Reflections

Islands, listen to me,pay attention, remotest peoples.The Lord called me before I was born,from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. He made my mouth a sharp sword,and hid me in the shadow of his hand.He made me into a sharpened arrow,and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, ‘You are my servant […]

During this sacred time of Holy Week, we may be tempted to fall into a pattern of ‘knowing’ the stories and rituals and thus move on automatic pilot through the week.   After all, we Christians have prayerfully reflected on these events throughout our lives. Isaiah contains four so-called “Servant Songs”, three of which will

Some celebrants are tempted to drop preaching a homily today because of the length of the Gospel, not to mention the blessing of palms and a procession. Yet, as this day is the opening of Holy Week, it seems a pity not to say something, by way of introduction, about the meaning of this climax

The Lord says this: ‘I am going to take the sons of Israel from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them together from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil. I shall make them into one nation in my own land and on the mountains of Israel, and one king

Today’s Old Testament reading is the last of several readings from Jeremiah during Lent (Jeremiah 20:10-13).  Jeremiah’s ministry extended for some forty years (about 625-585 BC).  At the mid-point of his ministry, the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar began expanding in the Middle East and Israel’s existence was threatened. Jeremiah warned Israel about this threat, having

The Old Testament reading for today (Genesis 17:3-9) tells the story of God establishing his covenant with Abram.  Before today’s scene, Abram frequently demonstrated his faith in God, even in trying circumstances.  God speaks to Abram, now 99 years old: “I shall maintain my covenant between myself and you, and to your descendants after you,

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the day on which we celebrate the moment when the Archangel Gabriel came to the world, to the poor village of Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, proclaiming to a young virgin named Mary the Good News that mankind had awaited for a very

Just as in the Synoptic Gospels, in the Gospel of John, Jesus three times solemnly prophesies his passion. But the passion predictions in John are unique in that Jesus speaks of his crucifixion as a “lifting up,” alluding to the biblical story of the bronze seraph (serpent) lifted up on a pole. Of all the

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he

The stories that lead up to the end of Lent, the gospels, and the beginning of Holy Week, are really some of the best stories, not only from the gospel, not only from the Bible, but are well known throughout the secular world. One reason is the great skill of the author, St. John the