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The Word today, CorpusChristiB

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • May 31, 2024
  • 3 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



June 03 - June 08, 2024


St Kevin, abbot


2 Peter 2:1-7 Each of us is in this reading today. Firstly, we are there as receivers of great gifts from God. Secondly, as people called upon to live up to these great gifts.


Mark 12:1-12 It is important not to leave this parable safely in the past. Have I heard the teaching of the prophets? Am I open to the coming of God’s Son today?


Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs


2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 Our attitude to time says a lot about us. The reading today asks us to see each day as a gift and an opportunity.


Mark 12:13-17 It is easy to recognize what “belongs to Caesar”? What about what “belongs to God”? What is God asking of me, personally, right now?


St Boniface, bishop and martyr


2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12 There are sentiments in this reading that make it sound like it was written for us today: am I sometimes ashamed of the Gospel myself ? Do I need to fan into a flame the calling I have received?


Mark 12:18-27 Some Sadducees present Jesus with a fairly absurd argument. Notice, however the force of the present tense in Jesus’ response: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He is God, not of the dead, but of the living.


St Norbert, bishop or St Jarlath, bishop


2 Timothy 2:8-15 At the Centre of our reading today, the writer quotes some poetic lines from an early Christian hymn. The affirmations are powerful and, at the same time, unsettling.


Mark 12:28-34 It is really good to ask ourselves from time to time what is at the very heart of our faith, what is at the Centre. Jesus’ response still speaks to us today.


The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus


Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9 We tend to think of the God of the OT as remote and violent. This delightful reading from Hosea should put us right.


Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19 You can feel the writer’s sense that the love of God in Jesus is thrilling, even overwhelming at times.


John 19:31-37 The symbolism should be clear: the blood stands for Jesus’ costly gift of himself; the water stands for the gift of life which is ours as a consequence.


The Immaculate Heart of Mary


2 Timothy 4:1-8 The reading from 2 Timothy — written in the name of Paul but not by him — expresses the feeling of loss after the death of the great apostle, something we can call empathize with. At the same time, it reflects the later time of “institutionalization” in language foreign to Paul. The faith is now a sort of deposit to be kept…quite different to Paul’s own world of understanding.


Luke 2:41-51 This short vignette — unique to Luke’s Gospel — serves a double purpose. The child Jesus foreshadows his future ministry and role. At the same time, the portrait of Mary shows us how to respond to the wonderful things God has done for us.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024av, June 2). The solemnity of the most holy body and blood of Christ. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060224.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 

The Word today, TrinityB

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • May 24, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



May 27 - June 01, 2024


St Augustine of Canterbury, bishop


1 Peter 1:3-9 We read this week from 1 Peter, an early Christian document aimed at encouraging the faithful in times of trial. Our reading is marked by warm words of encouragement and a deep sense of faith: You did not see him, yet you love him!


Mark 10:17-27 Here we have an attractive and yet unsettling story. The man is the story is obviously good and a little naive. He doesn’t seem to know himself. Jesus’ penetrating glance of love sees great potential in him. Suddenly, it is too much and the man slinks away. We too can fool ourselves. We too need the penetrating glance of love which lays bare the cost of discipleship.



1 Peter 1:10-16 Having reflected yesterday on the role of the Father and Christ, today’s reading goes deeply into the role of the Holy Spirit. The practical consequences are, well, practical!


Mark 10:28-31 After the story of the rich man, the question of Peter is simply and natural. The reply of Jesus, on the other hand, is many-layered, full of promise and challenge ship.


St Paul VI, bishop of Rome


1 Peter 1:18-25 Using Old Testament language of ransom, the writer wants us to be aware of the cost of salvation — and the preciousness of the gift bestowed on us.


Mark 10:32-35 This story can still shock because of the bald ambition of the disciples. It leads to a clear teaching on service.



1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12 A powerful reading, taking up images from the Old Testament and applying them to the whole people of God.


Mark 10:46-52 The story of Bartimaeus closes the teaching on discipleship which started with the healing of the blind man in two stages. The lectionary translation misses the force of the last line. It should read: he followed him along The Way.


The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary


Zephaniah 3:14-18 The note of joy at the coming of the Lord anticipates today’s Gospel, with its own note of joy at the coming of Jesus.


Luke 1:39-56 This gospel passage — like others in Luke — has inspired Christian prayer. In this case, the Hail Mary and the Magnificat.


St Justin, martyr


Jude 1:17-, 20-25 Jude is a very brief letter, perhaps a late Christian one. It is written to a community which tends to deny the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. As a result, their morals are weakened.


Mark 11:27-33 The question asked in this Gospel is the right one: by what authority does Jesus speak and act? We too have to ask ourselves the very same question about Jesus in our own lives.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024at, May 26). The solemnity of the most Holy Trinity. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052624.cfm

--Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 

The Word today, PentecostB

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • May 17, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



May 20 - May 25, 2024


Mary, mother of the Church


Acts 1:12-14 This is our last glimpse of Jesus’ mother in Luke-Acts. The picture of Mary at prayer is consistent with the portrait in Luke 1-2.


John 19:25-34 The reception of this scene has prompted much reflection on Mary as mother of the church. In its historical and theological context, the mother here stands for the mother religion, Judaism, just as the beloved disciples stands for nascent Christianity. The Gospel of John makes a powerful invitation to reconciliation and mutual recognition. The message is still relevant today.


St Christopher Magallanes and companions, martyrs.


James 4:1-10 Nearly any one sentence of this passage would give us lots to think about. James never minces his words and get to the heart of the matter: our interior impulses, hidden sometimes from ourselves.


Mark 9:30-37 Mark always links the “passion predictions” to a teaching on discipleship. This is true here as well. In the culture, a child symbolizes not innocence (as today) but powerlessness, lack of status.


St Rita of Cascia, religious


James 4:13-17 We know this is true, even though we might not like to think about it much! Time really does fly by. What we can do is to change how approach to this fact!


Mark 9:38-40 It is alarming how early the disciples somehow imagined they were to be the exclusive “owners” of the Gospel project. Jesus’ response is robust and can speak to us today. How is the Holy Spirit speaking to us from what we regards as outside?



James 5:1-6 There more than a touch of the Old Testament prophet here: justice is what counts before God who cares for the poor.


Mark 9:41-50 Today we two teachings. The first is brief and perhaps surprising. By allowing themselves to helped by outsides, disciples somehow make salvation available to non-believers.


The second teaching is more straightforward and to our untuned ears a little crass. It may to imagine Jesus smiling as he gives this particular advice.



James 5:9-12 Complaining is “enjoyable,” as we all know but, according to James, it is harmful, as we all also know. He goes on to insist on Jesus’ own teaching about telling the truth simply and clearly.


Mark 10:1-12 In this reading, Jesus recalls the original purpose of God: marriage should be life-long, according to the plan of the creator. It may help, when reflecting on this, that Jesus was not laying down a law but lifting up an ideal. Jesus never legislates.


St Gregory VII, bishop of Rome or St Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi, virgin or St Bede the Venerable, priest, doctor


James 5:13-20 Different situations and needs are evoked here. Perhaps I can see myself in one or other of them?


Mark 10:13-16 Again, it is both alarming and reassuring how early the disciples managed to get in the way. It may also help to remember that a child in this culture is not symbol of innocence but rather of powerlessness.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024ar, May 19). Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/pentecost-sunday-mass-during-day

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 
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