By: By Tim Irwin Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Nov. 24 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Psalm 122:1-2,3-4,4-5; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 This Sunday marks the close of the church year. It offers a fitting occasion to consider the goal of salvation history. Salvation is the Catholic code word for happiness. Each […]
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By: By Tim Irwin Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 10 2 Maccabees 7:12,9-14; Psalm 17:1,5-6,8,15; 2 Thessalonians 2:16 — 3:5; Luke 20:27-38 God reveals and humanity peels. Unlike the proverbial onion, the peeling takes time. The first reading for the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time comes from the Second Book of Maccabees. Describing events […]
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By: By Tim Irwin Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 27 Sirach 35:12-14,16-18; Psalm 34:2-3,17-18,19,23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14 The readings for the Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time remind us of the necessity of humility as a prerequisite for effective prayer. The first reading from the Book of Sirach proclaims, “The one who serves […]
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By: By Tim Irwin Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 13 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1,2-3,3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 The readings for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time challenge us to see the forest and not just the trees. The first reading recounts the climax of the cleansing of Naaman the leper. Despite […]
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Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 29 Amos 6:1a,4-7; Psalm 146:7,8-9,9-10; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31 In 1976, Tom Wolfe coined the phrase “The Me Decade” in his article “The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening,” which was published by New York magazine. It was a phrase meant to designate the 1970s as a […]
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By: By Shawn Reeves Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 15 Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; Psalm 51:3-4,12-13,17,19; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-31 Patience is a hard thing. One need only ask my wife what her husband struggles with the most, and patience will most likely be at the top of her list. The irritations and inconveniences of […]
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By: By Shawn Reeves Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 1 Sirach 3:17-18,20,28-29; Psalm 68:4-5,6-7,10-11; Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24a; Luke 14:1,7-14 I can recall the first time I saw my wife and truly looked upon her with interest and intrigue. It was in a college dorm over a meal. She was a mystery, whom I observed a […]
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By: By Sister Rachel Bergschneider, OSB Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 18 Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10; Psalm 40:2,3,4,18; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53 “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! . . . Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, […]
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Photo Caption: Sister Rachel Bergschneider, OSB, is a member of the Sisters of St. Benedict of St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. She serves as pastoral associate at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peoria Heights. By: By Sister Rachel Bergschneider, OSB Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 4 Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90:3-4,5-6,12-13,14,17; Colossians […]
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By: By Sharon Priester Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 21 Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15:2-3,3-4,5; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42 In the readings for last weekend, a scholar of the law asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law said. So the scholar gave him the two […]
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