The giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai is followed in the Book of Exodus by the Book of the Covenant, a list of ordinances and laws concerning subjects like the treatment of slaves, murder and injury, theft of animals, matters demanding compensation, …

Yesterday, God invited Moses and his brother, Aaron, to meet with Him on Mount Sinai.  What follows in our reading today (Exodus 20:1-17), is God presenting the core of what is now known as the Mosaic Law:  The Ten Commandments and the Book of …

In today’s Old Testament reading (Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20) we begin hearing the story of Moses’ second great encounter with God at Mount Sinai.  It is now three months since the Israelites left Egypt and the Israelites set up camp at the base of …

The First Reading (Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15) takes place just one month after the Exodus from Egypt.  By now the food bought by the Israelites when they left Egypt is exhausted.  They begin to complain to Moses that when they were slaves in Egypt, they …

Exodus 14 Have you ever felt trapped between an impenetrable obstacle before you and an implacable enemy behind you, with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no apparent way of escape? If so, then you know how the ancient Israelites felt in this …

It is 4:00 AM.  I am sitting in front of my computer, starting my day by following the Praying Together with everyone in the Order, reading overnight email and news feeds from around the world, and reading the Scripture readings for today’s Mass.  I’m …

The first reading today (Genesis 18:1-10) provides the first glimpse in Scripture of the Triune God—three persons in one God:  “The Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing …

Last week, our Old Testament readings (the book of Genesis) took us through our salvation history up to the time when the sons of Abraham move from the land that God had led them to, complete with its rigors, into what they expected to …

We skip several chapters before coming to today’s reading (Exodus 11:10 – 12:14). The sufferings of the Hebrews became intolerable and eventually God sent what we call the Ten Plagues on Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave:  The first nine …

Today we pick up the story as Moses continues to speak with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-20). God has asked Moses to be the leader of his people, to rescue them from their life of slavery and hardship in Egypt. Moses hears …