Jos 5:9, 10-12; II Cor 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 Introduction: Traditionally, the Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday (Rejoice Sunday). Anticipating Easter joy, today’s readings invite us to rejoice by being reconciled with God through repentance and the confession of our sins and by celebrating our coming home to be with our loving… Continue reading »
All three of today’s readings speak of God’s mercy and compassion in disciplining His children by occasional punishment while giving them another chance despite their repeated sins. Although God’s love for us is constant and consistent, He will not save us without our co-operation. That is why He invites us during Lent to repent of our sins and to… Continue reading »
Lent II [C] Sunday Homily: One-Page Summary (L-19) Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. The readings invite us to work with the Holy Spirit to transform our lives by renewing them during Lent so that they radiate the glory and grace of the transfigured Lord to all around us by… Continue reading »
Central theme: Lent begins with a reflection on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The Church assigns temptation stories to the beginning of Lent because temptations come to everybody, not only to Jesus, and we seem almost genetically programmed to yield to them. Scripture lessons: The first reading describes the ancient Jewish ritual of presenting the first fruits and… Continue reading »
ASH WEDNESDAY One-page summary of the homily (L/19)Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum) is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” The Old Testament tells us how the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:5), King Ben Hadad of Syria (1… Continue reading »
Lent I [C] Sunday Homily – On-page summary (L-19) Central theme: Lent begins with a reflection on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The Church assigns temptation stories to the beginning of Lent because temptations come to everybody, not only to Jesus, and we seem almost genetically programmed to yield to them. Scripture lessons: The first reading describes the ancient Jewish… Continue reading »
Central theme: The readings today are linked together by one main theme: the power of Christian love, when exercised in unconditional forgiveness by the believing community of forgiven sinners. The readings also instruct us about our right and wrong choices. The right choices lead us to God, and the wrong ones break our relationship with Him and with one another. Scripture… Continue reading »
Introduction: Today’s readings teach us that true happiness, or beatitude, lies in the awareness that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we will be happy only when we share our blessings with our brothers and sisters in need, and when we work to uplift them, thus declaring our “option for the… Continue reading »
Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God’s call to a person, and the positive response to this call which leads the person to discipleship. As in our own lives, God’s call has three steps: 1) the revelation of God Himself in the Old Testament, or of Jesus as the Messiah sent from God… Continue reading »
Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should have and show in our communities the courage of our Christian convictions in our Faith and in its practice, even when we face hatred and rejection because of them. Scripture lessons: The first reading tells us how God called Jeremiah as His prophet and equipped… Continue reading »