The Better Part

John 1:29-34   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Once again, this Sunday, we hear about John the Baptist. We might remember that John the Baptist is a cousin to Jesus. Jesus' mother, Mary, and John the Baptist's mother, Elizabeth, are cousins (Luke 1:36). That means their children are cousins, too. In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus and John the Baptist are both grown-up men. Jesus comes to John to get baptized. The next day, when John the Baptist sees Jesus again,

John 1:29-34   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n After weeks of preparing and celebrating the feast of the Light coming in the world, we now return to Ordinary Time. The church changes the colour to green. In many parts of the world, snow covers the ground; there is no green. When we finally see green poking though the snow and green beginning to cover the bare branches of trees, we know spring comes. Things grow. Ordinary Time is a good time for growing—growing in Go

John 1:29-34   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n After weeks of preparing and celebrating the feast of Christmas, we return to Ordinary Time. The church changes the colour back to green. However, in only a few short weeks we will enter another season of preparation and we look toward the feast of Easter. Always, Jesus' death and Resurrection is with us. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, though, Jesus' death and Resurrection is still in his future. He just got bap

Matthew 3.13-17 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the last of the three Sundays celebrating the feast of Christmas—the feast of Jesus, the Great Light, coming into the world. In the Gospel readings for the first two Sundays of Christmas, Jesus is just a baby, but in the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus is a grown-up man. He comes to get baptized in the river Jordan. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. Wh

Matthew 3.13-17 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We are coming to the end of the Christmas season. Most people think Christmas ends on December 26th, or that maybe the season lasts for twelve days, but the Church celebrates God becoming human like us  for three Sundays. The Baptism of the Lord is the last of the three Sundays of the feast of Christmas. After hearing about Jesus as a baby for two Sundays, now we hear about Jesus as a grown man. He comes

Matthew 3.13-17 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n At the close of the Christmas season, we leave the secret years of Jesus' childhood behind and join the grown-up Jesus in the waters of the Jordan river. The feast of Christmas that celebrates God becoming human like us comes to an end with a particular look at Jesus' baptism. We have to ask ourselves, why does Jesus need to get baptized? John the Baptist sees a problem with this. Surely Jesus does not h

Matthew 2.1-12 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Most people in our world think that Christmas is over. Not yet! Still we celebrate our joy ! We know that when Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph fill with joy , and so do a few shepherds who come to visit. But most people do not know about Jesus. They cannot celebrate their joy . How will God let all the world know? "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking,

Matthew 2.1-12 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We call the second Sunday of the Christmas season the Feast of the Epiphany . "Epiphany" means that God reveals —makes it very clear—just who Jesus is. People know God's presence among them. As we listen to the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we have to ask ourselves how  God reveals  who Jesus is. In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusal

Matthew 2.1-12 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany refers to a moment when God makes God's very self known in Jesus. This is the Sunday when we hear the account of the Adoration of the Wise Men. We always assume that there are three wise men because there are three kinds of gifts. But there could be a whole crowd of wise men cramming into the house where the holy family lives, the ones at the ba

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear about trouble. Some strange visitors come to see Jesus. After they leave, the trouble begins. Trouble makes us feel uncomfortable. What does God do in times of trouble? Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you Jesus' family must leav

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear Joseph take his family away from their home country of Israel when it is no longer safe for them to stay. They travel to Egypt, a country far away from the forces that want to harm Jesus. The little family stays there until it is safe for them to return to Israel, and settle in Nazareth, a safe town away from danger, where Jesus can grow up in safety. Clearly, God want

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Last week, we thought about Joseph who never speaks in the Gospels, but whose actions speak louder than words. God speaks, and Joseph acts. He listens to God who speaks to him in his dreams. In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear about three more of those dreams. In the first dream, God speaks and Joseph takes his family away to Egypt when it is no longer safe for them to stay in their home country of Israe

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath. The feast of Christmas is so near, the feast of Jesus the Light coming into the world. We know that Mary is Jesus' mother, and her husband's name is Joseph. On this Sunday, we hear how Joseph finds out—even before he marries Mary—that Jesus will soon be born. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Throughout the Bible, we discover many names and titles for Jesus. We can find one for each day of Advent and still have more to find! Thinking about the different names and titles helps us go deeper into the mystery of who Jesus is, deeper into the mystery of God. In the Gospel for this fourth Sunday of Advent, when Joseph learns about God's plan, we hear two different names for the baby. Now the birth of Jesus the Me

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In Advent, we usually spend a lot of time with St. Luke's Gospel, thinking about the Annunciation to Mary—when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. This Sunday's Gospel comes from St. Matthew. It allows us to consider the Annunciation to Joseph—how Joseph discovers who this child is to be. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engag

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this reflection focuses on the last line of the Gospel.) This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath. It is the pink  candle. Pink  is the colour for joy . We wonder—why joy ? Last Sunday, we heard John the Baptist prepare  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. This Sunday, Jesus talks about John the Baptist. The people wonder if John the Baptist is a prophet. Jesus says, A prophet? Yes, I t

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel to your child.) Matthew 11.2-11 This Sunday is called Gaudete  Sunday. We light the third candle of the Advent wreath, the pink one. Gaudete  means rejoice  and pink is the colour for rejoicing . We wonder, though, why  do we rejoice ? Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist—the Preparation  Person— preparing  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. John the Baptist

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath for Gaudete  Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing . Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist, the one with the disturbing message about cutting away the dead wood, preparing us for the new abundant life that Jesus brings. Now, stuck in prison, he hears rumours about Jesus and he wonders. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” He asks if

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday talks about repentance in the sense of turning from sin which our 3-6-year olds are not needing yet. However, the deeper reality, the reason why we repent is the essential point they need to hear, I think.) In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. Jesus comes to speak ab

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday when we light the second candle on our Advent wreath, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist is a preparation  person. He prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes to speak about the Kingdom of God  in a way no one has ever spoken before. In Advent , we listen to John the Baptist as we   prepare  to celebrate the feast of the Light of God coming i

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Each Advent , as we prepare  ourselves for the feast of the Light of God coming into the world, we hear about John the Baptist. We might even think of him as the   preparation  person. He prepares  people for Jesus, the Light of the World. Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “ Repent , for the Kingdom of God has come near.” This is the one

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday involves images that are incomprehensible for little people. This reflection focuses on only the last verse and listens to the first reading from the prophet Isaiah.) This Sunday, the Church begins a new season. Each time the season changes, so does the colour. For weeks and weeks, the colour was green—the priests wore green, the banners in the church were green—but today everything

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent . Advent  is a season of preparing  for the feast of the the light of God coming into the world. We think about the moment when that light first came into the world and we prepare for the moment when that light fills all the world. The colour for the season is purple . We know that Jesus is the light of the world and that he is born in Bethlehem. We know that he grows to be

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we begin the season of Advent . It is a time of preparing  for the feast of God coming into the world as one of us. God, who knows what it means to be cold and hungry, who knows what it is like to dance and to play sports, to laugh with friends, to be nervous before a test. God, who knows us . It is a good feast. To prepare, we change the colour of the season to purple . We notice that the reading today co