Reflections



THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT - GAUDETE SUNDAY (2025) THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT - GAUDETE SUNDAY (2025) Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 Psalms 146:6-10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 The Entrance Antiphon for today’s liturgy, along with the worn twice yearly stole, sets the tone for today’s ‘Gaudete’ liturgy: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Indeed,… Continue reading 

Weekly Prayers of the Faithful

Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2025

Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2025 We rejoice on this Gaudete Sunday with thanks that Jesus was born, with hope for his coming again, and with confidence of his presence with us now through the Holy Spirit as we offer our prayers to the Father.   That the Church’s diplomacy will remain “consistently directed toward… Continue reading Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2025

Reflections

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (2025)

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (2025) Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalms 122:1-9 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 Today the Church begins a new liturgical year.  It likewise begins our preparation for the great solemnity of Christmas, when we celebrate God’s Son ‘emptying’ Himself that He might take on the flesh of human beings and so lead us to our… Continue reading FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (2025)

Weekly Prayers of the Faithful

First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2025

First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2025 That as the Church begins its new liturgical year, we come together on this first Sunday of Advent preparation to ask the Father to light our way throughout this year.    That the Church will act to fight “every form of abuse … so that communities may increasingly become… Continue reading First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2025

Reflections

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING (2025)

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING (2025) Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalms 122:1-5 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 We come to the end of a liturgical year which shares with us the portrait of a King that eight million people do not have to protest.  Indeed, today’s solemnity reminds us of the only King that truly matters, and… Continue reading SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING (2025)

Reflections

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025) Readings Malachi 3:19-20 Psalms 98:5-9 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 As the Church’s liturgical year winds down the readings turn our attention to the “end times,” the time of our Lord’s second coming.  In two week’s time the Church will begin the great season of Advent, and the themes of… Continue reading THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)

Prayer Service

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 16, 2025Sixth World Day of the Poor

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 16, 2025Sixth World Day of the Poor In our current difficult times, we are reminded by Scripture to have faith in God. We ask the Father for the grace to live that faith.      That Catholic bishops will promote knowledge of saints whose lives are models of faithfulness to the… Continue reading 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 16, 2025Sixth World Day of the Poor

Prayer Service

FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN ARCHBASILICA OF ST. JOHN IN ROME (2025)

Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 Psalms 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17 John 2:13-22 So why are we celebrating a Feast on a Sunday, and what is so important about the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran?  In the year 313 the Roman emperor Constantine published the Edict of Milan, granting religious freedom to Christians.  The days… Continue reading FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN ARCHBASILICA OF ST. JOHN IN ROME (2025)

Prayer Service

COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (2025)

COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (2025) Readings: Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalms 23:1-6 Romans 5:5-11 John 6:37-40 I liked the ‘borrowed’ title above, “Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed,” for it better suits my understanding of what we are celebrating in general, and in particular, it is more akin to my theological understanding of the concept of purgatory.  Yesterday the Church… Continue reading COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (2025)

Weekly Prayers of the Faithful

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025) Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalms 34:2-3, 17-19, 23 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 The Book of Sirach clearly shows the predisposition of God in both Old and New Testaments towards the weak, the oppressed, the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the lowly.  The expression which closes our brief… Continue reading THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)