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 »
Central theme: Today’s readings challenge us to hear, read and put into practice the saving and liberating word of God, thus transforming our lives and to convey the salvation and liberation of Christ to others around us through our renewed lives. Today’s Gospel, presenting Jesus’ “inaugural address” in the synagogue of Nazareth and outlining his… Continue reading »
Central theme: This week we are at a wedding in Cana where Jesus reveals his Divine power by his first miracle, transforming water into wine. The Bible begins with one wedding, that of Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 2:23-24), and ends with another, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9, 21:9,… Continue reading »
Synopsis: Homily on the Epiphany of the Lord (Mt 2:1-12) Introduction: The Greek word Epiphany (επιφάνεια), means appearance or manifestation. First, the angels revealed Jesus to the shepherds. In the Western Church, the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ first appearance to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, while in the Eastern Church, the feast… Continue reading »