The Hebrew sacred scriptures are brimming with the expectation of the justice and peace, the Messiah and the reign of God that will one day come to this world. The Christian sacred scriptures are full of the same expectation and hope. We hear the word “Emmanuel†in our readings twice this Sunday, first in the […]
Fourth Sunday of Advent – “A†– December 22, 2013 Read More »
The most famous story of Charles Dickens is A Christmas Carol published in 1843, whose central character bears the name that has come to personify all that is mean and misery – Scrooge. The surviving partner of a London firm of moneylenders and now an old man for whom life means no more than making
Third Sunday of Advent – “A†– December 15, 2013 Read More »
The realities of planting and growth are never very far from biblical texts. The prophetic vision of Isaiah sees the coming Messiah as just that kind of kingdom and is compared to that ruthlessness that all farmers and gardeners know: what is fruitful is nurtured, but what fails to bear fruit is harshly treated. Images
Second Sunday of Advent – “A†– December 8, 2013 Read More »
Perhaps on this day we want to pay particular attention to the first reading, because not only is this the first scripture passage to be proclaimed today, it is the first passage for this liturgical year; and, because this is year A, it provides the first words of scripture we read in the entire 3-year
First Sunday of Advent – “A†– December 1, 2013 Read More »
This Sunday is traditionally called “Gaudete†Sunday from the Latin word for “rejoiceâ€, which is the first word of the entrance antiphon in the liturgy. It calls us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.†There is no implication that we are only to rejoice when we are feeling good or when we are is a
Third Sunday of Advent – “C†– December 16, 2012 Read More »
In the Gospel today John the Baptist is described as a voice, calling for a highway to be made clear, for obstacles to be removed from the path, for winding ways to be straightened, for valleys and hills to be leveled. All this so that it will be possible for the Lord to come among
Second Sunday of Advent – “C†– December 9, 2012 Read More »
This new season of Advent invites each of us to become all that we can be. The most serious coronary disease in the world is not a blockage of the arteries but rather hardness of the heart. If you are not willing to recast yourself into a more attractive Christian this Advent, you do have
First Sunday of Advent – “C†– December 2, 2012 Read More »
The Ecclesiastical Year begins on the first Sunday of Advent and ends on the Saturday following the last Sunday after Pentecost. Advent is composed of four weeks during which, with the patriarchs and prophets, we prepare to celebrate the first coming of our Lord in a Bethlehem stable. During Advent the approved liturgical colors are