Adult Initiation & Sacrament Preparation

Who speaks for the Lord?  Do you have to be a prophet?  A priest?  A bishop?  The Pope?  What about you?  The answer, according to our readings this week, is “whomever God calls,” and that could be you. The Word for the 26tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Numbers 11:25-29 Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 James 5:1-6 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 Our first reading comes from the Book of Numbers.  This book is a continuation of the Exodus story, from the point where they leave the Sinai (after receiving the Law) to the point where they are ready to enter the Promised Land.  The book gives us some history of these years interspersed with sections of legal codes.  This Sunday’s passage deals with the commissioning the elders… those 70 individuals chosen by Moses to receive some of the Spirit so that they may prophesy (preach) among the people.  But during this time there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were not with the group at the tent, bu...

God’s ways are not our ways.  This is one of the points Jesus was trying to make with his Apostles in last week’s gospel, and that theme continues be examined in our readings for this week… The Word for the 25tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 Psalm 54:3-4, 5, 6, 8 James 3:16-4:3 Mark 9:30-37 Our first reading comes from the Book of Wisdom.  By way of reminder, the Book of Wisdom was written about fifty years before Christ.  For Jesus and his followers, this was a contemporary work, and like most wisdom literature, served as a sort of catechism for the Jewish community.  In this case, however, the community wasn’t from Jerusalem, but from Alexandria, and was written in Greek (not Hebrew) while patterned on a style used in Hebrew verse.  For most Christians reading this passage it sounds very much like how Jesus was treated.  It can be hard for us to remember that this verse comes to us a couple generations before Jesus was even born...

What is the cost of discipleship?  Let’s be honest… Christianity can be a tough sell... especially during this times when the sins of the Church herself weigh on all of us.  In order to follow Jesus it means making sacrifices, changing and forming our lives to model what Jesus taught us… to what God wants of us.  For many this is a difficult path to follow, and even harder to explain to others. The Word for the 24tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 50:5-9a Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 James 2:14-18 Mark 8:27-35 Our first reading is an elegant poem from second Isaiah.  Coming from one of his well known “servant songs,”  this first reading is a lament of sorts, as Isaiah bemoans the trials he must endure in his mission as a prophet.  For all his complaints, however, he knows his mission is just.  With the Lord God behind him, who could prove him wrong?  Our Psalm reflects this idea of God standing behind us, both in this life and the next,...

Ephphatha .  Translated from the original Aramaic, it means “be open.”  For those who have been through the RCIA process, this word is familiar as it is used in the minor rite just ahead of the Easter Vigil.  It’s meant to be a calming meditation prior to the celebration of the Easter Sacraments, intended remind us to “be open” to the moment, open to the Spirit moving within and around us...  Open to the possibilities ahead.  This word, and our gospel for this week, is also a great way to start the Adult Formation process as we resume our regular catechetical sessions, hoping that new souls will be “be open” to hearing the Holy Spirit… Be open to the process…  and be open to the Word to see what God is offering us. The Word for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 35:4-7a Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 James 2:1-5 Mark 7:31-37 Our first reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah.  It is a time of fear for the people of Judah.  The Northern K...

Actions speak louder than words.  When Jesus railed against the Pharisees and the Scribes, this was one of the key elements he used to call attention to their hypocrisy.  While putting on the face of piety they consistently ignored the needs of the poor, and more often than not, stood as a barrier, not a facilitator to building a relationship with God.  While our readings for this Sunday remind us that we much follow the Law set down by the Lord, but neither should we ignore the spirit of that law when confronting the letter of the Law. The Word for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5 James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Our first reading comes from the Book of Deuteronomy.  Here Moses is presenting the Law of God to the people of Israel.  Our passage is actually from two different sections… the first, from the opening of Chapter 4 where Moses enjoins them to her the law, and not to add or sub...

Do you have what it takes to follow the Lord?   Our readings this week give us a challenge… do we follow society or do we follow the Lord.   Not everything God says is easy to follow.   Not everything Jesus said or taught was easy for his disciples to accept.   The Word for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b Psalm 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21 Ephesians 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32 John 6:60-69 Our first reading comes from the book of Joshua.   Joshua stood beside Moses and Aaron as they marched out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, and now has taken over from Moses to lead the Israelites into the promised land.   Unfortunately, as the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, there were others already living there, forcing them into some military engagements.   After winning a series of successful struggles, Joshua has now gathered all the people together to give them a choice… to follow the gods of t...

God provides everything that we need, but are we smart enough to see this?  Do we have faith enough to believe it?  To help us better see this, our readings this week use the images of a banquet, food and drink, as the enticement to come to the table of the Lord. The Word for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time Proverbs 9:1-6 Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58 Our first reading comes from the Book of Proverbs, one of the first of the books of wisdom dating back to the middle of the period of the Hebrew monarchy.  Typical of wisdom literature in the Bible, it is a collection of sayings and instructions intended to teach listeners about the ways of God and the world… an ancient type of catechism for the faithful.  As is typical for this genre, this Sunday’s passage presents wisdom as a woman.  Here she has prepared a sumptuous banquet.  It is evident she has gone to great effort to set her table, and then she summons “all who are s...