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Baptism of the Lord, Year A Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17 January 12, 2014 Isaiah speaks of the “suffering servant” chosen by the Lord to receive his spirit and who pleases the Lord. People ask who this “suffering…
Read MoreEpiphany, Year A Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-12 January 5, 2014 The magi see a star and knew it signified the birth of a newborn king and not just any king but a newborn king of the Jews.…
Read MoreYesterday (Friday, January 3, 2014), Bishop Salvatore Matano was installed as the ninth bishop of our diocese. This brings to an end the vacancy in Rochester that lasted almost sixteen months beginning in September 2012 when Bishop Clark’s retirement was…
Read MoreMary, Mother of God, Year A Numbers 6:22-27 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21 January 1, 2014 God is instructing Moses to have Aaron and his sons, who serve as the priests, to offer a special blessing for the people. They are…
Read MoreHoly Family, Year A Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Colossians 3:12-21 Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 December 29, 2013 “Bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” These are words that Paul writes to the Colossians. Who do you think of as you hear…
Read MoreChristmas 2013, Year A Isaiah 9:1-6 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14 December 25, 2013 This summer a prince in line to the throne of England was born. As a king-to-be, he was born in a private suite in the hospital. There…
Read More4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24 December 22, 2013 God offers King Ahaz a sign! If God offered you a sign what would you ask for? Would you ask for something simple or…
Read More3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 December 15, 2013 “Are you the one?” John the Baptist is in jail for preparing the Way of the Lord and has heard of Jesus. He…
Read More2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3:1-12 December 8, 2013 Every time we celebrate Mass we listen to words from the Bible. Why? Paul offers us an explanation when he writes to the Romans,…
Read MoreCheck out my latest presentation “Attitude of Gratitude” at https://renewaloffaith.org/basics/gratitude.htm. Peace, Fr. Jeff
Read More1st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 December 1, 2013 Even before Thanksgiving Christmas items were appearing in the stores. I saw a Santa in a mall two weeks before Thanksgiving. Radio stations are…
Read MoreToday is Thanksgiving. It’s a national holiday but it is also an appropriate day to celebrate in the church. We are a people of thanksgiving. The word Eucharist actually comes from a Greek word that means thanksgiving. Every time we…
Read MoreChrist the King, Year C 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 November 24, 2013 The Israelites realize it is time to make David their king. God had already anointed David as king but the Israelites are just coming to…
Read More33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C Malachi 3:19-20a 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 November 17, 2013 Next week we will celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King and then the weekend after that we will begin Advent. Advent…
Read More32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 Luke 20:27-38 November 10, 2013 The Resurrection is a central mystery of our faith. The Resurrection is essential to who we are as Christians. At…
Read MoreYesterday I read a news story on the NBC news website about Pope Francis announcing that the Vatican will survey the church before next year’s synod on the family. As the story says, it is “fascinating” that this will…
Read MoreToday, I would like to write about two different things that Pope Francis has done this week. The first happened today. At noon Rome time, Pope Francis named Bishop Salvatore R. Matano as the ninth Bishop of Rochester. I was…
Read More31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C Wisdom 11:22-12:2 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Luke 19:1-10 November 3, 2013 Zacchaeus was seen as a sinner. He was a tax collector and tax collectors were known for their extortion. In those days, extortion…
Read MoreHere is an article I wrote for the cover of our bulletin. A Time to Honor Those Who Have Gone Before Us On Friday we celebrated All Saints’ Day. Throughout the year there are feasts and memorials of many different…
Read MoreToday (November 1st) we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. There are many saints known by name. When I asked our parish school children to name some saints, half of their hands went up immediately. Saints are important to us. …
Read More30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 October 27, 2013 I have competed well, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. These are the words Paul writes to…
Read More29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 17:8-13 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 Luke 18:1-8 October 20, 2013 Jesus speaks today about the necessity to pray always. Pray always? Doesn’t that mean praying 24/7? How can we do that? We need to work,…
Read More28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 5:14-17 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Luke 17:11-19 October 13, 2013 Ten lepers, all in need of healing, come to Jesus. They ask for pity. With no other action, Jesus tells them to go to…
Read More27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10 October 4, 2013 “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The apostles had faith but they knew their faith was not as strong as…
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