𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟖:𝟐𝟑-𝟗:𝟑 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟕:𝟏, 𝟒, 𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟒 (𝟏𝐚) “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.” 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟏:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟑, 𝟏𝟕 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟒:𝟏𝟐-𝟐𝟑 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟕) There are at

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟐𝟒:𝟑-𝟐𝟏 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟕: 𝟐-𝟒, 𝟔, 𝟏𝟏 “𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟑:𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟗 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: "𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬." (𝐯.𝟏𝟒) With the growing opposition of the Scribes and Pharisees who have alrea

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟖:𝟔-𝟗; 𝟏𝟗:𝟏-𝟕 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟔:𝟐-𝟑, 𝟗-𝟏𝟎𝐚, 𝟏𝟎𝐛-𝟏𝟑 “𝐈𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟑:𝟕-𝟏𝟐 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟏) Today’s Gospel passage shows Jesus withdrawing to the lakeside with his disciples (𝐯.𝟕) probably

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟕:𝟑𝟐-𝟑𝟑, 𝟑𝟕, 𝟒𝟎-𝟓𝟏 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟒𝟒:𝟏𝐛, 𝟐, 𝟗-𝟏𝟎 “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤!” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟑:𝟏-𝟔 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟓) This Gospel passage brings to a close the series of five stories depicting a succession of controversies that

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟔:𝟏-𝟏𝟑 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐒𝐀 𝟖𝟗:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟕-𝟐𝟖 “𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟐:𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟖 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟖) Today we are being presented with at least two imageries of human holiness which

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟖:𝟒-𝟕, 𝟏𝟎-𝟐𝟐 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟖𝟗:𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟗 “𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟐:𝟏-𝟏𝟐 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐒𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧.” (𝐯.𝟓) In his time and even up to today, Jesus has performed so many miracles from the time he tu

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟒:𝟏-𝟏𝟏 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟒:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟓, 𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟓 “𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐬, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟏:𝟒𝟎-𝟒𝟓 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧!” (𝐯.𝟒𝟏) In the olden times, leprosy used to be a dreaded disease, but modern medical science has turned

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟑:𝟏-𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟎:𝟐, 𝟓, 𝟕-𝟖𝐛-𝟏𝟎 “𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝; 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐤 𝟏:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟗 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟖) Today there is clear evidence of a renewed interest even among Catholics to read and u

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟐:𝟏, 𝟒-𝟕, 𝟖𝐚𝐛𝐜𝐝 “𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟏:𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟖 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟓) Today marks the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s Will in the life of Jesus Christ and the launching of what was

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏:𝟏-𝟖 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟒, 𝟏𝟕-𝟏𝟗 “𝐓𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐤 𝟏:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟎 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) Today marks the beginning of what we refer to as Ordinary Time, and we begin w

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟐:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟔-𝟕 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟗:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟑, 𝟗-𝟏𝟎 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞.” 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐀𝐜 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟒-𝟑𝟖 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟑:𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟕 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞” (𝐯.𝟐𝟐) The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord that we

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟏𝟗-𝟓:𝟒 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟐:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟕 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟒:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟐 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “..𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟗) It would be much easier to understand the message in

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟖 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟐:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟑 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟔:𝟒𝟓-𝟓𝟐 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐈, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟓𝟎) In 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝟗:𝟏𝟎 it says: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨�

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟕-𝟏𝟎 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟐:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟕-𝟖 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐤 𝟔:𝟑𝟒-𝟒𝟒 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟕) Love seems to be the underlying theme today and for us to fully appreciate the relevance of the

JAN. 5, 2026: MONDAY AFTER EPIPHANY Reading I: 1 Jn 3:22-4:6 Responsorial Psalm: Psa 2:7-8, 10-12 “I will give you all the nations for an inheritance GOSPEL: Mt 4:12-17, 23-25 Key Verse: “The Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (v.17) Besides Jesus who from the beginning was the Word of God who took a human form to save the world from its attachment to sin, none of his disciples probably ever thought or expected that the Gospel of Christ they preached would survive the tes

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟎:𝟏-𝟔 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟐:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟕-𝟖, 𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟑 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐄𝐩𝐡 𝟑:𝟐-𝟑, 𝟓-𝟔 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐:𝟏-𝟏𝟐 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟏) The unabridged dictionary that I u

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟐:𝟐𝟗-𝟑:𝟔 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟖:𝟏, 𝟑-𝟔 “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟒 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟗) There are at least three significant points in this Gospel passage f

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐙𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐙𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐉𝐧 𝟐:𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟖 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟖:𝟏-𝟒 “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐧 𝟏:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟖 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟑) The world has changed considerabl

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐍𝐮𝐦 𝟔:𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟕 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟕:𝟐-𝟑, 𝟓, 𝟔, 𝟖 “𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲.” 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝟒:𝟒-𝟕 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟐:𝟏𝟔-𝟐𝟏 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟗) As Christian Catholics our veneration

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟐𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟐:𝟑-𝟏𝟏 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟔:𝟏-𝟑, 𝟓-𝟔 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟐:𝟐𝟐-𝟑𝟓 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟎) The readings today present at least three very significant p