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Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) "The Masters Vineyard"
Who do You say I am? Lectionary: 139 Reading 1 - Isaiah 5:1-7 Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20 Reading 2 - Philippians 4:6-9 Alleluia - John 15:16 Gospel - Matthew 21:33-43 Liturgical Theme: Stewardship, Fruitfulness, and Radical Peace Introduction: The Song of the Vineyard My brothers and sisters, if you look closely at today’s liturgy, you will notice a vivid image running right through the heart of our readings: the image of a vineyard . In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah sings what scholars call the "Song of the Vineyard". It begins like a tender love ballad: a landowner finds a fertile hillside, clears it of rocks, plants the finest vines, builds a watchtower, and digs out a winepress. He does everything humanly possible to ensure a rich, joyful harvest. But when the time comes to gather the fruit, all he finds are wild, bitter grapes. In our Gospel today, Jesus takes up that exact same image from Isaiah. He ...
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) "You are the Rock"
Who do You say I am? Lectionary: 121 Reading 1 - Isaiah 22:19-23 Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 138:1-3, 6, 8 Reading 2 - Romans 11:33-36 Alleluia - Matthew 16:18 Gospel - Matthew 16:13-20 The Noise of Caesarea Philippi If you were to travel to the region of Caesarea Philippi in northern Galilee today, you would find the ruins of an ancient city built against a massive, towering cliff of rock. In the ancient world, this place was a bustling hub of pagan worship. At the base of the cliff was a massive cave known as the " Gates of the Underworld, " from which a spring burst forth. Surrounding this cave were temples dedicated to the Greek god Pan, as well as a grand marble temple built by Herod the Great to honor Caesar Augustus as a god. It was into this exact setting—surrounded by temples to false gods, imperial propaganda, and the overwhelming noise of world religions and earthly power—that Jesus brought His disciples. He did not take them to the quiet solitude...
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) "Come Hungry"
The Bread That Never Fails Lectionary: 112 Reading 1 - Isaiah 55:1-3 Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 145:8-9, 15-18 Reading 2 - Romans 8:35, 37-39 Alleluia - Matthew 4:4b Gospel - Matthew 14:13-21 Have you ever noticed how much of our lives are organized around one simple fact: we get hungry ? We wake up hungry. We plan our days around meals. We gather for holidays around tables. Hunger is one of the most basic, most honest things about being human … Yes, we get hungry for food, certainly. But we are also hungry for love, acceptance, peace, security, meaning, and hope. We carry many kinds of hunger within us. Some people are hungry because they do not have enough to eat. Others have full tables but empty hearts. Some are surrounded by people but feel painfully alone. Some have success, possessions, and comfort, yet still ask themselves: “Is this all there is?” Today’s scriptures meet us right at that intersection of human hunger and divine abundance. Our first ...
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) "Making Room"
Taking up the Cross Lectionary: 97 Reading 1 - 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 89:2-3, 16-19 Reading 2 - Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 Alleluia - 1 Peter 2:9 Gospel - Matthew 10:37-42 Welcoming Christ, Welcoming the Cross ... LESSON: The Cost and the Welcome My brothers and sisters in Christ, today's Gospel ends a long discourse in Matthew chapter 10, where Jesus has been preparing his disciples for mission. He has warned them about persecution, about division, even about being hated for his name. And now, at the very end, he gives us these striking words: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." These are hard sayings. They almost seem to contradict everything Jesus teaches elsewhere about honoring father and mother, about loving our neighbor, about the sanctity of family life. So what is going on here? Jesus is not telling us to love our famili...
Pentecost Sunday (Cycle A) - Mass during the Day
Pentecost (Day) Lectionary: 63 Reading 1 - Acts 2:1-11 Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34 Reading 2 - 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 Alleluia Gospel - John 20:19-23 Receive the Holy Spirit LESSON: The Church's Work: Reuniting Mankind Today our 50 day Easter season concludes with Pentecost Sunday, commemorating that day in the early Church … when the Father and the Son poured out the Holy Spirit in a special way upon the Apostles … who then took up the mission of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the whole world. This makes Pentecost one of the most significant moments in our Christian faith. However, before it was a Catholic feast, it was a Jewish feast … and when we look at Pentecost in that context, we add a deeper and richer understanding of what it all means for us today. In its Greek origin, the word “Pentecost” means simply “fifty” … and … for Christians … occurs 50 days after the Easter Resurrection of our Lord Jesus and marks ...
Fourth Sunday of Easter (Cycle A) "Good Shepherd Sunday"
The Good Shepherd Lectionary: 49 Reading 1 - Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 23: 1-6 Reading 2 - 1 Peter 2:20b-25 Alleluia - John 10:14 Gospel - John 10:1-10 I am the good shepherd, says the Lord! So we have reached the mid-point of the Easter Season and come to what is unofficially known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because every year at this time we read from John 10, the famous “Good Shepherd Discourse.” For the most part, the readings are focused around the idea of Jesus Christ as our divine Shepherd. But what is a shepherd like? Now, let’s be honest: most of us have never actually spent much time with a literal sheep. We tend to romanticize them as fluffy, docile creatures on greeting cards. Case in point, despite having midwestern farmers as parents, my experience with sheep is limited to petting zoos and the movie Babe … where except for a very talented pig, Shepherds often drive sheep in different directions using dogs to intimidate them...