Mary, Mother of God

This Sunday is the Solemnity (Holy Day) of Mary, Mother of God, one of the more significant liturgical celebrations in the Catholic calendar.

The confession of Mary as “Mother of God” presents a stumbling block for some non-Catholic Christians, but curiously it never did for me.

I think it was back in the Fall of 1992 when I was sitting in a course in Ancient Church History at one of the best Calvinist seminaries in America.  Our professor, a devout Dutch Calvinist (like most of us students), was lecturing on the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus AD 431, the council that recognized Mary as “Theotokos,” “Mother of God” (or more literally, “Bearer of God”).  He began to address the question, Can Calvinists confess Mary as “Mother of God”?  He answered in the affirmative, granted that one understood this not as a claim for Mary’s motherhood of divinity itself, but in the sense that Mary was mother of Jesus, who is truly God.  And that, of course, is precisely how the Catholic Church understands the term.

So far from being a cause of division, the common confession of Mary as “Mother of God” should unite all Christians, and distinguish Christian orthodoxy from various confusions of it, such as Arianism (the denial that Jesus was God) or Nestorianism (in which Mary mothers only the human nature of Jesus but not his whole person).

Happy feast day to all!

A brief commentary on the Readings:

Two themes are present in the Readings: (1) the person of Mary, and (2) the name of Jesus.

1. The First Reading is Numbers 6:22-27:

Mary, Mother of God (The Mass Readings Explained)

My latest video is now out for this Sunday's Mass readings.  I hope it helps!

The Readings for Christmas: Vigil, Midnight, Dawn, and Day

The Christmas Solemnity has distinct readings for four separate masses:  Vigil, Midnight, Dawn, and Day.  There’s such a wealth of material here to meditate on, that not everything can be covered.  In fact, there is almost an entire biblical theology in the sequence of readings of these four masses.  In what follows, I am going to offer just a few brief comments on the more salient points.

Christmas Vigil Mass

1. Reading 1 Is 62:1-5

The Nativity of the Lord: The Mystery of Christmas (The Mass Readings Explained)

My latest video on Christmas' Mass Readings was just released at Catholic Productions.

I hope it proves helpful, and Merry Christmas to all!

Letting God In: The 4th Sunday of Advent

-->

As Christians, we tend to assume that the idea of God coming into ones’ life is always an attractive concept.  However, that’s a bit naïve.  Having the almighty creator of the universe come into one’s reality could also be an upsetting prospect.  When doing evangelism, I have encountered people who understood the concept of “letting Jesus into your life” very well, but didn’t want that to happen, because it might upset the apple cart, so to speak.  A God living within you might want to change things.  He might want to take over.  Are we ready for that?

In this Sunday’s Readings, we encounter situations in which people found the “invasion” of God into their lives a little bit distressing.  The Readings remind us that Jesus is not a passive presence within us.  He is a meek and humble babe, yes: but also a challenging Lord.

1.  The First Reading is from Is 7:10-14:

The 4th Sunday in Advent: Born of the Virgin Mary (The Mass Readings Explained)

Catholic Productions just released my latest video on the 4th Sunday of Advent's readings, "Born of the Virgin Mary."  I hope it helps, and please be sure to Like and Share!

Thanks!

Waiting While Everything Goes Wrong: 3rd Sunday of Advent

-->

(I apologize that last week I was sick and unable to post on the Second Week of Advent.)

I always take consolation from the example of saints who faced death in the middle of a historical situation that offered little in the way of hope.  Three in particular come to mind: St. Augustine died with the Arian Goths surrounding Hippo in what looked like the end for Western Christian civilization.  St. Thomas More was executed at a time when it looked like all was lost for the Church in England.  St. Maximillian Kolbe was killed when it looked like German Fascism was going to triumph over Christianity in Europe. All these men kept their faith in a moment when faith seemed impossible.

It’s hard to wait for salvation, especially when everything around you seems to be getting worse, not better.  That was the case for two figures that we encounter in this Sunday’s readings: Isaiah and John the Baptist.  Together, these two prophets teach us how to wait with faith and courage, even when the winds of history seem to be thrashing us and threatening to collapse everything around our ears.

1.  Our First Reading is Is 35:1-6a, 10:

The 3rd Sunday in Advent: John the Baptist and the Coming of God (The Mass Readings Explained)

My latest video is out over at Catholic Productions for the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  You can access it with your subscription by clicking on the top video still frame.  They have also put out an excerpt from it on their new blog at the bottom still frame.

Thanks and please Like and Share!

___________________________________________________

The Second Sunday in Advent: The Mass Readings Explained

My latest video for the 2nd Sunday in Advent is now available at Catholic Productions.  I hope it helps and please be sure to Like and Share!  Thanks!

First Sunday of Advent, 2017!

Happy New Year, everyone!  The Church Year begins this Sunday with the First Sunday of Advent, and we are back to reading cycle A in Church Year 2017. 

There is a very ancient tradition in the Church of reading the Book of Isaiah during Advent.  In antiquity, both Jews and Christians considered the Book of Isaiah to be one extended prophesy of the “age to come,” the “latter days” when the Anointed One (Heb. “Meshiach,” =”Messiah”) would arrive.  The First Readings for Sunday Mass and for weekday masses, as well as the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours, are dominated by Isaiah during this liturgical season.

The Gospel sequence, the First Sunday of Advent focuses on Jesus’ Second Coming, forming a good transition from the month of November with its focus on the Last Things.  The Second and Third Sundays of Advent focus on John the Baptist, the fore-runner of Jesus.  The Fourth Sunday finally casts its gaze on the events leading directly to Jesus birth. 

That’s the journey we are about to begin, so without further ado, let’s plunge in!

1.  The First Reading is Isaiah 2:1-5:

Jesus Christ King of the Universe: The Sunday Mass Readings Explained (Last Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Well, it is here... The Last Sunday of Ordinary Time.  I hope these videos have been of some assistance to you in preparing for Mass!  If you would like to continue watching the videos for next year's Mass readings, be sure to check out the link below at Catholic Productions' website and subscribe.

Thank you.

To subscribe to next year's videos, go here: https://store.catholicproductions.com/products/mass-readings-explained-year-a-subscription-nov-2016-nov-2017

Vote for Monarchy: The Solemnity of Christ the King

 

Here in Steubenville one of my co-workers has a clever bumper sticker that reads: “I’m a Monarchist.  And I Vote.”  This tongue-in-cheek slogan comes to mind in the wake of the most surprising American election almost anyone can remember. 

The day after, President Obama took the high road by reminding us, “We’re not Democrats first, we're not Republicans first, we are Americans first. We're patriots first.”  In the political sphere, that’s true.  But there is a first that comes before that first.  We are Christians first, ‘monarchists’ who are loyal to Jesus Christ the King.  And better Americans for being so.

The Church year comes to an end this Sunday with the Solemnity of Christ the King, one of my favorite feast days.  The Readings focus heavily on the theme of the kingdom of Christ, which was typified or foreshadowed by the Kingdom of David in the Old Testament.

1.  The First Reading is 2 Samuel 5:1-3:

The End is Near!: The 33rd Sunday in OT

Some years ago I was driving through the back hills of Ohio with my son, and we passed a billboard in a farmer’s field that read: “God has a Judgment Day coming!” 

My son asked me if the farmer who had placed the billboard in his field was Catholic or Protestant.  I suggested he probably was a Protestant.  My son asked why Catholics didn’t put up billboards like that.  I theorized that perhaps fewer Catholics owned farms close to the highway, or maybe they were less convinced that announcing the coming judgment was really an effective means of evangelism. 

Billboards announcing judgment day are not a part of American Catholic culture.  Nonetheless, the Readings for this coming Sunday affirm the truth of that well-meaning farmer’s sign.  God does have a day of judgment coming.  Is that good news or bad news?  It would depend, I suppose, on whether we have suffered injustice or committed it.

1.  Our First Reading Malachi 3:19-20a:

Will there be Marriage in the Resurrection?: The Sunday Mass Readings Explained (The 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

My latest video explaining this Sunday's Mass readings along with the new study guide is now out.  I hope it helps.

Kindly Like and Share!  Thank you!

Resurrection from the Dead: The 32nd Sunday of OT

We are advancing in the “unofficial liturgical season” of November, and the Mass Readings turn toward meditation on the Last Things.  This Sunday we are directed especially to the consideration of the resurrection of the dead.  

Who From Their Labors Rest: Readings for All Saints

A happy Feast of All Saints to one and all!  This is one of my favorite feasts.  The month of November is not formally a liturgical season, but since it begins with All Saints and ends with Christ the King, these four weeks really do have the feel of a liturgical season focused on meditation on the Last Things: Heaven, Hell, Death, and Judgment.  Moreover, for those of us in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, the falling leaves, migrating animals, and dying back of the ecosystems with the advancing cold serve as a natural reminder of the end of physical life. 

The Readings for All Saints are, of course, beautiful.  Here are some quick thoughts:

1. The First Reading is Rev 7:2-4, 9-14:

Zacchaeus, the Sycamore Tree & the Son of Man: The Sunday Mass Readings Explained (The 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time)

After checking out John's post below, my video is now up for viewing explaining this Sunday's Mass Readings.  I hope it proves helpful!

Thanks -- and please Like and Share!

Making Things Right: 31st Sunday of OT

 

We are drawing close to November, the month constitutes its own unofficial liturgical season, focused on the Last Things.  We begin the month with All Saints and round it out with the Feast of Christ the King.  This Sunday’s Readings introduce themes that will be developed throughout the rest of the liturgical year: repentance, the Kingdom of God, and final judgment.  In particular, the Gospel Reading urges us not merely to repent while we still have time, but also to make right the wrongs we have done to others, that is, to make reparation.  Some non-Catholic theologies deny the need for reparation, but it is a biblical concept that has within it the power of healing and reconciliation.

1. Our First Reading is Wisdom 11:22-12:2:

The Cry of the Poor: The 30th Sunday of OT

Last year Christians around the world were shocked and saddened by the execution of twenty-one Egyptian Christian men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and fell under the power of ISIS.  This martyrdom is just one of the more dramatic examples of abuse and oppression that seems so prevalent in the contemporary world.  Where is God in all this?  Does he pay attention to poor and the oppressed?  The Readings for this Sunday dwell on these and related issues.

1. Our First Reading is Sir 35:12-14, 16-18:

The Pharisee & the Tax Collector – Which One are You?: The Sunday Mass Readings Explained (The 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

My latest video is now out.  I hope it helps you prepare for this Sunday's Mass.  Thanks for liking and sharing and for checking out our Kickstarter page to keep these videos going.