunday of Easter, the Church in the USA uses this coming Sunday to celebrate the Ascension (which under the traditional calendar is celebrated this coming Thursday).  Our readings for this Sunday recount that moment.  Our first account is from Acts of the Apostles… a much more detailed account (right down to the traditional 40 days) than any of the Gospels recount.  By now we have learned that Acts of the Apostles is the sequel to Luke’s gospel… but as with all Hollywood blockbuster sequels, Luke begins his new narrative with a recounting of the end of the previous book, but with much more detail and special effects… taking a moment from the previous work and fleshing it out to build into the continuing story.  The Word for the Ascension of the Lord:         Acts 1:1-11         Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9         Ephesians 1:17-2...