First Sunday of Advent - Year C

Here are the readings for the First Sunday in Advent, December 2, 2012:

Jeremiah 33: 14-16
Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3: 12- 4: 2
Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

Happy New Year!

With this Sunday, we begin a new Liturgical Year... Cycle C of the Scripture Readings (we'll hear mostly from Luke's Gospel this year), and we begin a new season: Advent. If you're not too sure what Advent is all about, please watch the two minute video in the previous post... and have your sound on, for the full effect!

The Gospel, however, seems to continue the theme of the last few weeks- the ones heralding the end of the liturgical year and looking ahead to the end of time. So let's take our cue form the first two readings and the psalm, as a means of preparing for the coming of Jesus- not only in our commemoration of his birth at Christmas, but in his second coming.

• What do these readings tell us abut how to live, so as to prepare for a joyful eternity with God? 
• What do we learn from these readings about the qualities of God, qualities that we- made in God's image and likeness- might take our cues from for our own way of being?

The good news of a new year is the feeling of a fresh start. What are your 'new year's resolutions' for your spiritual life?

The topic for the Catechumenate session is Advent and the Liturgical Year.

Wondering about Advent?

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 18, 2012:

Daniel 12: 1-3
Psalm 16: 5, 8-11
Hebrews 10: 11-14, 18
Mark 13: 24-32

We are coming swiftly to the end of the liturgical (church) year, and the readings certainly reflect an emphasis on the end times! It can be tempting to get focused on, obsessed even, about trying to figure out (or even control!) what all this intimidating and yet poetic language might mean. Some people are quick to identify world events as signs of the end times.

Far from encouraging angst, I suggest that a prayerful reading of these Scriptures provides a reassurance that God is in control, is looking out for us, and has wonderful plans in store for those who believe (and whose beliefs are apparent in their actions).

• Do you think much about the end times?
• In what way does your relationship with God influence your feelings about the end times?

The topic for this Sunday's Catechumenate is The Last Things.
There will be no Catechumenate on November 25 (Thanksgiving weekend).

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 11, 2012:

1 Kings 17: 10-16
Psalm 146: 7-10
Hebrews 9: 24-28
Mark 12: 38-44

This Gospel has often been interpreted as praise of the generosity of a poor woman. It is also possible to understand Jesus' mention of her as a lament: she has given all that she has, but is that really a responsible decision?  One of the greatest challenges for a Christian steward is discerning the appropriate amount and target of one's sacrificial giving, generosity and charity.

Stewardship begins with the fundamental truth that all that we have ultimately comes from God. We are stewards, not owners of our talents, possessions and wealth. In recognition of this reality and out of gratitude, we naturally offer a portion of what is ours, the 'first fruits' (not the leftovers) back in the service of God and others. And yet, our offering must come from focused discernment: at this stage in my life, with my particular commitments of time, energy and money, what is the proper sacrificial offering that will enhance and enrich rather than sow discord and instability? (For instance, we LOVE people volunteering at church, but if you are here 80% of the time and NEVER see your family, how holy and helpful is that?) And if you are generous with your finance (like the widow of the Gospel) to the point of not being able to pay your own mortgage or put food on the table, one might well question if that moves from the realm of trusting reliance on God to foolhardy budgeting.

There's a time to through caution to the wind. See the widow in the first reading. And a time to be prudent and discerning. Both those decisions are best made prayerfully.

The topic for our Catechumenate session this Sunday is Stewardship.
The Mystagogia group meets this Sunday.

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 4, 2012:


Deuteronomy 6: 2-6
Psalm 18: 2-4, 47, 51
Hebrews 7: 23-28
Mark 12: 28b-34

If I cannot find the face of Jesus in the face of those who are my enemies, if I cannot find him in the unbeautiful, if I cannot find him in those who have the 'wrong ideas', if I cannot find him in the poor and defeated, then I will not find him in the bread or the wine. If I do not reach out in this world to those with whom he has identified himself, why do I imagine that I would want to be with him, and them, in heaven? Why do I think I want to be for all eternity in the company of those whose companionship I avoided every day of my life? - Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement

How does this quote relate to the readings today?
What might it mean in relation to our topic for the Catechumenate, "Saints"?