The gospel for today is St. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. It is Matthew’s way of showing how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament storyline and takes up the first 17 verses of the gospel – and since Matthew’s gospel is almost always the first book of the New...
“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated…” (Isaiah 40:1-2) The Prophet Isaiah is speaking to the Jewish people exiled to Babylon. His...
The enemies are on the horizon. Judah is in a time of darkness or uncertainty, waiting for a light to show there is a better future coming. Today’s first reading is from Isaiah 29:17-24. Beginning with the first verse the reading lets us know that something new...
The entire first reading (Isa 11:1-10) gives us a prophetic vision of the coming Messiah, a figure who will bring justice, peace, and harmony to all creation. Today’s first reading also offers two quite famous verses we have all encountered: “But a shoot shall sprout...
What if I simply came to the ambo for the homily and said “Oh, say can you see” and then paused. I feel pretty sure that what would come to your mind is the Battle of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812 – the event that served as the source...
