The Mysterious 70 (or 72?) Disciples: The Mass Readings Explained (The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Check out John's commentary on this Sunday's Mass readings below and then check out my supplemental video.  I hope it helps!

If you can kindly Like and Share, it would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

Gathering the New Jerusalem: The 14th Sunday of OT

In the Readings for this Sunday, Jesus continues his final journey, his fateful “death march” toward Jerusalem (Luke 9–19, the “Travel Narrative”) that began formally in Luke 9:51.  The past several Sundays have foreshadowed Jesus' coming suffering and death, but  this Sunday we get a reprieve as themes of suffering recede into the background.  We are temporarily caught up in the joy of Jesus' ministry, as he assembles around himself a congregation of disciples who constitute a spiritual “Jerusalem.”  In the healing ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we see a fulfillment of certain prophecies of peace and restoration to the “holy city” of the LORD.

1. The First Reading is Is 66:10-14c:

The Call of Discipleship: 13th Sunday in OT

The Readings for this upcoming Sunday continue the strong call to discipleship issued in last Sunday's Readings.  Jesus stresses that following him must be an immediate and complete commitment of one's entire person.  As someone once said, "Jesus did not come to suffer, die and rise from the dead in order to create 'cultural Catholics.'"

1.  Our First Reading is from 1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21:

Let the Dead Bury Their Dead: The Mass Readings Explained (The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

My latest video explaining this week's Sunday Mass readings is now up. I hope it helps, and please Like and Share! Thank you!

The Messianic Secret: The Mass Readings Explained (The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Check out John's post on this Sunday's Mass readings below and then my supplemental video.  I hope it helps your participation in Mass!  And, please Like and Share.  Thanks!

Turning to Face the Cross: 12th Sunday of OT

As the Church reads through the Gospel of Luke this year, we reach a transition point in this Sunday's text (Luke 9:18-24) where the focus of the Gospel begins to shift toward Christ's coming passion and death.  Sorrowful though his suffering will be, ironically it shall serve as the source of the life-giving “water” about which the other readings speak. 

1.  Our First Reading is from Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1:

Jesus and the Sinful Woman: The Mass Readings Explained (The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)

After reading John's commentary below on this Sunday's Mass readings, check out my video.  I hope it helps!

Faith, Love, and Forgiveness: The 11th Sunday of OT

 

The Readings for this Sunday revolve around a constellation of fundamental issues in our relationship with God: sin, repentance, forgiveness, faith, and love.  Two of the passages used in this liturgy have been battlegrounds in the theological polemic between Protestants and Catholics, but ought not to be so.

1.  Our First Reading is 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13:

Life from the Dead: 10th Week of Ordinary Time

This Sunday we return to Ordinary Time, picking up with the tenth week in Year C.  “Tenth week?  What happened to weeks 6,7,8, and 9?” you might ask.  Well, weeks 7,8, & 9 were pre-empted by Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi, respectively.  And week 6 was skipped, because otherwise we would not get to Week 34 (Christ the King) before Advent 2017 started.  The practical result of all that is we omit Luke 6 from the cycle of readings this year, and skip ahead to Luke 7.

The Readings this Sunday are focussed on the theme of resurrection from the dead.  The First Reading recounts Elijah raising a boy from the dead.  The Psalm praises God for delivering David from Sheol (the grave). In the Epistle, Paul recounts seeing the risen Christ.  In the Gospel, Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nain.

1.  We begin with 1 Kgs 17:17-24: 

Jesus Raises the Widow of Nain's Son: The Mass Readings Explained (The Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Improve your participation at Mass this Sunday with my latest video explaining the Mass readings.  I hope it helps.

Please Like and Share!  Thank you.