Ezekiel 2:2-52 Corinthians 12:7-10Mark 6:1-6 Rejection Last Sunday the gospel was about Jesus healing the woman with a hemorrhage and bringing the daughter of Jairus back to life. In today’s gospel Jesus returns to his home village. On the Sabbath he goes to the local synagogue to read the scriptures and teach those present. The…

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13Second Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15Mark 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35-43 Courage and Faith When the gospel is proclaimed Sunday the presider has a choice of a longer or shorter version of the reading. I am using the longer version because it includes the story of the woman with…

Fear and Faith Job experienced many storms in his life and some were devastating. In the midst of complaining to God, God answer him with questions. The questions point out the greatness of God’s creation and how all the wonders of the world are subject to God’s command. When we hear the gospel story we…

Ez 17:22-242 Cor 5:6-10Mk 4:26-34 The Kingdom of God The Easter season has ended. The liturgy for this Sunday is a return to Ordinary Time in the Church’s calendar. In the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus uses parables to teach about the Kingdom of God. A parable is a short story to teach a lesson, usually about something spiritual. A…

Ex 24:3-7Heb 9:11-15Mk 14:12-16, 22-26 Eucharist This feast day is formally known as The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In the first reading Moses received the commandments and comes to the people to ratify the covenant between God and them. “Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,…

The Most Holy Trinity Dt 4:32-34, 39-40Rom 8:14-17Mt 28:16-20 Mystery Each year we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, June 7th this year. When we read the gospels, we find Jesus calling God his Father. Jesus often spoke about the Father who promised to send us the Holy Spirit. Here we find three persons,…

Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us? There are several choices for readings for the feast of Pentecost. You may find it helpful to reflect on all of them. During the month of May we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the end of the…

Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:17-23 Mark 16:15-20 Seeing with the Eyes of Our Hearts This is the Seventh Sunday after Easter but most parishes are celebrating the Ascension of the Lord. The readings listed above are for the feast. The word “looking” is mentioned two times in the reading from Ephesians. We’re told there, “… the…

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-481 John 4:7-10John 15:9-17 To be Chosen Most of us have experienced deep and abiding love from our parents, wives or husbands, children or from close friends. This is pure gift because we can’t force a person to love us. Love is freely given. In a sense we “choose” our loved ones…

Acts 9:26-31 1 Jn 3:18-24 Jn 15:1-8 Pruning For many years vine growers in Northeast Ohio have produced award winning wines. The soil and climate are ideal for the type of wine produced here, but that would not make a difference if the growers did not care for the vines. No good grapes would grow…

1 Jn 3:12 Jn 10:11-18 The Good Shepherd In the first reading from the Book of Acts we are told how Peter and John, who had been filled with fear just a few days ago, locked in a room in fear of the people, now stood before the same people unafraid. They were able to…

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 1 Jn 2:1-5a Lk 24:35-48 Witnessing At the end of the gospel for this Sunday Jesus summarizes for his disciples what the purpose of his death and resurrection should lead to on earth and what will now be the disciples’ responsibility: Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise…

Acts 4:32-35 1 Jn 5:1-6 Jn 20:19-31 “Seeing” the Risen Christ Two weeks ago we read the gospel story of Jesus entering Jerusalem amidst palms being waved as he was greeted with loud acclamations of “Hosanna.” During that week he was arrested, crucified and put to death. Last Sunday we heard the glorious news that…

Easter Sunday Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Isaiah 50:4-7Philippians 2:5-11Mark 14-15 Suffering Today we begin the celebration of Holy Week. For many of us, this is known as Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. The reading from the Gospel of Mark is about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is a very long reading because it is…