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
Tag: Sunday commentary
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
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
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
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