By Tim Irwin Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Aug. 16 Isaiah 56:1,6-7; Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8; Romans 11:13-15,29-32; Matthew 15:21-28 A subtle tension permeates the Gospel according to St. Matthew concerning to whom the invitation to enter the Kingdom of God is directed. The Children of Israel certainly top the list of invitees, but since the 11th chapter of […]
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By Tim Irwin 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Aug. 2 Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145:8-9,15-16,17-18; Romans 8:35,37-39; Matthew 14:13-21 All creatures great and small eat in order to live. Long before we learn how to speak, read, write, or even use the porcelain facilities, we learn how to feed ourselves. No surprise, then, that dining serves as a […]
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Shawn Reeves
By Shawn Reeves 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time/July 19 Wisdom 12:13,16-19; Psalm 86:5-6,9-10,15-16; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43 My children span the ages of 19 to newborn. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what it means to be a good father. Lenience toward your children’s mistakes is certainly key, a feature I have not […]
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By Shawn Reeves 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time/July 5 Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalm 145:1-2,8-9,10-11,13-14; Romans 8:9,11-13; Matthew 11:25-30 I have bouts with insomnia. Often my mind can find no rest. Problems, planning, tasks, and obligations weigh it down and push sleep away. It is a frustrating and fatiguing phenomenon. In our first reading, God announces a message […]
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By Shawn Reeves Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time/June 21 Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69:8-10,14,17,33-35; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33 My wife and I have been married for more than 20 years, and we are not the same people we were when we said our vows. St. John Henry Cardinal Newman once famously wrote, “Growth is the only evidence […]
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By Shawn Reeves Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity/June 7 Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9; (Psalm) Daniel 3:52,53,54,55; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” These words from today’s second reading are announced at the beginning of […]
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Father R. Michael Schaab
By Father R. Michael Schaab Fifth Sunday of Easter/May 10 Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 In the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost the emphases of the Sunday Scripture readings gradually change. At first the focus is on the risen Lord who has conquered sin and death. But as the feast of […]
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By Father R. Michael Schaab Third Sunday of Easter/April 26 Acts 2:14,22-33; Psalm 16:1-2,4,7-8,9-10,11; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 There is a pandemic that the world currently struggles against, and I’m not referring to COVID-19. It is a pandemic of rising discrimination and bigotry against Jews. Its name is “antisemitism.” The first reading today is […]
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By Father R. Michael Schaab Easter Sunday/April 12 Acts 10:34a,37-43; Psalm 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; Sequence: Victimae Paschali Laudes; John 20:1-9 or Matthew 28:1-10 We all know what Easter is all about, so we look to the readings for today and ask, “What themes of this great feast are they stressing?” But first, it’s important […]
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By Tim Irwin Fifth Sunday of Lent/March 29 Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45 The apostolic age refers to the formative years of the Catholic faith when the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, settled the contents of Scripture and tradition. The delay of the second coming of Christ greatly influenced this […]
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