This Sunday’s reading from the Gospel According to Matthew 5:1–12 (NABRE) contains the Beatitudes, which are an especially profound and difficult section of the New Testament. Each begins with the phrase “blessed are…”. (I might choose to render this as “prosperous are…”.) The grammatical structure of the Beatitudes comes into …

We see the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in the Gospel According to Matthew 4:12–23 (NABRE). We learn that this ministry follows the arrest of John the Baptist, and Jesus picks up where John left off with a call to repentance. In addition, in the Gospel According to Matthew 4:17 …

In the first chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), Jesus’ cousin John bears witness to Jesus as the one sent by God. In the Gospel According to John 1:32 (NABRE), John describes how he was able to identify Jesus because he saw the Holy Spirit remain on him. …

In recent years, there’s been considerable controversy over the vocabulary we as practicing Christians should use during this season. Should we say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or, more confusingly, go with the British “Happy Christmas”? The concern over our seasonal greeting is well-intended. In the midst of an ever …

In the seventh chapter in the Book of Isaiah (NABRE) and the first chapter in the Gospel According to Matthew (NABRE), we encounter two of the three times in the Bible where the Hebrew word Immanuel appears. The third occurs in eighth chapter in the Book of Isaiah (NABRE). Since …

On the third Sunday in Advent, the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday. Along with the fourth Sunday of Lent (called Laetare Sunday), Gaudete Sunday marks one of only two occasions in the liturgical year in which members of the ordained clergy wear rose-colored vestments. Both Sundays share the common theme of …

In the Gospel According to Matthew 3:1–12 (NABRE), Jesus’ cousin John preaches the importance of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In the system of the Old Covenant, forgiveness occurred when something of value was traded in payment for a debt that had been incurred. The concept of redemption describes …

In the Letter to the Romans 13:11 (NABRE), Paul urges that now is the hour to be awake and alert in preparation for the coming of the Lord. This passage is meant to convey considerable urgency and to persuade readers to remain constantly prepared for the return of Christ, an …

The Letter to the Colossians 1:15 (NABRE) contains a beautiful and powerful description of the kingship of Jesus Christ, and one of the key points in that description is that Jesus came before all other creatures as the firstborn. This seems like an odd concept because as a human person, …

As we approach the end of Ordinary Time, our Mass readings focus on completion and the end or fullness of time. In the Gospel According to Luke 21:5–19 (NABRE), Jesus talks about the eventual destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which becomes a metaphor for the destruction of all things. …