Sunday’s Readings: Acts 9:26-31; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8Lecturas del Dia BEARING FRUITFew of us, even when we meditate on the image of the vine and branches, stop to really think about how God “prunes” us. For some there is the danger of thinking that we are already producing fruit for the kingdom, in deed…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 4:8-12; 1 Jn 3:1-2; Jn 10:11-18Lecturas del Dia RESPONDING TO THE CALLDo we truly know the voice of Christ? Do we truly respond to the voice of our shepherd with our owndistinctive voice? How often we attempt to imitate those around us, appropriating the response of anothermember of the flock to Christ.…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 Jn 2:1-5a; Lk 24:35-48Lecturas del Dia FULFILLMENTIt is interesting that during the Easter season, when we do not hear a reading from the Old Testament, it becomes so important. This is particularly true today. Peter’s speech begins with a prayer formula familiar to Jews: “The God of Abraham .…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 4:32-35; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31Lecturas del Dia DOUBTThe desire to be able to prove the existence of a divinity has troubled humanity since human consciousness first became aware of the divine. To this very day we are fond of saying that any number of things—from sunsets to hot fudge sundaes—are “proof…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9Lecturas del Dia REJOICE AND BE GLAD During the first three or four centuries of Christianity, if you asked a Christian to name the feast days of the church, your answer would have been a puzzled stare, for there was only one feast: the Resurrection of the…
Sunday’s Readings: Mk 11:1-10; Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Phil 2:8-9; Mk 14:1—15:47Lecturas del Dia HOLY WEEKFor the Palm Sunday Gospel, we return to the Gospel according to Mark. The account of the Passion takes upnearly one-third of Mark’s entire Gospel and, of all the evangelists, he is the one who presents the details most graphically.…
Sunday’s Readings:Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33Lecturas del Dia THE NEW COVENANTToday’s first reading is an enormously important passage, not only in the history of the Jewish people, but alsofor us as disciples of Jesus, who see in it a foreshadowing of the Christian dispensation. The prophet announces that God has chosen to forgive the…
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21Lecturas del Dia GOD’S MERCY Today’s reading from the second book of Chronicles contains a sort of “mini-history” of Israel. It highlightsGod’s mercies in choosing Cyrus the Persian to be an instrument of deliverance when the people were in captivity inBabylon. Despite their sinfulness and the…
Sunday’s Readinds: Ex 20:1-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25Lecturas del Dia TOTAL ALLEGIANCE In previous weeks we have seen how the theme of covenant—as a preparation for the baptismal covenant celebrated at Easter—occupies an important place in ourcycle of Lenten readings. The notion of covenant as a relationship between two parties carries with it an…
Sunday’s Readings: Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Rom 8:31b-34; Mk 9:2-10Lecturas del Dia HISTORY OF SALVATIONThe first reading today continues the “history of salvation” narrative that we hear throughout Lent this year. Today’s story was among the best-loved in the Jewish tradition (surely Joseph told the story to young Jesus as he formed him in…