The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feasts Click here for more information. Important background on this feast Exodus 24:3-8 Background of the book The Exodus reading pictures Moses and the Israelites receiving the law (the 10 commandments plus all those other laws that define what it means to be Jewish). It’s a pretty graphic picture READ MORE
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suffering servant songs
The “suffering servant songs” are found in Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–7; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. All these songs describe someone who brings hope and salvation. In their original context, they describe a nation rather than an individual. This is because the society was collectivistic, with an emphasis on family and groups, as opposed to READ MORE
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feast Days Click here for more information. Today’s Readings and the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity Read important background on this feast here Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 Background of the book In today’s passage, Moses is reminding the people who they are and what they’re about. He does this READ MORE
Feast of Pentecost – Mass During the Day
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter season Click here for more information. Today’s Readings In the Old Testament, Leviticus 23 talks about the Festival of Shavuot (Festival of Weeks) which happens 50 days after Passover. Traditional Judaism marks this as the day as when Moses was given the Torah. In ancient times it READ MORE
Numbers
This book is part of the Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible. Sometimes folks will get ambitious and decide to read the Bible through, beginning with Genesis. If they make it through Leviticus, this book is where they often falter. The book begins with a census of the Israelites in the desert READ MORE
Solemnity of the Ascension (Mark’s Gospel)
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season Click here for more information. Today’s Readings Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension. Technically, Ascension happens 40 days after Easter which is always on a Thursday. But most dioceses in the US transfer the feast to Sunday. Ten days after Ascension is Pentecost – READ MORE
James
History This letter does not appear in the Muratorian fragment (2nd century), but it does show up in the Vulgate in late 4th century. It is the Vulgate which became the official canon of the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent. From the start, it was a contentious book. During the Protestant Reformation, Luther READ MORE
Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season See more information here Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 Background of the book Today’s story is about Cornelius, a Roman centurion who presented the early church with its first challenge. The characters in today’s story go into the experience convinced of a certain way of acting, sure READ MORE
Proverbs
Genre This book is wisdom literature, which gives rules of proper conduct, usually in the form of maxims, pithy insights, and “words to live by.” Wisdom literature attempts to show the way things are and the way things should be. Also of this genre are Job, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Wisdom. The goal of READ MORE
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season See more information here Acts 9:26-31 Background of the book Today we get a glimpse of part of the story of our greatest missionary – St. Paul. Chp 9 begins Paul’s story with his conversion experience and then his baptism in Damascus. We can construct a READ MORE