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Keyword: lent

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  • "O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?" (Sermon for Good Friday, on Luke 23:1-56)

    03/29/2013 10:49:47 AM PDT · by Charles Henrickson · 6 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 29, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?” (Luke 23:1-56)“O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?” Short answer: None. But then why all this pain and sorrow and death on this day when Jesus is sentenced and crucified and buried? What could possibly be good about this Good Friday? The hymn we sang will lead us into the answers. O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken? Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession, What dark transgression? These, of course, are rhetorical questions. The expected answer is obviously...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-27-13, Wednesday of Holy Week

    03/26/2013 7:39:12 PM PDT · by Salvation · 35 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-27-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 27, 2013   Wednesday of Holy Week   Reading 1 Is 50:4-9a The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue,That I might know how to speak to the wearya word that will rouse them.Morning after morninghe opens my ear that I may hear;And I have not rebelled,have not turned back.I gave my back to those who beat me,my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;My face I did not shieldfrom buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help,therefore I am not disgraced;I have set my face like flint,knowing that I shall not be put to shame.He...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-26-13, Tuesday of Holy Week

    03/25/2013 8:09:08 PM PDT · by Salvation · 36 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-26-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 26, 2013 Tuesday of Holy Week   Reading 1 Is 49:1-6 Hear me, O islands,listen, O distant peoples.The LORD called me from birth,from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.He made of me a sharp-edged swordand concealed me in the shadow of his arm.He made me a polished arrow,in his quiver he hid me.You are my servant, he said to me,Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain,and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,Yet my reward is with the LORD,my recompense is with my God.For now the LORD has spokenwho...
  • "From Palms to Passion" (Sermon for Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion, on Luke 19 and 22–23)

    03/25/2013 1:03:11 PM PDT · by Charles Henrickson · 4 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 24, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “From Palms to Passion” (Luke 19:28-40; 22:1 – 23:56)Today is a day that goes by two names. The one that we’re probably more familiar with is “Palm Sunday.” For it was on this day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, greeted by the cheering crowds, and the people used palm branches to welcome him. Palms to indicate victory and triumph. Palms to symbolize success and long life. And so on Palm Sunday Jesus is hailed as the messianic King of Israel, coming to Jerusalem to establish his reign: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-25-13, Monday of Holy Week

    03/24/2013 8:36:06 PM PDT · by Salvation · 34 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-25-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 25, 2013   Monday of Holy Week   Reading 1 Is 42:1-7 Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,Upon whom I have put my Spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,Not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.A bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,Until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD,who created the heavens and stretched them out,who spreads out the earth with its crops,Who gives breath to its...
  • Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-24-13, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

    03/23/2013 9:17:50 PM PDT · by Salvation · 66 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-24-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 24, 2013   Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord   at the procession with palms - Gospel Lk 19:28-40 Jesus proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples.He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.Untie it and bring it here.And if anyone should ask you,‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer,‘The Master has need of it.’”So those...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-23-13, OM, St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop

    03/22/2013 9:10:31 PM PDT · by Salvation · 35 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-23-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 23, 2013   Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:I will take the children of Israel from among the nationsto which they have come,and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.I will make them one nation upon the land,in the mountains of Israel,and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations,and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-22-13

    03/21/2013 7:55:35 PM PDT · by Salvation · 34 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-22-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 22, 2013   Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:“Terror on every side!Denounce! let us denounce him!”All those who were my friendsare on the watch for any misstep of mine.“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,and take our vengeance on him.”But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.In their failure they will be put to utter shame,to lasting, unforgettable confusion.O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,who probe mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-21-13

    03/20/2013 10:02:33 PM PDT · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-21-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 21, 2013 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:“My covenant with you is this:you are to become the father of a host of nations.No longer shall you be called Abram;your name shall be Abraham,for I am making you the father of a host of nations.I will render you exceedingly fertile;I will make nations of you;kings shall stem from you.I will maintain my covenant with youand your descendants after youthroughout the ages as an everlasting pact,to be your God and the God of your descendants after...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-20-13

    03/19/2013 9:57:29 PM PDT · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-20-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 20, 2013 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,and all the other musical instruments;otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,“There is no need for...
  • "The Joy of Zacchaeus" (Sermon on Luke 19:1-10)

    03/19/2013 9:22:34 PM PDT · by Charles Henrickson · 2 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 20, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Joy of Zacchaeus” (Luke 19:1-10)The story of Zacchaeus is a very famous and familiar story in the Bible. Most of us probably remember it from our Sunday School lessons and from that children’s song we all learned. You know the one I’m talking about. It goes like this: Zacchaeus was a wee little man, A wee little man was he; He climbed up in a sycamore tree, For the Lord he wanted to see. And when the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree, And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down from there! For I’m going...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-19-13, SOL, St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    03/18/2013 7:57:59 PM PDT · by Salvation · 54 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-19-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 19, 2013 Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:“Go, tell my servant David,‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,and I will make his kingdom firm.It is he who shall build a house for my name.And I will make his royal throne firm forever.I will be a father to him,and he shall be a son to me.Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;your throne...
  • After giving up religion, atheists try giving up something else for Lent

    03/18/2013 2:18:57 PM PDT · by Lonely Bull · 13 replies
    washingtonpost.com ^ | Monday, March 18 [2013] | Kimberly Winston, Religion News Service
    What would an “atheist Lent” look like? A group of young nonbelievers are finding out, observing the Christian practice minus its religious context. --snip-- But their observance of the 40-day period in which many Christians abstain from worldly desires in a bid to come closer to God has upset some atheists who say borrowing religious traditions is antithetical to nontheism. The exercise has also illustrated a divide in the nontheist community — between older atheists who see religion as inherently evil and younger atheists who are more open to interactions with religious belief.
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-18-13, OM, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor/Church

    03/17/2013 10:02:27 PM PDT · by Salvation · 40 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-18-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 18, 2013   Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,the daughter of Hilkiah;her pious parents had trained their daughteraccording to the law of Moses.Joakim was very rich;he had a garden near his house,and the Jews had recourse to him oftenbecause he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon:from the elders who were to govern the...
  • Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-17-13, Fifth Sunday of Lent

    03/16/2013 10:01:09 PM PDT · by Salvation · 64 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-17-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 17, 2013 Fifth Sunday of Lent     Reading 1 Is 43:16-21 Thus says the LORD,who opens a way in the seaand a path in the mighty waters,who leads out chariots and horsemen,a powerful army,till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,snuffed out and quenched like a wick.Remember not the events of the past,the things of long ago consider not;see, I am doing something new!Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?In the desert I make a way,in the wasteland, rivers.Wild beasts honor me,jackals and ostriches,for I put water in the desertand rivers in the wastelandfor my...
  • "What Will the Owner of the Vineyard Do?" (Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, on Luke 20:9-20)

    03/16/2013 7:05:22 PM PDT · by Charles Henrickson · 5 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 17, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “What Will the Owner of the Vineyard Do?” (Luke 20:9-20)In the Holy Gospel for today, from Luke 20, Jesus tells a parable. It’s the Parable of the Tenants, also called the Parable of the Vineyard. It goes like this: Some tenant farmers are supposed to take care of a vineyard for its owner, but instead they take over the vineyard for themselves. They beat and mistreat the servants whom the vineyard owner sends to them, and they even kill the owner’s son. Jesus then asks the question, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do?” Well, let’s find out....
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-16-13

    03/15/2013 9:22:00 PM PDT · by Salvation · 31 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-16-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 16, 2013 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 11:18-20 I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;let us cut him off from the land of the living,so that his name will be spoken no more.” But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,searcher of mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,for to you...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-15-13

    03/14/2013 8:43:37 PM PDT · by Salvation · 31 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-15-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 15, 2013 Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Wis 2:1a, 12-22 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;he sets himself against our doings,Reproaches us for transgressions of the lawand charges us with violations of our training.He professes to have knowledge of Godand styles himself a child of the LORD.To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us,Because his life is not like that of others,and different are his ways.He judges us debased;he holds...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-14-13

    03/13/2013 10:20:48 PM PDT · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-14-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 14, 2013   Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14 The LORD said to Moses,“Go down at once to your peoplewhom you brought out of the land of Egypt,for they have become depraved.They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,sacrificing to it and crying out,‘This is your God, O Israel,who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’The LORD said to Moses,“I see how stiff-necked this people is.Let me alone, then,that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume...
  • "The Joy of Jesus" (Sermon on Luke 10:21-24)

    03/13/2013 9:16:07 PM PDT · by Charles Henrickson · 4 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 13, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Joy of Jesus” (Luke 10:21-24)Our theme for this midweek Lenten series is “A Little Lenten Lukan Joy.” We’ve been looking at the passages in the Gospel of Luke where the words “joy” or “rejoice” occur. And in most of those places, we find the people around Jesus rejoicing, or they are told by Jesus to rejoice. For instance, when we talked about “The Joy of Christmas,” we saw that the people around Jesus were rejoicing as they anticipated or heard about his birth. John the Baptist, even before his own birth, leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-13-13

    03/12/2013 9:30:43 PM PDT · by Salvation · 34 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-13-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 13, 2013 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Is 49:8-15 Thus says the LORD:In a time of favor I answer you,on the day of salvation I help you;and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,To restore the landand allot the desolate heritages,Saying to the prisoners: Come out!To those in darkness: Show yourselves!Along the ways they shall find pasture,on every bare height shall their pastures be.They shall not hunger or thirst,nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;For he who pities them leads themand guides them beside...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-12-13

    03/11/2013 9:34:40 PM PDT · by Salvation · 37 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-12-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 12, 2013 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Ez 47:1-9, 12 The angel brought me, Ezekiel,back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the right side.Then when he had walked off to the eastwith a measuring...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-11-13

    03/10/2013 7:47:03 PM PDT · by Salvation · 34 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-11-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 11, 2013   Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Is 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD:Lo, I am about to create new heavensand a new earth;The things of the past shall not be rememberedor come to mind.Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happinessin what I create;For I create Jerusalem to be a joyand its people to be a delight;I will rejoice in Jerusalemand exult in my people.No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,or the sound of crying;No longer shall there be in itan infant who lives but a few days,or an...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-10-13, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday

    03/09/2013 8:42:28 PM PST · by Salvation · 50 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-10-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 10, 2013 Fourth Sunday of Lent   Reading 1 Jos 5:9a, 10-12 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passoveron the evening of the fourteenth of the month.On the day after the Passover,they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain.On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.No longer was there manna for the Israelites,...
  • "The Lost Boys" (Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, on Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

    03/09/2013 6:36:57 PM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 8 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 10, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Lost Boys” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)Gather round, and today I’ll tell you the story of “The Lost Boys.” No, not the Lost Boys from Peter Pan. This is a different story. It’s a story that Jesus tells, actually. It’s the tale of two boys that get lost. They get separated from their father, through their own stupidity and pig-headedness, and yet their father is very gracious and kind toward them, patient beyond all measure, and he wants to welcome them back with open arms. “Oh, wait a minute, Pastor! Aren’t you talking about the parable of the Prodigal Son? That’s...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-09-13, OM, St. Frances of Rome, Religious

    03/08/2013 9:54:04 PM PST · by Salvation · 34 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-09-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 9, 2013   Saturday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 Hos 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD,it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.He will revive us after two days;on the third day he will raise us up,to live in his presence.Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;as certain as the dawn is his coming,and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!He will come to us like the rain,like spring rain that waters the earth.” What...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-08-13, OM, St. John of God

    03/07/2013 7:42:06 PM PST · by Salvation · 36 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-08-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 8, 2013 Friday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD:Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;you have collapsed through your guilt.Take with you words,and return to the LORD;Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,and receive what is good, that we may renderas offerings the bullocks from our stalls.Assyria will not save us,nor shall we have horses to mount;We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’to the work of our hands;for in you the orphan finds compassion.” I will heal their defection, says the LORD,I will love them freely;for my wrath is...
  • "The Joy of Names Written in Heaven" (Sermon on Luke 10:1-20)

    03/06/2013 9:16:53 PM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 2 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 6, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Joy of Names Written in Heaven” (Luke 10:1-20)President Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” And, in the civil realm, that’s fine. But is it so fine when we come to the ecclesiastical realm, the realm of the church, in other words, in the spiritual realm? When we’re talking about our relationship with God, is the important thing what we can do for God or what God can do for us? That is a question that our Lord Jesus Christ addresses in our text for tonight,...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-07-13, OM, Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

    03/06/2013 8:21:09 PM PST · by Salvation · 40 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-07-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 7, 2013   Thursday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 7:23-28 Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people:Listen to my voice;then I will be your God and you shall be my people.Walk in all the ways that I command you,so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.They walked in the hardness of their evil heartsand turned their backs, not their faces, to me.From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,I have sent you untiringly all my servants...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-06-13

    03/05/2013 9:10:41 PM PST · by Salvation · 33 replies
    uSCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-05-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 6, 2013 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9 Moses spoke to the people and said:“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decreeswhich I am teaching you to observe,that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decreesas the LORD, my God, has commanded me,that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.Observe them carefully,for thus will you give evidenceof your wisdom and intelligence to the...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-05-13

    03/04/2013 10:04:40 PM PST · by Salvation · 38 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-05-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 5, 2013 Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 Dn 3:25, 34-43 Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud: “For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever,or make void your covenant.Do not take away your mercy from us,for the sake of Abraham, your beloved,Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,To whom you promised to multiply their offspringlike the stars of heaven,or the sand on the shore of the sea.For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,brought low everywhere in the world this daybecause of our sins.We...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-04-13, OM, St. Casimir

    03/03/2013 8:59:43 PM PST · by Salvation · 35 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-04-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 4, 2013 Monday of the Third Week of Lent   Reading 1 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,was highly esteemed and respected by his master,for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israela little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”Naaman went and told his lordjust what...
  • Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-03-13, Third Sunday of Lent

    03/02/2013 7:38:29 PM PST · by Salvation · 50 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-03-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 3, 2013    Third Sunday of Lent   Reading 1 Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15 Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,the mountain of God.There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fireflaming out of a bush.As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,though on fire, was not consumed.So Moses decided,“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,and see why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-02-13

    03/02/2013 3:19:05 AM PST · by Salvation · 36 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-02-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 2, 2013   Saturday of the Second Week of Lent   Reading 1 Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 Shepherd your people with your staff,the flock of your inheritance,That dwells apart in a woodland,in the midst of Carmel.Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,as in the days of old;As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guiltand pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;Who does not persist in anger forever,but delights rather in clemency,And will again have compassion on us,treading underfoot our guilt?You will...
  • "Jesus' Take on Mass Tragedies: 'Repent or Perish'" (Sermon for Third Sunday in Lent; Luke 13:1-9)

    03/01/2013 7:58:44 AM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 8 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | March 3, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “Jesus’ Take on Mass Tragedies: ‘Repent or Perish’” (Luke 13:1-9)Whenever there’s a mass tragedy in the news--a building collapse or a mass murder, for instance—it’s become customary in our society to get opinions and comments from various high-profile individuals, celebrities or influential public figures. That’s what happens in our culture now, and it’s also what we see going on in Jesus’ time. In the Gospel reading for today, from Luke 13, some people ask Jesus for his views on a great tragedy that has just taken place, the mass murder of some Galileans at the temple in Jerusalem. They were...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-01-13

    02/28/2013 9:07:55 PM PST · by Salvation · 38 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 03-01-13 | Revised New American Bible
    March 1, 2013   Friday of the Second Week of Lent   Reading 1 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,for he was the child of his old age;and he had made him a long tunic.When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. One day, when his brothers had goneto pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.Get ready; I will send you to them.” So...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-28-13

    02/27/2013 6:58:29 PM PST · by Salvation · 38 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-28-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 28, 2013 Thursday of the Second Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 17:5-10 Thus says the LORD:Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,who seeks his strength in flesh,whose heart turns away from the LORD.He is like a barren bush in the desertthat enjoys no change of season,But stands in a lava waste,a salt and empty earth.Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,whose hope is the LORD.He is like a tree planted beside the watersthat stretches out its roots to the stream:It fears not the heat when it comes,its leaves stay green;In the year...
  • "The Joy of Persecution" (Sermon on Luke 6:20-36)

    02/26/2013 9:24:29 PM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 3 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | February 27, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Joy of Persecution” (Luke 6:20-36)Two weeks ago, on Ash Wednesday, we started this series on “A Little Lenten Lukan Joy.” And you may have thought that the theme that night, “The Joy of Repentance,” was a little strange. What does joy have to do with repentance? Well, if you thought that was strange, then tonight’s message will strike you as very strange. It’s called “The Joy of Persecution.” “‘The Joy of Persecution’? What joy can there be in being persecuted?” Well, don’t blame me for that idea. I didn’t come up it. It’s Jesus’ idea. He’s the one who...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-27-13

    02/26/2013 8:25:37 PM PST · by Salvation · 38 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-27-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 27, 2013   Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 18:18-20 The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;let us carefully note his every word.” Heed me, O LORD,and listen to what my adversaries say.Must good be repaid with evilthat they should dig a pit to take my life?Remember that I stood before youto speak...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-26-13

    02/25/2013 8:29:53 PM PST · by Salvation · 37 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-26-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 26, 2013 Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent   Reading 1 Is 1:10, 16-20 Hear the word of the LORD,princes of Sodom!Listen to the instruction of our God,people of Gomorrah! Wash yourselves clean!Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;cease doing evil; learn to do good.Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right,says the LORD:Though your sins be like scarlet,they may become white as snow;Though they be crimson red,they may become white as wool.If you are willing, and obey,you shall eat the good things of...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-25-13

    02/24/2013 8:57:47 PM PST · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-25-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 25, 2013 Monday of the Second Week in Lent   Reading 1 Dn 9:4b-10 “Lord, great and awesome God,you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love youand observe your commandments!We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,our fathers, and all the people of the land.Justice, O Lord, is on your side;we are shamefaced even to this day:we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,and all Israel, near and far,in...
  • Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 02-24-13, Second Sunday of Lent

    02/23/2013 8:49:25 PM PST · by Salvation · 48 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-24-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 24, 2013   Second Sunday of Lent      Reading 1 Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. He then said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.”“O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?”He answered him,...
  • "A Man on a Mission, a Man of Compassion" (Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, on Luke 13:31-35)

    02/23/2013 6:57:27 PM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 2 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | February 24, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “A Man on a Mission, a Man of Compassion” (Luke 13:31-35)In the Holy Gospel for today, we see two aspects of Jesus’ character come to the forefront: 1) He is a man on a mission. And 2) He is a man of compassion. And in both aspects, both his mission and his compassion, Jesus’ focus today is on Jerusalem. Let’s find out what all of this has to do with us. First, Jesus is a man on a mission. That comes through loud and clear in the first half of our text, where it says: “At that very hour some...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-23-13, OM, St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr

    02/22/2013 11:47:02 PM PST · by Salvation · 37 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-23-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 23, 2013 Saturday of the First Week of Lent   Reading 1 Dt 26:16-19 Moses spoke to the people, saying:“This day the LORD, your God,commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.Be careful, then,to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:he is to be your God and you are to walk in his waysand observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,and to hearken to his voice.And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;and...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-22-13, Feast, Chair of St. Peter, Apostle

    02/21/2013 11:15:19 PM PST · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-22-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 22, 2013   Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle   Reading 1 1 Pt 5:1-4 Beloved:I exhort the presbyters among you,as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christand one who has a share in the glory to be revealed.Tend the flock of God in your midst,overseeing not by constraint but willingly,as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.Do not lord it over those assigned to you,but be examples to the flock.And when the chief Shepherd is revealed,you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3a, 4, 5,...
  • Catholic Caucus" Daily Mass Readings, 02-21-13, OM, St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor/Church

    02/21/2013 4:59:50 PM PST · by Salvation · 36 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-21-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 21, 2013   Thursday of the First Week in Lent   Reading 1 Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,had recourse to the LORD.She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids, from morning until evening, and said:“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,for I am taking my life in my hand.As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathersthat you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.Now help me,...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-20-13

    02/21/2013 4:53:43 PM PST · by Salvation · 33 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-20-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 20, 2013 Wednesday of the First Week in Lent   Reading 1 Jon 3:1-10 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,according to the LORD’s bidding.Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;it took three days to go through it.Jonah began his journey through the city,and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”when the people of Nineveh believed God;they proclaimed a fastand all of...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-19-13

    02/21/2013 4:45:51 PM PST · by Salvation · 36 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-19-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 19, 2013 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent   Reading 1 Is 55:10-11 Thus says the LORD:Just as from the heavensthe rain and snow come downAnd do not return theretill they have watered the earth,making it fertile and fruitful,Giving seed to the one who sowsand bread to the one who eats,So shall my word bethat goes forth from my mouth;It shall not return to me void,but shall do my will,achieving the end for which I sent it. Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19 R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.Glorify the LORD with...
  • "The Joy of Christmas" (Sermon on Luke 1:39-56 and 2:1-14)

    02/21/2013 4:12:16 PM PST · by Charles Henrickson · 2 replies
    stmatthewbt.org ^ | February 20, 2013 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson
    “The Joy of Christmas” (Luke 1:39-56; 2:1-14)Our theme for our midweek Lenten services this year is “A Little Lenten Lukan Joy.” What we’re doing is going through the Gospel of Luke and tracing the motif of joy that runs through the book. Now a series on joy may seem odd to do during Lent, but really it’s not. Lent is a penitential season, yes, but, as we noted last week, repentance leads to joy. They’re two sides of the same coin, really. That is the premise for this whole series, namely, that when God calls us to repent--as he does...
  • Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-18-13

    02/17/2013 7:54:19 PM PST · by Salvation · 38 replies
    USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-18-13 | Revised New American Bible
    February 18, 2013 Monday of the First Week of Lent   Reading 1 Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 The LORD said to Moses,“Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. “You shall not steal.You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.You shall not swear falsely by my name,thus profaning the name of your God.I am the LORD. “You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.You shall not curse the deaf,or put a stumbling block in...