News - November 2016 RSS Feed

Why has Christine selected such ancient music for the assembly to sing this week, the second Sunday of Advent?

Advent is meant to wake us up to the life that we take for granted, the world that needs conversion, and the Word that ignites them both. And it seems that Jesus himself deploys these very tools of personal insight – a prophetic look at culture and the Scripture that interprets them.

Ah! Those 8th century monks—clever lads they.    Twelve hundred years ago when they assembled “O come, O come Emmanuel”--one of the most popular hymns in 21st-century America--they were proclaiming the approaching celebration of the Birth of Jesus. 

Today, dear sisters and brothers, we mark a pair of endings and beginnings: with the feast of Christ the King, we celebrate the last Sunday of our liturgical year.

I noticed today’s first and third readings did not warm your hearts. And no wonder. The prophet Malachi promises you that when the Day of Judgment comes, sinners will burn up like stumps left in the field after reaping.