Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogAnna and Simeon
In today’s Gospel Luke continues the description of Jesus’ Presentation in the Jerusalem Temple. In the Infancy Narrative Luke pairs two holy and devout Jews who are full of the holy Spirit. So, we have Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of John the Baptist. When...
Joy Complete
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. In the midst of the Christmas season today's gospel seems out of place. It recounts Mary Magdalene's experience of Easter morning when she reports to Peter and the other apostles: "They have taken the Lord from...
The First Martyr
Today, the day after Christmas, we move quickly from the joy of the birth of Jesus to the story of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. Out 1st reading today from the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Stephen’s witnessing and death. Luke describes him as...
The Canticle of Zechariah – Hope
Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist. He was born into the clan of temple priests who served in the temple in Jerusalem according to shifts. He and his wife, Elizabeth, did not have a son. This was a disaster for a family during that time in Israel – no one to...
A question as old as the ages
In the midst of all the wonder and excitement of the birth of a child, it is a natural question to ask: “What will this child be?” Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor? Loving, kind, gentle, brave? …. And the categories and lists are endless. At the beginning all things...
The Annunciation – Living in The Protecting Shadow
I don’t know if any of you have had the opportunity to live in a desert. When I was 25, I went to live in the friars’ Navajo mission along the New Mexico and Arizona border for two consecutive summers. The Chuska Mountains were right in our backyard. Lukachukai is...
The Annunciation
In today’s Gospel we hear an Annunciation Story. It is not the Annunciation Story to Mary of the birth of Jesus but the Annunciation Story to the priest Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist. Luke has purposely made these two Annunciation Stories as well as...
St. Joseph: Righteousness, Trust and Obedience
This season of Advent is a time of preparation to receive the Prince of Peace in our hearts and family. It is a season that is full of joy and many preparations: cards, food, decorations, buying gifts, visits, music, caroling, special movies, sweet breads and...
Genealogy of Hope
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 Testament,...
Authority
Who does he think he is? Some of the Jewish religious leaders, some chief priests and elders, irritated by Jesus put this question to him in today’s Gospel: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” What has Jesus done? He...