Starting with the readings of yesterday’s liturgy, our Advent thoughts move from the consideration of the second coming of Jesus to the issue of Jesus’ appearance in history. Second Isaiah or Deutero Isaiah can be summed up in a single word: “comfort.” The prophet is speaking to those who have been languishing under the oppressive regime of King Nebuchadnezzar. In...
The readings from the Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception are replete with images of grace. Choices are given to human persons to become all that God created us to be. The contrast between Eve, the “Mother of the race” and Mary of Nazareth, the “Mother of the Church” is striking. Both women created without sin, and given the freedom to...
We don’t often hear from the Book of Baruch. Because the only preserved manuscript is written in Greek, it does not appear in the Jewish Scriptures and, therefore, is not accepted by the Protestant Churches. It is classified as one of the prophetic books; however, Baruch himself was not a prophet. Rather, Baruch identifies himself as the scribe of Jeremiah the Prophet. The subject matter...
Isaiah is frequently referred to as the “Messianic Prophet.” He is so named because his oracles reveal how to recognize the Messiah when he comes. In today’s passage from Isaiah, “the deaf shall hear… The blind shall see.”
When John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one for whom they are waiting, Jesus simply tells them to...
Isaiah is frequently referred to as the “Messianic Prophet.” He is so named because his oracles reveal how to recognize the Messiah when he comes. In today’s passage from Isaiah, “the deaf shall hear… The blind shall see.”
When John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one for whom they are waiting, Jesus simply tells them to...