Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogTogether
There is a lot going on in the readings of Holy Week. Today is "Spy Wednesday" with Judas busy about his treachery and betrayal. As we move farther into the week, the story line seems to narrow from Jesus in the public square of Jerusalem to gathering with His...
Betrayal, Denial
Someone was asking me after Mass, “Do we say happy holy week?” The answer is yes in spite of instances of betrayal and denial. In today’s Gospel we hear the deeply troubled word of Jesus: “Amen, amen…one of you will betray me.” When Judas leaves Jesus makes the...
Gallicantu
There have been many a Good Friday in the course of my life. I have heard the Passion narrative. I led the Passion narrative during Good Friday liturgies. Over the many years of Bible study I have covered the Passion narrative more than a few times. And now thru the...
The Chrism Mass – did you know?
On Thursday of Holy Week, the priests of the Arlington Diocese and many of the lay faithful will gather with Bishop Burbidge for the annual diocesan Chrism Mass at the Cathedral. In non-pandemic times, many of the lay faithful also join them for the celebration in...
The Truth
We hear the story this morning of Judas attempting to humiliate Mary in order to improve his standing with Jesus. He attempts this by ‘spinning the truth’. Unfortunately, we see too many examples these days of people ‘spinning’ the truth or coming up with their own...
Good Works
Is Jesus a doer of “good works” or is He guilty of “blasphemy”? Some of the Jews in today’s Gospel struggle to answer this question. They have to acknowledge that Jesus does perform many signs and healings, even driving out demons. So, He must be good unless He is...
Freedom
The feast that we celebrate today is a wonderful example of God's way of acting in His relationship with people. The Annunciation marks the moment when the entire plan of salvation, God's will to lead humanity to a new life in fullness and harmony, depends on the word...
What will you see? Part 2
In today’s Gospel we listen to the ongoing conversation of Jesus with the Pharisees. In yesterday’s reflection I asked, “what will you see?” Today we see part of the answer on the part of the Pharisees. And buried in that reply is one small phrase that points to the...
Into the Heart of Holy Week
Back in the day, two friends and I started a business. We were a good mix of skills, dispositions, and work ethic. One of the partners, Jack, was the best project manager I ever encountered. His staff loved him, and the clients always wanted to know if Jack was...
What will you see?
In today’s gospel we see Jesus in an encounter with the Pharisees as time rapidly approaches the events we know as Holy Week. The Pharisees and other religious leaders have had about three years of reports, stories, encounters and more about this itinerant preacher...