Articles for Ordinary Time

  “as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” Isn’t it true that, again and again, we must choose this Christian life as our way into Christ? It’s as if…

  “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.” Where is my hope anchored? Is it in this life which I can taste, touch, and feel secure? Or, is it in my heart where I am allowing life’s circumstances—both those arising from inside of me…

  “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’” Today we focus upon a mystery—Mary’s part in Christ’s redemption of the world. This mystery can help us play our part in salvation history.…

  “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The Church today celebrates the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. Briefly, the origin of this feast is this: Early in the fourth…

  “Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.” As we work and live side-by-side with one another, this first reading from First Corinthians today has a helpful word for us. I don’t have to be everything, do everything, or know everything in the community. I just have to be faithful to my…

  “Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.” Every now and then one comes across someone, who is not of our own, who disarms our smugness as a believer. The centurion in today’s Gospel is such an example. Such a disarming experience need not alarm our faith. It should, rather, arm our…

  This is a story about forgiveness. It is also a theology of God—God in relationship to us, very close to us. Forgiveness is a way of tremendous creative power, for the one giving and the one receiving. It is a Godly ability: human in its need and expression, Godly in its power to transform…

  Today’s Gospel is from the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. If we look back over the whole sermon (see Luke 6:20-49), which we heard this week, what might we gain from such a spiritual treatise? There is no other teaching quite like it. The kingdom of God values the opposite of what…

  Today the Church commemorates a Spanish missionary who is known for his ministry to Africans as they arrived in slave ships on the shores of Cartagena in 17th century Colombia. For nearly 40 years, Pedro Claver, “slave of the slaves forever,” as he called himself, cared for their bodily and spiritual needs. It is…

  Today the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. Her birth is not recounted in Sacred Scripture, but the circumstances of her marriage to Joseph and of the birth of her son are (in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2). From these sacred stories and from the…

  If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! (1 Corinthians 9:16). Let me be honest. I feel unworthy to preach, and even to write these reflections: underqualified, immature in the faith,…

  That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11). What could I say about being called and justified? These apostles were called by…

  On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught (Luke 6:6a). Let us go in with him. Let us hear what he has to say. Yet, today it is not so much what he says but what he does that is the lesson. Who is there in the synagogue? There was a…

  Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends? (Wisdom 9:13). The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom, which sounds pretentious—until you start reading it from the beginning. It is certainly inspired. It was composed in Greek about 50 years before the birth of Christ, most likely by…

  Today’s reading from First Corinthians shows us another side of St. Paul. He has faced opposition from certain factions in the community. The city of Corinth didn’t have the best reputation. Unfortunately, some members of the Christian community needed to be reprimanded. St. Paul uses a good bit of irony throughout the passage. First,…

  In the initial verses of chapter 4, St. Paul informs the Corinthians how they should consider him. He uses two expressions: servant and steward. Paul wants to be considered first of all as a servant of Christ. This is a theme straight out of the Gospel. When some of the apostles expressed their desire…

  Every time I hear or read this Gospel passage from Luke, chapter 5, I think of St. John Paul II. It was a favorite passage of his. He referred to it frequently. The most famous time he did this was in January 2001. The Church, under his leadership, had just celebrated the Great Jubilee…

  Even though at the end of yesterday’s reading, St. Paul affirmed that the Corinthians and he could say, “We have the mind of Christ,” in today’s reading, he expresses a much more negative opinion about his fellow Christians in Corinth. He says that they are “fleshly” and are only “babies” in the faith, who…

  In both of our readings today, there is much talk about “spirit.” In the Gospel, St. Luke presents Jesus entering a synagogue. This was the practice of Jesus. Recall the famous passage where Jesus opens the scroll containing the prophecy recorded in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. He reads, “The spirit of the…

  Today we observe the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. Since it is a “Memorial,” and not a “Feast,” our first reading comes from Monday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time. Last Thursday, the Lectionary began readings from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. This entire week,…

  Both the first reading and the Gospel speak about humility. The first reading, from the Book of Sirach, is typical of the other books of wisdom, containing advice about human behavior. How should one conduct oneself? The wise person has a realistic picture of oneself and one’s world. Don’t think of yourself as more…

  Today’s parable from the Gospel speaks of burying talents. A talent was a sum of money in Jesus’ time. This story is familiar to most of us. Two of the three servants multiply their talents, and the last servant buries his talent. Then he returns it to the master upon his return. The master…

  What is the message of the cross? St. Paul writes that it is “the power of God” for us who are being saved. The cross was the instrument of Jesus’ passion and death. After the Resurrection, it became the symbol of everlasting life for us who follow Christ. Now, we need to be painfully…

  “Stay awake.” How is it that we fall asleep? How do we lose our focus in life and get lost in the mix of things? That is our nature, unfortunately. People are inconsistent, unfocused, and lost. Humanity will continually lose sight of its destiny, blessed adoption by God. Thus we are called to stay…

  In the reading from Revelation, St. John is shown “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He beholds the living Church that is God’s true love. Then we see in John’s Gospel the call of Bartholomew. Nathaniel (Bart.) is invited to meet Jesus, and once Jesus says He knows him, he tells Jesus “you…

  Here we are again, back to a place of fear and trembling. Second Thessalonians encourages the followers of Thessalonica not to “be shaken out of their minds” by deception or false messages that Jesus’ return was close. Christians are not to live full of fear and despair. We live in hope because we are…

  There is a sharp contrast between the first reading today and the Gospel. In Second Thessalonians, St. Paul writes that “we ought” to give thanks for the community in Thessalonica. He commended them because their faith and love for one another “flourished” and grew “ever more.” Jesus gives a not-so-nice appraisal of the scribes…

  “Will only a few be saved?” This is a challenging question that is put before Jesus. How many will be saved when the Final Judgment happens? Who will be ushered into the final light in Heaven? How do we grapple with these questions? Jesus doesn’t mince words on the matter. He instructs his listeners…

  Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a doctor of the church who, as the entrance antiphon informs us, was “Filled by the Lord with a spirit of understanding, [and]…ministered streams of clear teaching to the people of God.” This monk and eloquent preacher of the 12th century was a reformer…

  Today we hear in the first reading the familiar vision of Ezekiel of the field of dry bones which the Lord brings back to life. It is a message of hope to the people of Israel in exile that their dry and withered spirits will be renewed and that they will once again dwell…

  The text of today’s entrance antiphon “…look on the face of your anointed one; one day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” Ps 84:10-11 is a beautiful meditation on the first reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel (Ez 36:23-28). In spite of the faithlessness of the chosen people, the…

  The prophet Ezekiel delivers a scathing rebuke of the leaders of Israel in today’s first reading (Ez 34:1-11). He accuses them of being shepherds who pasture themselves rather than caring for the flocks entrusted to them. They not only fail to look after their sheep but they take advantage of them and abuse them.…

  Today’s readings confront us with the danger of riches. We are reminded in the entrance antiphon that “one day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” (Ps 84:11). The house of the Lord is far more to be desired than the courts of the haughty princes of Tyre who have heaped up…

  Foreword (for each weekday of Ordinary Time): During Ordinary Time, the entrance and communion antiphons of the Sunday liturgy are repeated throughout the week. In this way, the themes developed at the Sunday mass are enriched and expanded as they interact with the different readings found on each day of the following week in…

  In the opening reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear of the obstinate refusal of the people to listen to Jeremiah’s message (Jer 38:4-6, 8-10). So staunch was their denial that they cast the prophet into a cistern with the intent of leaving him there to die. It is in this…

  The prophet Ezekiel is often cryptic, full of apocalyptic imagery and his own esoteric, symbolic performance art. Today, however, he could be clearer. He lists the crimes of the people – taking part in pagan worship, adultery, theft and swindling, lacking charity for neighbor, playing favorites in disputes, and forsaking God’s law—and he calls…

  Today’s readings are the types that make people squirm in their pews. They are not easy to preach on either. The Church gives a sanitized alternative for the first reading. It reminds me of what an old farmer relative of mine once said: “Those Old Testament folks didn’t mince words!” However, despite the graphic…

  Sometimes the Church’s documents on liturgy, formation of candidates for the priesthood, etc., use legal language. For example, the distinction will be made between ought and must – the former is a preferred suggestion and the latter is an obligation. Today St. Peter asks Jesus a “must” question, and he gets a “must” answer:…

  I want to sow bountifully so as to reap bountifully! Yet we can foolishly think that this is burning the candle at both ends, pouring ourselves out willy-nilly. This is why the average tenure for young youth ministers in parishes is two years. No one could sustain such a hectic schedule with energetic young…

  We know that Christ tells us to become like children, but what does that mean? Our readings today tell us that it requires trust and humility. We always think that following God’s will and proclaiming His teaching entails hardship. Why else are we Catholics so reluctant to speak up about morality or to correct…