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
Author:
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
Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season See more information here Acts 4:8-12 Background of the book Last week we heard from Peter’s sermon in the temple after the healing of a lame man, and this week we hear another of Peter’s sermons. This is going to begin a series of persecutions which, READ MORE
Third Sunday of Easter
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season See more information here It might be helpful to consider today’s readings more in “chronological” order: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Background of the book The end of the gospel reading will touch on the proclamation of the gospel, which is an important connection with the Acts reading. READ MORE
Second Sunday of Easter
Divine Mercy Sunday Today’s feast originates from St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish mystic who had visions of the Lord in the 1930s. The feast culminates the Divine Mercy novena which began on Good Friday. In 2000, St. Faustina was canonized and Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted into the Roman calendar. It is also associated with READ MORE
The Resurrection of the Lord – The Mass of Easter Day
The Easter Season In 1969 the General Norms for the Liturgical Year was approved by Pope Paul VI which implemented the reforms of Vatican II. This is what those norms say about the Easter season: In summary, the whole 50 days of Easter is like one long Sunday when we sing Alleluia with all our READ MORE
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Lent Although we are still technically in the season of Lent, Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion shifts us into the unique time of Holy Week. Holy Thursday is traditionally the Chrism Mass, held by the bishop to consecrate all the sacramental oils used in the coming year. There READ MORE