Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Cor 12:12-30; Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21

01-26-2025Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

GROW: Late 19th-century English author G.K. Chesterton famously wrote, “Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls, but they are the walls of a playground.” We can think of God’s commandments serving as rules governing primary school recess: by providing us with a structure in which we can explore, play, stumble, and get up again, they allow us to discover who God created us to be without wandering far from his love.

READ MORE

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Is 62:1-5 1; Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11

01-19-2025Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

GROW: Pop quiz: What was the name of the bride and groom at the wedding in today’s Gospel? If you’re unsure, you’re not alone; the bridegroom is mentioned only in passing and the names of the newlyweds are not recorded at all in Scripture. Instead, the most prominent man in the account is Jesus; the most prominent woman is his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. In light of today’s first reading, this apparent omission begins to make sense.

READ MORE

The Baptism of the Lord - Is 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

01-12-2025Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

GROW: In many renditions of the Baptism of Jesus, artists connect the scene at the Jordan River with Jesus’ death. A withered tree, for example, reminds us of the cross, or a mountain points to Mount Calvary. These connections show a real relationship between Jesus’ baptism and his passion: his baptism marks the acceptance and beginning of his mission, which would ultimately lead to his crucifixion. For us, too, baptism is a decisive moment which destines us for – you guessed it – death! Not physical death (which will happen regardless), but a death to everything that is not of God.

READ MORE

Epiphany of the Lord - Is 601-6; Eph 32-3a, 5-6; Mt 21-12

01-05-2025Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

GROW: Deeply fatigued from their perilous journey, the three wise men must have been filled with doubt and hope in equal measure, wondering if the star would truly lead them to the promised King. “Is this really worth it” they may have questioned. “Will we ever meet this child” And then, in a single gaze, Christ broke into the world of humanity. In this perfect encounter with the Son of God, the wise men “prostrated themselves” and “opened their treasures” before him – in all his glory and all his innocence.

READ MORE