Discipleship is not an option but a call – a commission to be a light for the world. The call is for all times and all life events.
Sunday Scriptures
Returning to God
Christians have embarked on another 40 days’ journey through the wilderness of their own humanity. Sister Karen Cavanagh, C.S.J., invites readers to ask if this will be a time of healing, mercy and transformation.
Where Will God’s Call Lead?
Reflecting on this week’s Scriptures, Sister Karen Cavanagh, C.S.J., finds that the readings offer an invitation to recognize and respond to God’s merciful and transforming call in our lives, especially as we ready ourselves for Lent.
Responding to The Call
When God chooses us … it doesn’t matter how prepared or not we imagine ourselves to be. Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz reflects on the prophet’s call as he explains this week’s Sunday Scriptures.
Building on God’s Foundation
Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz discusses the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, books focusing on a vitally important period in the centuries before Christ: the return of the Judean exiles from Babylon after the fall of the Babylonian empire to the Persian armies, the rebuilding of the ruined walls of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the Temple.
Heeding Mary’s Words
Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz reflects on the nine words Mary says in this Sunday’s Gospel reading and other times the Mother of God is quoted in the Gospels.
Dive Into Your Mission in Christ
In Luke’s Gospel this week we read about an adult who took a dip at the deep end, so to speak. That’s Jesus, the feast of whose baptism by John we celebrate this Sunday.
Inspired by the Magi
Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz reflects on the Scripture readings for the Feast of the Epiphany, when the magi undertook a journey of discovery that brought them to Jerusalem, where they found a little Child with a high calling.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph: No Ordinary Family
ONE OF THE most beautiful Christmas cards I have seen is a play on the typical picture of the Holy Family. In this particular scene, Mary is asleep on a cot made of hay and Joseph is walking while cradling the Infant in his arms. It is a tender scene of the healthy love of a father for his son which, I must admit, makes me very jealous. I have often said that if I have any regrets about my vocation, the regret would be that I will never have a son. So, I find the image of Joseph holding his newborn baby boy quite touching.
Led by Faith to Imitate Christ
At the moment of the Visitation it is not Elizabeth who recognizes the presence of Jesus, but John who leaps in her womb to let his mother know that she is in His presence. It is his joy that causes Elizabeth to proclaim Mary’s blessedness, and question her own worthiness that the mother of her Lord should come to her. But it is precisely because Mary has come to know that she is the mother of the Lord that she went to Elizabeth.