13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 1 (Year B) Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Psalm 30; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 17 (Year B) Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34

---

Body and Blood of Christ, June 3 (Year B) Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 116; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

---

Trinity Sunday, May 27 (Year B) Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

---

Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 11 (Year B) 2 Chronicles 36:14-17a, 19-23; Psalm 137; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

---

First Sunday of Lent, Feb. 18 (Year B) Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

---

3rd Sunday of Advent, Dec. 17 (Year B) Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; Luke 1:46-54; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

---

We would all welcome a bit of good news. This seems to be a very rare commodity these days, but it has probably almost always been the case.

2nd Sunday of Advent, Dec. 10 (Year B) Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

---

There is a schedule or plan known only to God and then there is the human calendar, but the two are rarely the same. That is where our trouble begins. 

1st Sunday of Advent, Dec. 3 (Year B) Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3-8; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37

---

It’s all God’s fault! As bizarre as that may seem, that appears to be at the heart of the prayer in the final section of Isaiah. The words reflect the human tendency to blame everyone and everything for difficulties instead of accepting personal responsibility. 

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 8 (Year A) Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

What does a song or poem about a vineyard say about Israel, God and Jesus?

Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C) March 13 (Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11)

The biblical witness is resounding — God is always compassionate and just, and concerned with the well-being and happiness of humanity. Freedom and redemption are expressions of God, and these qualities never wavered throughout Israel’s history. But in the mid-sixth century B.C., the people of Israel found themselves captives and exiles in Babylon. Jerusalem, along with its temple, had been utterly destroyed. This caused a crisis of faith among many people, and a collective search for the meaning of the disaster. Most blamed themselves for what had happened. Infidelity to God in so many ways could only end badly.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C) March 6 (Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; Psalm 34; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

Liberation is a long and painful process. Being set free from a negative situation is merely the first step in a continuing journey.

Third Sunday of Lent (Year C) Feb. 28 (Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9)

God often appears in the midst of the ordinary and mundane. Moses was only doing what he had done for so long — minding the flocks of his father-in-law. The bush that burned without being consumed was a flash of the transcendent and extraordinary.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Jan. 17 (Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 96; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-12)

Not everyone is forgiving or patient in the face of human failure. There is often a tendency to write someone off or dismiss their plight as their own fault. There can even be a smug sense of satisfaction when the “victim” is a prominent figure, especially if there are aspects of that person we do not like.

Second Sunday of Advent (Year C) Dec. 6 (Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6)

Makeover shows are very popular on TV. The theme is always the same: an ugly, broken-down house is transformed into a beautiful dwelling. A shabbily dressed, poorly groomed individual is transformed into an attractive, even stunning, new person. Baruch prophesied the same sort of makeover for Jerusalem. We don’t know who actually wrote this work, and in fact, it is probably a compilation by several authors. It was attributed to Baruch the secretary of Jeremiah, but it was actually written much later, possibly in the second or first century B.C.