The Word

In his important work The Sunday Lectionary 1998 Normand Bonneau sketches the architecture of the readings for the Easter season the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost which focus on mystagogy by which the newly baptized are led into a deeper understanding of their baptismal incorporation into

WHILE LABORING through graduate studies I lived at an extraordinary parish in Chicago St Thomas the Apostle whose self-designation was quot God 39 s People in Wonderful Variety quot The parish had exuberant and prayerful liturgies especially during Holy Week and Easter One Easter the child

The cumbersome title given to this day in the latest revision of the Lectionary Palm Sunday of the Lord rsquo s Passion captures the dual aspect of the liturgical celebration The processional rite of blessing and carrying palms describes Jesus rsquo triumphal entry into Jerusalem in what will be

In these last two weeks of Lent the readings draw our eyes to the crucified one with a focus on what God has done for us The promise of the new covenant embodies the aging Jeremiah rsquo s spiritual testament to an exiled people that even though they have sinned in the past quot I will be thei

As Holy Week nears the central theme of the liturgy today is captured by the second reading quot God who is rich in mercy because of his great love for us brought us to life in Christ quot The first reading is the conclusion of the Chronicler rsquo s history written around 400 B C almost 20

Over 20 years ago I was giving a series of Scripture workshops in South Africa during the worst period of apartheid shortly after the murder of Steve Biko Yet the hope and joy of an oppressed people shone forth in every liturgy and during every occasion when we shared insights on Scripture On my

The readings present a compendium of themes that shape the Lenten season The first reading concludes the cycle of narratives about Abraham Gen 12-23 which unfold from his call with the promise that he and Sarah will be parents of many nations through the covenant and the birth of a son the b

From Lent to Pentecost the readings are determined by the seasonal feasts In all cycles the first two Sundays present the temptation and transfiguration of Jesus which form a virtual epitome of the Christology of the season Jesus taking on human form humbled himself even to death and was quot

Ash Wednesday inaugurates not simply the 40 days preceding Easter but the whole 90-day paschal cycle which extends beyond Easter seven weeks until Pentecost The Lectionary cycle grew backward and forward from the central celebration of Easter There is one mysterythe death of Jesus his resurrecti