"STAY WITH US, LORD" (Luke 24:29)

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22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading Jeremiah 20: 7-9 Psalm 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (R. cf. 2ab) R:// "For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God" 2nd Reading Romans 12: 1-2 Gospel Matthew 16: 21-27 DO NOT QUIT IT Friends, Peace and Goodness! We end the month of August today with the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Our first reading is from Jeremiah 20: 7-9. It is an accusatory speech the prophet Jeremiah directs to God. Let us attempt to unpack it carefully with a few observations. The first thing we should pick from the text is its opening. It opens with "O Lord, You deceived me, and I was deceived" (v. 7a). That sounds very interesting, especially for God to "deceive". Some translations use "Seduce" while others use "Du...

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading Isaiah 22: 19-23 Psalm 138: 1-2a, 2bcd-3, 6 & 8bc (R. 8bc) R:// "O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands" 2nd Reading Romans 11: 33-36 Gospel Matthew 16: 13-20 USE AUTHORITY TO SERVE Friends, Pax et Bonum! Today is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Our first reading is from Isaiah 22: 19-23. Let us start with it. The text is about the removal of Shebna from office. However, I suggest we go back to ealier occurrences to understand the man, Shebna, and what he actually did. The first time we hear of Shebna is in 2 Kings 18:18, where he is listed as one of the three senior officials sent by King Hezekiah to negotiate with the Assyrian Rabshakeh w...

20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Psalm 67: 2-3, 5, 6 & 8 (R. 4) R:// "Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!" 2nd Reading Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32 Gospel Matthew 15: 21-28 EVERYONE IS WELCOME Friends, Pax et Bonum! On this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), we have our first reading from Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7. We need to observe that the text of the first reading, Isaiah 56:1, 6-7, belongs to the section of Isaiah that scholars call Trito-Isaiah, composed after the exile, addressed to a community that has returned to Zion only to discover that the land is smaller than the promise. In fact, Trito-Isaiah has a very high universalistic overtone and seeks to make room for...

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a Psalm 85: 8ab & 9, 10-11, 12-13 (R. 7) R:// "Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation" 2nd Reading Romans 9: 1-5 Gospel Matthew 14: 22-33 STAND AT THE ENTRANCE Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Our first reading is from 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a and the Gospel is from Matthew 14: 22-33. Let us pick a few points from them. We stay with the first reading from 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a this Sunday. Let us put in context. To understand what God's question to Elijah means, we must first understand where Elijah has come from. Our text omits verses 1 to 8, and if we do not go back to that part, we shall strip the scene of its drama...

18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading Isaiah 55: 1-3 Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-16, 17-18 (R. see 16) R:// "You open your hand, Lord, and you satisfy us" 2nd Reading Romans 8: 35, 37-39 Gospel Matthew 14: 13-21 STOP BUYING EMPTY. COME AND BE FED Friends, Pax et Bonum! We begin a new month, August with today being the 1st Sunday of the month. We also enter the second half of the liturgical year with today being the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Our first reading is from Isaiah 55: 1-3, and the Gospel is from Matthew 14: 13-21, the famous miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Let us start detailing a few words about the first reading from Isaiah 55: 1-3. We have already encountered this chapter on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), where we read verses 10-11 on the wor...

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading 1 Kings 3: 5, 7-12 Psalm 119: 57 & 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129- 130 (R. 97a). R:// "O Lord, how I love your law" 2nd Reading Romans 8: 28-30 Gospel Matthew 13: 44-52 LORD, GRANT ME A LISTENING HEART Friends, Peace and Goodness! With the realisation that we have arrived at the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) also informs us that this is the last Sunday of July. We should be preparing to enter the month of August. While it i...

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19 Psalm 86: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16a (R. 5a) R:// "O Lord, you are good and forgiving" 2nd Reading Romans 8: 26-27 Gospel Matthew 13: 24-43 JUST GIVE TIME SOME TIME Friends, Peace and Goodness! We arrive at the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) with our first reading from Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19 and the Gospel passage from Matthew 13:24-43, a _lectio continua_, at least from the liturgical shelving of readings in these times. Let us say a few words about the two readings, especially. The first reading is from Wisdom and that sends us into a new era. The book of Wisdom was written close to the end of the first century BC. It was written in the Greek language probably in...