We are about to start a very busy weekend in the Church. This Sunday (December 24th) is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Then Christmas arrives on Monday. That means there will be the normal Sunday Masses. Then, at 4 pm in the afternoon we start our Christmas Eve Masses. (Please be aware that some parishes …
As we approach Christmas, there are specific readings for daily Masses on the final eight days before Christmas. The gospel readings focus on the events just before the birth of Jesus including the announcements of the pending births of John the Baptist and Jesus. It begins on December 17th (which was a Sunday this year, …
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In our present season of Advent, we are called to reflect on our readiness for the Second Coming of Jesus. This means we need to make a thorough examination of conscience. The color violent is a color that symbolizes penance and sorrow for our sins. We need to recognize our sins and ask God to …
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2nd Sunday of Advent, Year BIsaiah 40:1-5, 9-11Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (8)2 Peter 3:8-14Mark 1:1-8 December 10, 2023 Isaiah the prophet speaks of a voice that cries out. Today’s gospel speaks of a voice crying out in the desert. Isaiah prophesizes at a time when the nation of Israel had been defeated and many of …
Defeated by their enemies, their nation and temple destroyed, many scattered in exile, the Israelites cry out to God, “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?” They had come to realize that it was their own fault that led to their …
With the new year just five days away, have you made plans for how you will celebrate the beginning of the new year? Will you make any new year’s resolutions? The new year begins on Sunday, December 3rd. I will celebrate it the same way I celebrate the beginning of every new year, by celebrating …
In our first reading today (4th Sunday of Advent Year A), the Lord offers a sign to King Ahaz. He tells Ahaz, “let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!” Ahaz can ask for any sign, no matter how great and the Lord will grant it. What would you ask for …
In our first reading, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord offers a message to the Israelites in distress. “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers.” The message is in the future tense. It is a message of hope. While things may seem …
2nd Sunday of Advent, Year AIsaiah 11:1-10Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 (7)Romans 15:4-9Matthew 3:1-12December 4, 2022 Our gospel passage today comes from the time just before Jesus began his public ministry during his first coming. It speaks of preparation. We can use this passage to reflect on our readiness for the Second Coming. John the …
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks the coming of the Son of Man. Noah had been commissioned by the Lord to build an ark. The people did not know that a great flood was coming. “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.” They had …
