St. Matthew’s Gospel begins with a genealogy of Jesus. While it may seem that this Gospel text is simply a test of one’s ability to pronounce all of the names correctly, there is a much more fundamental purpose for beginning the Gospel in this way.
St. Matthew’s purpose in writing this Gospel was threefold. First, St. Matthew wanted to present Jesus as the new Moses....
In the Gospel passage from St. Luke for this Third Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist paints a word picture of the coming Messiah. He speaks of one who will come and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. He tells us that he, John the Baptist, would not be worthy to unfasten the sandals of the one to some. Clearly, John the Baptist pictures a Messiah...
Psalm 1 is chosen as our response to the readings for this Friday of the Second Week of Advent. Whenever I am treated to this Psalm or the Psalm that follows it, I cannot help but consider something that sets them apart from many of the Psalms; namely, it does not have a title nor is there any attribution given to its composer, nor any instructions about how it is to be sung. The first two...
Psalm 1 is chosen as our response to the readings for this Friday of the Second Week of Advent. Whenever I am treated to this Psalm or the Psalm that follows it, I cannot help but consider something that sets them apart from many of the Psalms; namely, it does not have a title nor is there any attribution given to its composer, nor any instructions about how it is to be sung. The first two...
As I was meditating upon the visit of the angel Gabriel to our Blessed Mother, I was reminded of something that St. Francis wrote in his Letter to the Whole Order
Saint Francis writes: “Let humanity kneel in fear, let the whole universe tremble, and let heaven rejoice when Christ the Son of the Living God is on the altar in the hands of the priest! O wonderful ascent, O stupendous...