ALL SHARE IN THE PROMISEPicture a nativity scene in your mind’s eye. The scene likely includes figures arriving on camels, some elaborately dressed, with jeweled boxes containing precious gifts. These magi arrived from distant lands to pay homage to the Christ Child. We know little about the magi, but we do know that these visitors…

WHAT ALL THE WAITING HAS BEEN FORToday’s readings are as familiar to most of us as the carols we sing and the commercials that overwhelm this holiday season. Often Christmas finds us tired, struggling with preparations and expectations. What we really want to feel is joy and peace. The stress of preparation, of waiting, is…

Sunday’s Readings:Lecturas del Dia THE ONE FOR WHOM OUR HEARTS LONGPut yourself in the scene of today’s Gospel passage. John the Baptist is in prison. He has heard stories of what Jesus is doing, and wants reassurance that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. John’s disciples and those who surrounded Jesus were faithful Jews who would…

HARMONYHave you ever known a moment when, just for a brief instant, you felt that all was right with the world?It is just such a moment, stretched into eternity, that the writer of Isaiah describes in today’s first reading: the perfection of everything, centered in God’s spirit, where knowledge, justice, and awe in God’s presence…

Sunday’s Readings: Is 2:1-5/Rom 13:11-14/Mt 24:37-44Lecturas del Dia PEOPLE OF THE LIGHTWe are called to reflect the light of God’s love through the ways in which we live our lives. Imagine theimpact if each of us took this call to heart, every day, at home, work, or school, in our parish, in the world. “All…

Sunday’s Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3/Col 1:12-20/Lk 23:35-43Lecturas del Dia THE TRUE KINGSHIP OF JESUS CHRISTWhat kind of King is Jesus? How do you envision him? Remembering that they were promised a king from the line of David, the Israelites hoped for a Messiah who would set their political problemsaright and bring about a worldly kingdom…

Sunday’s Readings: Mal 3:19-20a/2 Thes 3:7-12/Lk 21:5-19Lecturas del Dia THE END OF DAYSAs we prepare for next Sunday’s feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we hear descriptions of dire and catastrophic events. Sometimes it seems as though we ourselves are living inthe end times, when life as we currently know it…

ETERNAL LIFEWhat happens after we die? Most religions and philosophies provide some notion of this, but we are confounded by the mystery of it all. Today’s readings give us a glimpse through the faith of martyrs and in the words of Jesus. In the Old Testament reading, the Maccabee brothers assert with total confidence that…

Sundays Readings: Sir 35:12-14, 16-18/2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18/Lk 18:9-14Lecturas del Dia MADE RIGHT BEFORE GODAlthough the opening lines of today’s first reading claim that the Lord “knows no favorites” (Sirach 35:15) and is “not unduly partial toward the weak” (35:16), the remainder of the passage makes it clear that the Lord does indeed pay special…

PERSISTENCEExodus recounts the journey of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the land promised to their ancestors. It was not an easy journey. In today’s reading, they are attacked by Amalek and his soldiers, members of one of the peoples who live in the land through which the Israelites are traveling. Moses was…