Scripture

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:15-17,20a,20c-26

1 John 4:11-16

Luke 17:11b-19

In today's Gospel, Jesus prays for the apostles because He knows that they will need His prayers after His passion, death and resurrection.

The Holy Spirit coming upon the Gentile Cornelius and his household is truly a fascinating experience both for the early Church and for us. It certainly took Peter by surprise because Jews were forbidden to enter the homes of Gentiles because it would render them unclean. Yet it is into this Gentile home that the Holy Spirit descends!

5th Sunday of Easter - 2012

Acts 9:26-31

1 John 18-24

John 15:1-8 

I think it is safe to say that today the Catholic Church in the United States, and each of us, its members, are in dire need of pruning. When grape vines go unpruned, all the plant's energies go into foliage instead of into fruit.

Yours is a most astute question, for not only is Jerusalem the great capital of ancient Judea and also the place where the mystical events of our salvation occurred, but it is also the scene of the birth of the Church on Pentecost. With all that going for it, one would naturally surmise that that city, so rich in the tradition of the Church and so vital to its origins, would be the very center of our religion.

Easter Sunday - 2012

Acts 10:34a,37-43

Colossians 3:1-4

John 20:1-9

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-7

Philippians 2:6-12

Mark 14:1-15, 47