Hope is essential to human existence We have personal hopesfor good health success in our undertakings and happiness in our lives We have communal hopesfor seasonable and tranquil weather peace among nations and progress in human welfare justice education medicine and so on Some hopes may b

Johns Gospel does not include a direct account of Jesus baptism Instead it supplies the testimony or witness of John the Baptist and his reflections on who Jesus is By considering what the Baptist saw in Jesus we may see more clearly what we can hope for from Jesus In his first chapter John the

The baptism of Jesus inaugurates his public ministry as an adult From Matthew 8217 s infancy narrative we have already learned that Jesus is the Messiah Son of God Son of David and King of the Jews From Matthew 8217 s description of John the Baptist we know that John was preparing the way of t

On Christmas Day we celebrated the birth of Jesus the Word of God as a human being He entered our world as part of a family so it has become customary to focus on the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas That there is a crisis in the modern family is hardly news One positive and constructiv

The term epiphany means a showing forth or manifestation In the context of the Christmas season it refers to the showing forth of the infant Jesus to a group known as the Magi The story of the Epiphany in Matthew 2 describes how these exotic visitors from far away come in search of the newborn ki

The Hebrew name Emmanuel which means God is with us combines the Hebrew expression for with us and one of the words for God El It refers to the presence of God among usthe great Advent hope Psalm 24 todays responsorial psalm was part of a liturgy carried out at the Jerusalem temple the mou

The adjective motley means variegated in color By extension it can refer to any grouping of diverse and often incongruent elements The expression motley crew describes a loosely organized group of very different persons joined together sometimes unconsciously to achieve a goal The Scripture rea

The second Sunday of Advent

The Scripture readings for Advent promote a promise-and-fulfillment approach to the Bible Most Christians view the Old Testament readings as divine promises that have been fulfilled in Jesus Almost every official Catholic document on biblical interpretation including the Second Vatican Councils D

The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a period of preparation for the celebration of Christmas In contrast to the commercialized celebrations of the holidays it is meant to be a quiet and reflective time Todays readings suggest that Advent is a time to hope for lasting peace among nat