July 3: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday falls on the eve of the Fourth of July and what for most people is a treasured long weekend. A lot of families will gather for picnics and summer activities. And for the first time since the pandemic, Navy Pier in Chicago will once again be the site of a grand fireworks display.

June 26: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

After a string of beautiful feasts — Pentecost, Ascension, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi — the liturgical calendar settles down to “ordinary time.” As will be the case for the rest of the liturgical year, the Gospel selection is from the Gospel of Luke, which sets the tone for the readings this Sunday.

June 19: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

This beautiful feast of “Corpus Christi” (“Body of Christ”) reminds us how central the Eucharist is to our Catholic faith and practice. Celebration of the Eucharist is the magnet that draws Catholics to come together. The consecrated hosts reverenced in the tabernacle are a focus of prayer and worship in every Catholic church.

June 12: Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Theologians of every generation have pondered the mystery of the Trinity, trying to find a plausible way of explaining what we Christians proclaim as the one God in three persons.

June 5: Pentecost

The feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Holy Week, is the culmination of the Easter season and, in many ways, reveals the full scope of Jesus’ mission to the world.

May 29: Ascension of the Lord

The anthem “Going Home” has struck a deep chord in the human heart. The haunting melody was adapted from the famed Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony in 1893, and the lyrics added by his pupil William Arms Fisher. Dvorak came to America a few years before and his melody evokes his own longing to return “home.”

May 22: Sixth Sunday of Easter

The first reading for this Sunday from the Acts of the Apostles describes a crucial moment in the life of the early church. Tension had been mounting between those who were promoting the mission to the Gentiles and those Jewish-Christians who feared that the beauty and integrity of their religious heritage would be lost unless strict requirements for Gentile converts were enforced.

May 15: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Recently a friend shared with me a word of wisdom from the late Brazilian writer Fernando Sabino: “In the end, everything will be all right. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end.”

May 8: Fourth Sunday of Easter

This Sunday is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel sets the tone with a selection from John Chapter 10 where Jesus presents himself as the good shepherd in contrast to the hired hands who neglect the sheep and expose them to danger.

May 1: Third Sunday of Easter

One of the true gifts I have been given in my life has been the frequent opportunity (as part of my job, no less) to guide groups visiting the Holy Land. Whenever I stand on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, the exquisite scene we hear from today’s Gospel reading comes to mind without fail.
1 2 3 4 5 >

Advertising