December 24th – Lk 1:67-79 In today’s Gospel we hear the culmination of the story of John the Baptist’s nativity as his father proclaims what is called the “Canticle of Zechariah,” or the “Benedictus,” from the canticle’s first word in Latin. If we read closely, though, we see that the canticle we just heard wasn’t […]
December 23rd – Lk 1:57-66 Today’s first reading describes, in rather frightening terms, what will happen when the Lord’s messenger appears. That reading mentions refining metals three times, and in part it is this language that gives rise to frightening tone of Malachi’s prophecy. Yet, when we consider this analogy more closely, we see a
December 22nd – Lk 1:46-56 As Christmas approaches, Holy Mother Church places these two passages of scripture before us to help us prepare for the Nativity. Today’s first reading, from the first book of Samuel, recounts another miraculous birth, and the responsorial Psalm is actually taken from the passage that immediately follows it. This canticle
December 21st – Lk 1:39-45 All of today’s readings exude a profound sense of joy, but this joy comes to the forefront in the Gospel. We’re told that as soon as Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting, “the infant leaped in her womb,” and then Elizabeth herself relates that fact to Mary, saying “the infant in my
December 20th – Lk 1:26-38 Today’s Gospel, taken from Luke, presents us with the well-known text of the Annunciation. While there is a great deal that can be said, we can focus simply on Mary’s docility to the Holy Spirit, since it is only through docility to the Holy Spirit that we can bear any
December 19th – Option 2 – Lk 1:5-25 Today’s first reading and Gospel both present us with two barren women who, after the message after an angel, conceive children who will be important in salvation history. Throughout the Bible, we’re struck by the number of barren women whom God chooses to play a role in
Sunday, December 18th – Fourth Sunday of Advent – Mt 1:18-24 “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That’s what Shakespeare puts on the lips of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. In today’s Gospel, Matthew recounts for us “how the birth of Jesus came
December 17th – Mt 1:1-17 Today we begin a special set of readings: from December 17th to the 25th, the Church gives us readings that are directly related to the events surrounding the birth of the Messiah. Today’s first reading recounts the blessing that Jacob gave to Judah. It’s interesting that Judah is the one
Friday of the Third Week of Advent – Jn 5:33-36 Although today’s Gospel comes from John’s Gospel, and not from Luke, it fits well with the readings we’ve had the past two days about John the Baptist and Christ. In particular, Christ offers a beautiful description of John the Baptist, one that we can
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent – Lk 7:24-30 – Option 2 Today’s Gospel gives us the conclusion of Christ’s encounter with the disciples of John the Baptist, wherein Christ praises John (although his disciples have already left). We can consider the figure of John the Baptist according to what three Fathers of the
