Advent Season is here again. On Sunday Nov. 27, the Church begins a new liturgical year — Year A, with the celebration of the First Sunday of the new liturgical Season of Advent. 

“Our manuscript has gone safe to the Printer.” So wrote Sheldon Vanauken (“Van”) in A Severe Mercy, after his beloved wife’s painful and young death.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Nov. 6 (2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalm 17; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38)

Would we be willing to suffer torture and death for our faith and our inner convictions? We could be like Peter in the gospels and insist that we would stand fast even if everyone else chickened out. It is easy to boast of our courage and fortitude as long as the suffering is merely theoretical. But if we were to be hauled before authorities and forced to decide on the spot, it would not be so easy — in fact, the mere thought can be frightening. 

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Oct. 30 (Wisdom 11:22-12:2; Psalm 145; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10)

Many images of God compete in our individual and collective consciousness. Some of them are inspiring and lifegiving, while others smother the human soul. In its journey through millennia of history, the human understanding of God changed often as it was affected by experience and culture. The image of God is not static and unchanging, for the process continues. 

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Oct. 23 (Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14)

What does it take to get a hearing before the throne of God? How should we pray? Many prayers are directed heavenward each day — each minute and second of the day — but not all of them seem to be answered. The problem is that we fashion the prayer out of what is in our own heart. If our prayer is filled with egotism, selfishness, cynicism and smugness, the prayer is really directed towards ourselves.

It was a double celebration — the launch of a first book of its kind by an Anishinaabe Catholic woman, and a powerful lesson on how a harmonious blend of indigenous rituals and practices with those of Western Christianity could illuminate the path to a renewed spirit of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and an enriched Catholic Church.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Oct. 16 (Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8)

In armies of the ancient world, the charisma and presence of the military leader made the difference between victory and defeat. As long as the leader stood tall and continued to fight, the warriors could take courage and continue the struggle.