All peoples, clap your hands,Cry to God with shouts of joy! (Cf. Psalm 47: 2) When we get an invitation that causes us to clap our hands and to shout with joy we can’t think of anything more wonderful! This is what is happening this Sunday the 13th Sunday in Ordinary time. There simply isn’t anything more wonderful.
He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied them with honey from the Rock. {Cf. Ps 81: 17} Corpus Christi is another solemnity that was introduced into the calendar of the Latin Church in the Middle Ages – in the middle of the 13th century. Unlike on Trinity Sunday no new introit was created. Instead the Church used the introit from Pentecost Monday, and still does so in our time.
Today we celebrate a truth, a Catholic doctrine, that God is three persons, one God. Although it wasn’t until 1334 that Pope John XXII officially established the feast for universal observance in the Western Church, the mystery of the Holy Trinity has been the pulse of the Church’s life since the very beginning.
The Ascension of the Lord is – like Pentecost – the fulfillment of Jesus’ vocation for us. Heaven is open. There is a promise for our lives that shall never be taken back again. The New Covenant has begun!
Our invitation to this Sunday and its celebration is inspired by the words of the prophet Isaiah about the coming end of the Babylonian exile: Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea! With shouts of joy declare this, announce it; Make it known to the ends of the earth, say: “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob”.
Sing a new song to the Lord; for he has worked wonders: In the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance, alleluia! {Psalm 98:1-2} Psalm 98, like Psalm 96, speaks of praise to God for His work of salvation. What is the new song? Can we imagine a new song?
Psalm 33 is a hymn in which all are invited to praise God, who by a mere word created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the waters, and the earth. What a contrast to what is so often wrought by human words!
Psalm 66, a thanksgiving psalm, summons the whole earth to “come and see” what God has done in an act of corporate praise. It acknowledges the unseen work of God during crises. The psalmist both honors God and thanks God for specific answers to prayer.
The animated camaraderie at St. Ann Parish here on April 7 made the parish hall gathering feel more like a family reunion. Click here to read the story.
What an amazing invitation to living as Easter people with Alleluia as our song! We must not be cautious here. What seems too good to be true has actually happened! We must be unrestrained, perhaps, even collapsing, in our joy!
Let us glory in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ: In him we have salvation, life and resurrection; Through him we are rescued and set free. (Cf. Galatians 6:14)
The Liturgy of today’s celebration is intense - full of contrast between high and low, light and dark, triumph and despair. We begin by commemorating Jesus’ triumphal and messianic entrance into Jerusalem to accomplish his Paschal Mystery and finish the Gospel with Jesus crucified and laid in a tomb.
This weekend is Laetare “Rejoice” Sunday, which is the mid-marker of the Lenten season. It’s an intermission of sorts, an opportunity to take a breather and then dive deeper into a program of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for the Paschal feast
Pope Francis invites all the faithful to join him in a special prayer to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary tomorrow, Friday, March 25. Click here for prayer opportunites.
My eyes are always on the Lord; for he rescues my feet from the snare. Turn to me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor. {Cf: Psalm 25: 15-16} We begin mass today expressing dependence upon God, and desire toward Him, hoping and quietly waiting with confident affection for the salvation of the Lord.