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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AExodus 22:20-26Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10Matthew 22:34-40October 29, 2023 “Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of…
Read MoreI started my new series on discipleship, Made of Discipleship, yesterday. The video and slides for Part I are now available online at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/madefordiscipleshippart1 . If you view it in the next couple of days, you can give me feedback…
Read MoreThe Liturgy of the WordAfter the Collect (opening prayer), we begin the Liturgy of the Word. This includes all the readings, the homily the Creed, and the Prayers of the Faithful (aka General Intercessions). The readings we share are the…
Read MoreFor the third week in a row, I find myself beginning a blog article by mentioning the conflict between Israel and Hamas (see “Escalating Conflict,” 10/10/23 and “The Importance of Building Relationships,” 10/17/23). The situation in Israel is important in…
Read MoreThe number of Christian disciples in many parts of the world is shrinking. Fewer people identify as Christians. Some because they formally reject God while others have not been taught that God exists and loves them. Add to this the…
Read MoreThe Collect (Opening Prayer) After the Gloria comes the Collect, often called the opening prayer. The priest begins, “Let us pray” and then there is silence. The silence is intentional as a moment to collect our thoughts to bring together…
Read MoreLast week I wrote about the escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel. Since then, the fighting has continued with many people injured or killed. It looks like Israel is preparing to go into Gaza with ground troops. Clearly the situation…
Read More28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 25:6-10aPsalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (6cd)Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20Matthew 22:1-14October 15, 2023 We say we are disciples of Christ but what does this mean? In secular terms a disciple is a student of a…
Read MoreThe Penitential ActAfter the greeting, the priest may offer a few words on the readings or recalling why we come to Mass. Following that, he says, “Let us acknowledge our sins so as to prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred…
Read MoreIn our first reading today Isaiah writes of his friend who “had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hew out a…
Read MoreThe Greeting After the Sign of the Cross, the priest offers the greeting. There are three options for the greeting by the priest. The first one is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion…
Read MoreDo you pray for the church? There are two ways we can look at this question. First, if we consider the transcendent church, meaning the church that is beyond human institution, one might say why would I pray for the…
Read More26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AEzekiel 18:25-28Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (6a)Philippians 2:1-11Matthew 21:28-32October 1, 2023 – Respect Life Sunday Through the prophet Ezekiel the Lord is speaking with his people. They say, “The Lord’s way is not fair!” They…
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