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Showing posts from December, 2024

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 ...

The Feast of the Holy Family (Cycle C)

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The Feast of the Holy Family  of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Lectionary:  17 Reading 1 -  Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 Reading 2 -  Col 3:12-21 Alleluia - Col 3:15a,16a Gospel -  Lk 2:41-52 Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety … Today is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Pope Leo XIII established this holy day in the late 19th century (1893) to highlight the “importance of the Holy Family to the world as a model for every human virtue necessary for human growth,” … it is day when the Church calls on us to reflect upon the profound mystery of family life, as exemplified by Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Although scripture does not capture much about family interactions during the childhood of Jesus; what we absolutely do know, is that God chose to enter our fallen human condition through his incarnation by the Virgin Mary in order to experience the fullness of human society within the context...