15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Amos 7:12-15 Background of the book Chapters 7-9 contain five visions, interrupted by a biographical interlude in 7:10-17. In v11 Amos gives a prophecy that the king would die and Israel would be exiled. This, of course, was considered treasonous. Amaziah was READ MORE

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Ezekiel 2:2-5 Background of the book The beginning chapters of this book explore the prophet’s call. Like Isaiah (Is. 6) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1), Ezekiel had a vision of God accompanied by a call. And, like the other prophets, God laid it READ MORE

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24 Background of the book Wisdom literature was written to pass on instructions on how to live the good life. This was at a time when a belief in any afterlife was only just beginning, and most people viewed this READ MORE

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Job 38:1, 8-11 Background of the book In chapters 28-41, God asks Job a series of questions about the limits of what Job can do and understand. Today’s reading comes from a section around God’s creation – was Job even present at READ MORE

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Ezekiel 17:22-24 Background of the book In 2 Samuel 7, David wanted to build God a temple. God rejects that idea but, instead, God says God will establish a house and lineage for David that will never end. This will later be READ MORE

10th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Genesis 3:9-15 Background of the book One of the most frequent questions in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) process when we talked about scripture and salvation history was this: are the Genesis stories true? For many people coming from faith backgrounds READ MORE

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

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

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

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