Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogA week of questions
There is always continuity in the readings for daily Mass, especially the gospels. Often there is continuity in the story itself. The readings for the previous two days came from the gospel of St. Matthew. They described questioning of Jesus by the chief priest and...
It’s About Performance, Not Just Promise
The key to this parable is that it is not really praising anyone. It is describing a picture of two sets of imperfect people. Neither son in the story was the kind of son to bring full joy to the father. Both were unsatisfactory but, in the end, the one who obeyed...
Welcome to Flocknote…. a few details more!
Thank you! You have joined the almost 700 households that are part of the "flock!" We are off to a great start. We still have about 1,800 more to join the flock, but like the Good Shepherd we will seek them out ... one by one if necessary!! And part of the role of the...
Authority
In today’s Gospel Jesus is challenged by some Jewish Temple authorities about His actions in the Temple, specifically His “cleansing” of the Temple. Jesus as a Jew recognized the holiness of the Jerusalem Temple and the presence of God in the Temple. Yet like the...
A seat at our tables
This Saturday morning, our readings highlight the Prophets Elijah and John the Baptist, two of the greatest prophets from the times before Jesus. In the first reading from Sirach, we hear “In those days, like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were...
How do I want to be saved? May way?
“John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” (Mt 11:18-19) Jesus points out to His listeners...
Rich in Mercy
“The Lord is gracious and merciful.” Is God a God of wrath or a God or mercy? We hear in today’s Responsorial Psalm that God’s mercy surpasses his wrath: “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness… The Lord is good to all and...
A Willing Role in Salvation
This solemnity, although formally declared dogma in 1854, has a long history of belief and celebration in Christianity since the 4th century and perhaps earlier - the records only go back so far. What this means is that what happened in 1854 was formally stating what...
On the edge of left behind
There is a lot going on today, December 7th 2021. The nation remembers Pearl Harbor, the church remembers St. Ambrose, and the Season of Advent continues. Since the beginning of Advent this year we have heard from the Prophet Isaiah. The verses have all been brimming...
Who Can Forgive?
In today’s Gospel some of the scribes and Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy. They accuse him of claiming an authority that only God has: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus tries to teach them and show them that God has in fact given him the power and...