Into the deep
Simon Peter, the fisherman, is the first to be called personally by Jesus in Luke's Gospel. His calling resembles Isaiah's commissioning in the First Reading: confronted with the holiness of ...
Presenting the present
Today's feast marks the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple, 40 days after he was born. As the firstborn, he belonged to God. According to the Law, Mary and Joseph were required to take him ...
In the wedding
Think of these first weeks after Christmas as a season of "epiphanies." The liturgy is showing us who Jesus is and what He has revealed about our relationship with God. Last week and the week before, ...
The anointing
The Liturgy last week revealed the mystery of God's plan -- that in Jesus all peoples, symbolized by the Magi, have been made "coheirs" to the blessings promised to Israel. This week, we're shown ...
A king to behold
An "epiphany" is an appearance. In today's readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights, and mysteries revealed, the face of the child born on Christmas day appears. Herod, in today's ...
A mother's greeting
On this last Sunday before Christmas, the Church's Liturgy reveals the true identity of our Redeemer: He is, as today's First Reading says, the "ruler . . . Whose origin is from . . . Ancient ...
What do we do?
The people in today's Gospel are "filled with expectation." They believe John the Baptist might be the messiah they've been waiting for. Three times we hear their question: "What then should we ...
The road home
Today's Psalm paints a dreamlike scene -- a road filled with liberated captives heading home to Zion (Jerusalem), mouths filled with laughter, tongues rejoicing. It's a glorious picture from ...
