Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

Lent is a season where, scripturally, we revisit the story of our salvation history.  It’s the story of where our great patriarchs and prophets met the Lord God, and how our relationship with God, as a people, continues to grow and evolve.  We also know from our review of the readings last week that our overarching theme for Cycle B is  covenant .  After God’s covenant with Noah last week, we now visit the next great covenant, that between God and Abraham… The Word for the 2 nd  Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10 Our first reading, from the book of Genesis, is one of the great stories about Abraham.   By this point in the narrative God has already made a covenant with Abraham, but now God is putting that covenant to the test.  God asks Abraham to make a sacrifice of his young son Isaac.  Isaac, as we know, is the only child born by Abraham’s wife, Sarah (a birth promis...

This 4th Sunday of Advent we focus on the Incarnation… God made manifest through the birth of Jesus.  Nothing captures this moment better than our Gospel, but as we will see, our other readings would suggest that this meeting between God and his people has been coming for some time… The Word for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27-29 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 To better understand our readings for this week, I think we should first look at our Gospel.  In a story that is unique to Luke’s Gospel, we here the of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to announce God’s plan for the birth of his Son.  It’s not hard for us to imagine Mary’s amazement in this moment.  Not only is this humble girl from Nazareth (already likely anxious over her betrothal to Joseph) being approached by an angel, a messenger for the Lord, but the angel’s message is almost unbelievable:  God has chosen her to bear his Son.  Ma...

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...

This week our theme is conversion… a most appropriate topic for the opening sessions of the RCIA!  But as can sometimes happen, a quick read of the text might leave you asking where this theme is coming from.  That is because it’s not so much a story about a conversion as it is a teaching on how a converted person should act. The Word for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Ezekiel 33:7-9 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20 We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, who tells us that we are not only responsible for our own actions, but for the actions of others as well.  Ezekiel is teaching us that the sins of others, if left unchecked, becomes our sin as well.  This is at the heart of issues that revolve around the idea of “social sin.”  In other words, if we know what is right, we can’t just turn out back to it.  For indeed, the mark of a civilized society are the establishment of rules of behavior that all members of tha...

What is the cost of discipleship?  Since the beginning of their journeys together, Jesus has been teaching his disciples of the difficulties they face by following him.  They will need courage, and strength of conviction as they continue to follow him and preach the Gospel.  Our readings for this 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time reminds us that following Jesus is not only difficult, but can come at the cost of our very lives. The Word for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalm: 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27 We open with a reading from the prophet Jeremiah.  In a passage that is typical of what I call “the prophet’s lament,” we hear Jeremiah complaining to God about how he has been duped.  His life as a prophet has brought him nothing but derision and reproach, yet he cannot help himself… he still must preach God’s message.  The pain of holding back is still greater than the pain he must endure by those who don’t care for his...

Who’s in charge?  Whenever we find ourselves working in a group situation this is a very fundamental question.  While all the members of the group may have certain skills they can bring to the table, it takes a leader to effectively marshal those skills (and individuals) to their goal.  In fact, it’s built into our human nature.  Think about any crisis situation… without someone to step in and take charge, chaos reigns.  Yet when it comes time for someone to step up, many people also find comfort in letting someone else do it. When it comes to Church, however… the People of God, the question of who’s in charge is both simple and complex… and is the core question considered in our readings for this 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Word for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 22:19-23 Psalm: 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20 Our first reading comes from a rather obscure passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah.  In fact, this passage...

Who is God for?  EVERYONE!  The answer is almost automatic for modern day Catholics… one barely even needs to think about it to know this is true, yet our scriptures for this 20th week of Ordinary Time remind us that this understanding was not always so obvious nor accepted. The Word for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Psalm: 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28 We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah… Trito-Isaiah or 3rd Isaiah to be more precise, authored during the post-Exile period.  This week’s passage has the prophet telling us that God will accept the sacrifices of all peoples… that is, people who are not of Israel.  The God of Israel is telling his people that he’s not just the God for them, but for all others who follow his commands.  The foreigner, the Gentile, also have an open invitation to join in the Covenant.  There are two ways to look at this passage.  On one side we see this a ge...

Revelation.  The word itself is a noun formed from the verb “to reveal,” and for Christians, the revelation is that Jesus is Lord.  This is one of the most basic truths of Christian theology, yet for the average Christian (and for many non-Christians) the word revelation is not always understood.  Putting grand theological ideas aside for the moment, revelation, simply stated, is the act of how God reveals himself to us.  To help us understand this idea of revelation, we turn to our readings for this 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Word for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time 1Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Psalm: 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33 We open with a reading from the 1st book of Kings.  We enter the passage with great prophet Elijah as he is seeking shelter in the sacred mountain in the Sinai (mount Horeb).  While in the cave God tells him to stand outside, because the Lord will be passing by.    A strong wind comes, but th...

“God will provide.”  It’s a common response by well meaning people of faith when we’re struggling with a difficult situation and we find ourselves in need.  Be these needs physical or spiritual or both, the phrase “God will provide” can be hard for us to accept, especially when our common human reason would seem to suggest otherwise.  Our readings for this 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time helps us to find faith that God will answer our needs… The Word for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:1-3 Psalm: 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 Romans 8:35, 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21 Our first reading comes from the book of Isaiah, “Deutero” or “Second” Isaiah to be precise.  This part of Isaiah speaks of redemption for an Israel that finds itself in Exile in Babylon.  The Babylonian’s destruction of Jerusalem and their subsequent Exile was a deeply transformative experience for the Hebrew people, and much of that transformation is seen in our Scriptures.  Yet through that pain, ...

What is the Kingdom of God?  We hear this term so often it can lose its meaning, assuming we had any clear understanding of this idea to begin with.  The “Kingdom” is what we’ve been promised.  The “Kingdom” is what we struggle to obtain.  The “Kingdom” is why we follow Christ.  But ask your average Catholic what the Kingdom of God is, and you’re likely to get many different answers.  To help us wrap our minds around this concept, we turn our attention to our readings for this 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time… The Word for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Psalm: 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:44-52 Our first reading comes from the 1st Book of Kings.  King David has died, passing his crown to his son, Solomon.  In this Sunday’s passage, the Lord appears to the young king in a dream, and asks Solomon what he, the Lord, can give him.  Solomon responds humbly, addressing himself as the Lord’s servant, ...

One of the beauties of Ordinary Time is the opportunity to “play the long game” when it comes understanding Jesus and his teachings. We literally journey with Jesus and the Apostles during his mission to spread the Word, and because many of our readings pick up where we left off the previous week, we have an opportunity to learn as we go, much like the Apostles themselves. The Word for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Psalm: 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 Our first reading comes from the Book of Wisdom.  This book, coming about 50 years before Christ (most likely from the Jewish Community of Alexandria) served, like most of the wisdom books, as a kind of “catechism” for the faithful. Our passage this week reminds us that God is both mighty and benevolent.  In fact, the text goes to great lengths to say that this might comes from his benevolence.  Not only has God taught us what good (through The Law), he gives us the opportunity t...

“Can you tell me a little about yourself?”  It’s a question many of us have had to answer… maybe during a job interview or when meeting someone for the first time.  More often than not our answer to this question will start with talk of family, friends, where you grew up, where you went to school, where you worked.  From the moment we are born we live our lives in the context of our environment.  Put another way, the story of our lives is written within the stories of those around us.  Their stories become our stories, and in turn define who we are.  The same is true for the Church. The Word for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:10-11 Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 Romans 8:18-23 Matthew 13:1-23 Our first reading for this coming Sunday is from the master story teller of the Hebrew scriptures… Isaiah.  In a short poetic stanza from the time near the end of the Exile from Deutero-Isaiah, the passage paints a picture of the rain and snow giving nour...

With our special celebrations and feast days behind us, the Church now enters a long stretch of Ordinary Time.  This also means that our lectionary – the order of our readings for Mass – falls back to some basic patterns for the cycle and the season, and our themes become more varied. The Word for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time Zechariah 9:9-10 Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matthew 11:25-30 We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Zechariah.  It is helpful to remember that Zechariah’s prophecy comes from the early post-exile era, around 520 BCE, around the same time as Ezekiel and Ezra, and is attributed to two different authors (1st Zechariah forming Chapters 1-8, 2nd Zechariah forming chapters 9-14).  Our passage for this Sunday comes from 2nd Zechariah with a vision of a restored Jerusalem with a new king.  This vision of a new King should sound very familiar, because to our Christian ears this sounds very much like Jesus.  W...

We are now deep into our Lenten observance as we approach enter the 5th week of Lent. During this cycle the readings, typically used for the RCIA, are meant to reveal to us that Jesus is the Christ, the chosen one to reconcile us to the Father. Two weeks ago we focused on having faith in God and the symbolism of water. Last week we focused on redemption and the symbols of anointing and light.  This week – the final week before Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion – our focus is on restoration, vividly depicted through the resurrection of Lazarus, while giving us a foretaste of what is to come… The Word for the 5th Sunday of Lent Ezekiel 37:12-14 Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Romans 8:8-11 John 11:1-45 We open with a reading from the prophet Ezekiel.  While not often read during the Liturgical cycle, Ezekiel is considered one of the major prophets, and his message is as unique as his calling.  Ezekiel, having been born into the priestly class, received his call to prophecy 10 ...

We are now deep into our Lenten season reflection, and from now through to the Triduum our readings not only continue our journey through Salvation History, they begin a cycle of readings that are some of the most powerful in all of scripture.  In fact, the Church finds these readings of such importance that she has chosen them to be used specifically for the RCIA in the Scrutiny Rites.  It is fortunate for all of us that these readings fall within our regular cycle of readings this year so we can all give them due contemplation during this Lenten season. The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Lent Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42 We open a reading from the book of Exodus.  At this point the Israelites have escaped Pharaoh and his army having crossed the Red Sea.  They are now free, but have yet to reach Mount Sinai.  They are traveling through the “wilderness,”  A barren stretch of land between the sea and the Sinai. ...

Lent is a time to reflect… to see where we have been, determine where we are, and chart our course ahead.  Similarly, our readings for this Lenten cycle also show us where we have been as a people, help us to see where we are, and show us the road we as Church should follow.  We call this walk through the scriptures the “history of our salvation, ” and throughout this season of Lent, we will be listening to stories from some of the most pivotal moments of our history as a people of God. The Word for the 1st Sunday of Lent Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17 Romans 5:12-19 Mathew 4:1-11 Most appropriately, we begin our journey at the very beginning… with our first reading from the Book of Genesis and  the story of “mans fall from grace.”  This is the same “necessary sin of Adam” we sing about during the Easter Vigil’s Exultet. In our passage from Genesis this week we witness God’s creation of man and the creation of the garden.  From there our text ...

During this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, our scripture reminds us of how it is that our Savior, Emmanuel, Jesus (Yehoshua, which means “God saves”) will come into the world… born by virgin. The Word for the 4th Sunday of Advent Isaiah 7:10-14 Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24 Our first reading, from early Isaiah, give us the prophecy of how this “Emmanuel”, this “messiah”, will come into the world… “the virgin will conceive and bear a son.”  While our Christian ears recognize this as the prophecy of Mary, this was not the case for those who first heard and read these words.  At the time, King Ahaz was under threat from the Assyrians, and fearing the fall of Jerusalem, actually aided in the fall of the Northern Kingdom.  In this excerpt of the story, the Lord is upset with Ahaz, and is trying to give him one last chance to repent… to “ask for a sign from the Lord your God.”  While God sees this as an opportunity for reconciliation, Ahaz doesn’t...

Most of the time our readings for a particular week give us a fairly clear message that threads itself through our Sunday readings, but looking at our readings this week, I find very challenging to find that common thread or theme. The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Advent         Isaiah 11:1-10         Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17         Romans 15:4-9         Mathew 3:1-12 We open with a reading from the prophet Isaiah.  Here he describes for us a vision of the ideal king… the one who will “fear the Lord” and be a just judge.  His words will be his only weapons and his reign will bring universal peace.  It will be so glorious that all nations will seek it out.  To our Christian ears, it sounds as if he is describing Jesus himself.  While this would not  be incorrect, neither would it be completely correct.  F...

This Sunday marks the beginning of the new Liturgical Year with the First Sunday of Advent.  Advent is the season wherein we ask ourselves, “Are we ready for the coming of Christ?”  While our secular culture is frantically running around making sure that everything is ready for Christmas (which they think is just one day), the Church is asking us to slow down, take a pause, and look into our own hearts to make sure that we are ready to meet the Lord when he comes again. The Word for the 1st Sunday of Advent         Isaiah 2:1-5         Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9         Romans 13:11-14         Matthew 24:37-44 Our first reading comes from the second chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah.  The book of Isaiah is one of the longest of all the prophets, and spans a period from before the Assyrian attack on the Northern Kingdom,...

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 ...