Energized by the Advent and Christmas seasons, as the Church goes forth into the new year we are presented with a strong challenge and equally strong encouragement in today’s readings: the challenge is the call to divine servanthood, and the encouragement comes from the prophetic words of Isaiah and John the Baptist. The Book of […]
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In less than a month’s time our Holy Day and Sunday Celebrations have taken us from the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem to thirty years later when he was Baptized by John in the Jordan River. The reason for this rather rapid movement of time in the life of Jesus is that the Scriptures tell […]
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The name of the month of January is derived from the ancient Roman god Janus, whose intercession was invoked for protection in times of transition and new beginnings—hence the month named for him begins the new year. In Catholic tradition, on September 19th, we honor a great bishop and martyr of the early Church in […]
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This celebration of the Holy Family, just a few days after Christmas, is one that puts the coming of Christ into an important context for us. When God sent the Redeemer he did not mysteriously appear from nowhere, nor did he did drop down to earth from Heaven. The Redeemer is God himself, the second […]
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Each Advent season we begin anew our yearly immersion into the mystery of the faith. This is only natural since during Advent we await the birth of the Christ child—the beginning of the life of the one who will bring about our redemption by means of his life, death, and resurrection. The essence of this […]
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The opening prayer at mass on this fourth Sunday of Advent asks the following of the Lord: “Fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the glory of his Resurrection.” This prayer […]
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The reading from Isaiah describes the events that will take place and the joy that will fill the people on the day when they will be liberated from the Assyrians. Like many prophecies it was one that was not to be fulfilled immediately, but for a long time. Meanwhile, Isaiah calls the people to prepare […]
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The Advent season always brings with it a renewal of hope and this Sunday we hear from the great prophet of hope—Isaiah, who happens to be the prophet most often heard in Advent liturgies. One of the most famous passages of Isaiah’s prophecy is read today in which we hear him make an early anticipation […]
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The Advent Season is one that is meant to fill us with hope and joy. The hope that God has not abandoned us but rather is coming again in glory. Just as the people of Israel awaited the coming of the Messiah, and saw that fulfilled with the birth of Jesus, we await his second […]
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The feast of Christ the King has a long history in various countries of Europe but only came to its current prominence throughout the universal Church in 1925, when Pope Pius XI established the feast as a counter-witness to the collapse of royal families across Europe in the wake of World War I and the […]
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