I’ve titled this article “Why Do We Celebrate the Ascension ‘Today’? but even the title needs a short explanation. I put “today” in single quote marks because not everyone is celebrating the Ascension today. Some dioceses move it to the following Sunday. I’ll explain why it falls on today later in the article. In the …
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6th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 607, 16, 20 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 The Samaritan people were despised by the Jews but Samaria is where Philip to proclaimed Christ to the people in today’s reading. Philip was not one of the Twelve Apostles but he shared (just like …
5th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 6:1-7 Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22) 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12 Throughout our Easter season our first reading comes from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts tells the story of the early church. If you read the whole story, you hear how the early church faced persecution and …
4th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 1 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10:1-10 Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Each year on this Sunday we hear Jesus’ Good Shepherd discourse as found in chapter 10 of John’s Gospel. Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd who always …
3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 2:14, 22-23 Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 1 Peter 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35 Once again, we hear a story of the disciples right after the tomb was found empty. This time it is two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. We are not told why they are …
Jesus was born on Christmas as a little baby laid in a manger. What does this mean for us? Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. What does this mean for us? Jesus did many great miracles? What does this tell us? Jesus teaches what it means to be a disciple. …
2nd Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 Last week we celebrated Holy Week that culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The tomb was found empty. Some wondered if someone had stolen Jesus’ body but we know that the empty tomb means …
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Easter Vigil Genesis 1:1-2:2 Genesis 22:1-18 Exodus 14:15-15:1 Isaiah 55:1-11 Romans 6:3-11 Matthew 28:1-10 April 15, 2017 Holy week is the most special time of the year for us. We began it on Sunday with the blessing of the Palms recalling Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem. We read the Passion of Jesus to recall what he …
Good Friday Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 April 14, 2017 Jesus has died. It was a horrible death. It started when he was betrayed by Judas, one of his own disciples. Peter denies him three times. He is arrested, scourged, mocked, and crucified. How could this …
Holy Thursday Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15 April 13, 2017 Tonight we begin something very special, our Easter Triduum. The word “triduum” means three days. What we begin tonight lasts until Sunday. Our celebration spans three days but we need to view all of it as one event. …
