Third Sunday of Lent (Year A)March 12 (Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42)

Is the Lord among us or not? This petulant expression of anger and doubt was the first sign of the rebellion and unbelief that would plague the Israelites during the entire journey to the Promised Land. At times it would threaten to rupture their relationship with God entirely. 

Second Sunday of Lent. (Year A) March 5 (Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 33; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9)

Since the beginning of time, many people have been forced to flee and abandon their homes and land for a new life elsewhere. Sometimes the hope is very basic: survival. Marauding armies, plagues, social chaos and famine can make survival difficult or impossible. At other times, hopes for a better life for children and descendants can impel people outward. Our own times have witnessed the mass migrations of peoples and the arrival of many immigrants and refugees from all over the globe. 

First Sunday of Lent (Year A) Feb. 26 (Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 24, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11)

Lack of trust in God is at the root of most human evil. In the ancient teaching story of the Garden of Eden, the man and the woman were placed in the midst of an abundant garden with all of their needs met. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was strictly off-limits. The day they ate from that tree was the day that they would die. 

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Feb. 19 (Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48)

What does it mean to be holy? For starters, it has little or nothing to do with conventional piety. The tradition in the Old Testament offers a different perspective: holy is as holy does. 

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 12 (Year A) Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37

Evading responsibility for human actions is as old as humanity itself. It began in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve pointing fingers at each other, and has continued down to our own time. We like to think of ourselves as helpless victims of forces greater than us and therefore not to blame for our negative actions. It used to be sufficient to blame the devil for everything but now we are more sophisticated. 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Feb. 5 (Isaiah 58:6-10; Psalm 112; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16)

Spiritual illiteracy is one of the principal weaknesses of our time. It is far too common to read the Scriptures without sensitivity or understanding, seeking only lists of prohibitions, rules and details of proper worship. 

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Jan. 29 (Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; Psalm 146; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12)

The humble of the land are the foundation of God’s kingdom and the mortar that holds our world together. 

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Jan. 22 (Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17-18; Matthew 4:12-23)

Gloom and God do not go together, for God is life and light. Isaiah’s prophecy was addressed to Galilee and Samaria, who had been crushed by the Assyrian invasion and destruction of the land in 722 B.C. They had indeed walked in darkness, and this contributed to their downfall. Although they had been warned many times through prophecy, they had not heeded the calls to repentance and reform. 

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Jan. 15 (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34)

To whom is Isaiah’s prophecy addressed? Many of the prophetic texts of the Old Testament are difficult to follow, for the speaker and the addressee are often unclear. The ambiguity is at times deliberate, for a symbol can apply simultaneously to more than one person, situation or event. It appears that in this case the one given the divine mission of leading Jacob back to God was the mysterious and unnamed Suffering Servant. 

Epiphany of the Lord (Year A) Jan. 8 (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12)

How do we react to heartbreak, disappointment and the disintegration of all that we hold dear? For many, the reaction is despair, cynicism and depression. The last few years have brought the world much heartbreak, disappointment and struggle. We may have experienced these things in our own lives as well.