December 18, 2024
As we continue our Advent journey, we focus today on Saint Joseph. Every Catholic church has an image or a statue of this man. He was proclaimed the patron of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, craftsmen, workers, and refugees. And yet, not a single word of his is recorded in the New Testament. […]
December 17, 2024
Matthew’s genealogy underscores the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ role as the Messiah, the promised king who brings peace and justice. It also emphasizes the universality of Jesus’ mission. Gentiles and women are introduced in the lineage when the lineage breaks from the pattern of father to son. Matthew includes: Tamar (Genesis 38) […]
December 16, 2024
Teach me your ways! Teachers! Important people in our lives!. First are our parents, then school for most of us. I was blessed with some additional people who taught me to dance, to swim, to play the piano, to speak clearly. Today, I’ll listen to David, the author of the Responsorial Psalm, who cries out […]
December 15, 2024
3rd Sunday of Advent The gospel brings us to the banks of the Jordan River, where John is baptizing. As John preached, “the people were filled with expectation.” Those who listened to his message became fully engaged, feeling an urgency to prepare themselves for the imminent arrival of the Christ. The people asked John what […]
December 14, 2024
Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church Today’s Gospel tells us that the disciples understood John the Baptist as the one who would lead them to the Savior. Indeed, it was John the Baptist who cleared the pathway to goodness, repentance, love, and new life through the redeemer of […]
December 13, 2024
Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin, and Martyr Advent! The prophet Isaiah! The marvelous imagery he uses to share his good news and messages of hope. I love this time of the liturgical year. To my great joy, this prophet was a nature lover. We have already heard this Advent from Isaiah how “swords will be […]
December 12, 2024
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Be Inspired. In Sue Monk’s award-winning The Secret Life of Bees, a ship’s masthead recovered and renamed and dubbed ‘The Black Madonna’ plays a significant role as a statue character. Every year, during the feast of the Assumption, women gather and rub honey on the statue as honey is […]
December 11, 2024
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew’s Gospel verse reminds us this short Advent season that we are not required to act on all the commercial hype we are bombarded with across all forms of media between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Listening to the morning news […]
December 10, 2024
Memorial Our Lady of Loreto Pope Francis added the memorial of Our Lady of Loreto to the liturgical calendar in 2019. Loreto is a place of pilgrimage where the faithful believe the house that the Blessed Mother grew up in, was visited by Gabriel, said yes to the Incarnation, and raised Jesus, which is now […]
December 9, 2024
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary It stuns me that everything on this planet constantly changes as much as our Creator is constant, giving us guidance and stability. John’s gospel starts with “In the beginning was the Word,” and Genesis begins with “the earth was a formless void.” A lot of […]