4th Sunday of Advent, Year B2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29 (2a)Romans 16:25-27Luke 1:26-28December 20, 2020 David had become a great king, living in a great palace. There, “the LORD had given him rest from his enemies.” Knowing what the Lord had done for him, King David said to Nathan the […]
Archive of posts filed under the Advent category.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily
3rd Sunday of Advent, Year BIsaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11Responsorial – Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 (Isaiah 61:10b)1 Thessalonians 5:16-24John 1:6-8, 19-28December 13, 2020 The time for the long-awaited messiah is near. To prepare the way of the Lord, “John was sent from God.” John came to give testimony, “to testify to the light.” His testimony is to […]
Some Thoughts on Advent
Recently a friend suggested I write an article about Advent here. Honestly, my first reaction was to think I talk about Advent regularly in my Sunday homilies that are posted on this blog. (You can find them at http://blog.renewaloffaith.org/blog/?cat=223.) You can also find an article I wrote on the liturgical year in general, including one […]
Advent Holy Hour Homily 2020
Advent Holy Hour 2020 with Vespers (Evening Prayer II)2nd Sunday of AdventRomans 8:18-27December 6, 2020 Our reading from Romans begins with Paul speaking of “the sufferings of this present time.” How has your year been? In what ways have you suffered? Of course, there is the Coronavirus pandemic that has affected everyone in some way. […]
2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B – Homily
2nd Sunday of Advent, Year BIsaiah 40:1-5, 9-11Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (8)2 Peter 3:8-14Mark 1:1-8December 6, 2020 Scholars divide the Book of the Prophet Isaiah into three sections. Today’s reading from chapter 40 begins the second section. God “speaks tenderly” to the people that their time of Exile is over. This brings comfort to the […]
1st Sunday of Advent, Year B – Homily
1st Sunday of Advent, Year BIsaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)1 Corinthians 1:3-9Mark 13:33-37November 29, 2020 Our passage from Isaiah today comes from a time when the Babylonian Exile was ending and the Jews were returning to Jerusalem. They found the Temple in ruins and their lands pillaged. It was difficult to see. […]
4th Sunday of Advent, Year A – Homily
4th Sunday of Advent, Year AIsaiah 7:10-14Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (7c, 10b)Romans 1:1-7Matthew 1:18-24December 22, 2019 It’s almost Christmas but not yet. We have to wait a couple of more days. On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, our reading from Isaiah prophesized a birth from a virgin. Our gospel today tells part of the story […]
Advent Penance Homily 2019
Advent Penance Service 2019Isaiah 57:14-21Psalm 63Matthew 3:1-12December 19, 2019 Christmas is coming but it is not yet here. We get excited for Christmas. Psalm 63, our responsorial psalm today, is one of my favorite psalms because it expresses our desire to know God with versus like: “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my […]
3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A – Homily
3rd Sunday of Advent, Year AIsaiah 35:1-6a, 10Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 (Isaiah 35:4)James 5:7-10Matthew 11:2-11December 15, 2019 “Be patient.” “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” These are the words that begin our second reading today. We hear them as we approach our celebration of the First Coming of Jesus at […]
Holy Hour Homily
Advent Holy Hour Matthew 26:36-46December 8, 2019 We are here this evening for what we call a “holy hour”. One might ask we do we holy hours at all and why today. To understand why we do “holy hours” at all we need to consider two things. First and foremost, it is rooted in the […]