The Gospel readings for the Second and Third Sundays of Advent always focus on John the Baptist Since we are again in Lectionary Year A the two selections are from Matthew 3 1-12 and 11 2-11 respectively See my Nov 27 post for an overview of the whole Season of Advent Given that John the

As the passages from Isaiah 11 1-10 and Matthew 3 1-12 illustrate we await the coming of the peaceable Kingdom the fulfillment of the promises of God the establishment of the Kingdom that shall not end And we await it in the context of history otherwise known as our ordinary lives Christianity

Vatican Diplomat Questions Relations With Israel With new problems over visas for foreign priests and the long, ongoing negotiations needed to resolve the tax status of Catholic institutions in Israel, the Vaticans former ambassador to that country said, To be frank, relations between the Catholic

The aspirations Isaiah voices are ours: for freedom, justice, liberation, and peace.

Our live in grandchild teamed up with my husband and pressured us into acquiring an adorable Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy Yesterday a Cavalier was pictured in a N Y Times Business section story reporting that there are 44 8 million pet dogs in America Their owners help to support a 38 bi

Some readings at the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent are from apocalyptic books such as Daniel and the little apocalypses in the Synoptic Gospels These passages refer to cosmic disturbances sun and mood falling out of the sky wars and terror-stricken people giving th

1 Coming of Jesus for the Final Judgment The first two weeks of the Advent liturgy focus heavily on the Last Judgment with its consequent rewards and punishments If a person centers himself on this aspect of Advent he deepens his awareness of his own death and the ultimate evaluation of what he

The First Sunday of Advent December 2 2007 marks the start of a new liturgical year when we will again use the readings from Cycle A of the Lectionary for Mass Most readers of America are certainly familiar with the basic structure of the three-year Sunday Lectionary in which the Gospel readin