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December 10, 2021 Friday of the 2nd week of Advent Burgos - San Esteban, altar of Saint Eulalia of Merida Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet.First readingIsaiah 48:17-19 ©If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a riverThus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,I lead you in the way that you must go.If only you had been alert to my commandments,your happiness would have been like a river,your integrity like the waves of the sea.Your children would have been numbered...

December 3, 2021 Saint Francis Xavier, Priest on Friday of the 1st week of Advent The Altar of St Francis Xavier in Rome Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingIsaiah 29:17-24 ©In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will seeThe Lord says this:In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become fertile landand fertile land turn into forest?The deaf, that day,will hear the words of a bookand, after shadow and darkness,the eyes of the blind will see.But the lowly...

December 9, 2021 Thursday of the 2nd week of Advent Virgen de Guadalupe altar, Mexico City Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet.First readingIsaiah 41:13-20 ©I, the Holy One of Israel, am your redeemerI, the Lord, your God,I am holding you by the right hand;I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,I will help you.’Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm,Israel, puny mite.I will help you – it is the Lord who speaks –the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.See, I turn you into a threshing-sled,new, with doubled teeth;you shall thresh and crush the mountains,and turn the hills to chaff.You shall winnow...

“What Sort of Greeting This Might Be” (Luke 1:26-38) During this Advent season, we’re looking at how Luke tells us of the events leading up to Christmas. Luke does this in chapter 1 of his gospel. Christmas will come in chapter 2. And in this infancy narrative, Luke goes back and forth between two storylines: the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus Christ. Last week we heard the angel Gabriel announce to Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in their old age. They are to name him John, and he will...

December 8-Dec-2021: Immaculate conception of the blessed Virgin Mary Praise the Lord Catholic Church, Boguchwala, Poland Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White First readingGenesis 3:9-15,20 ©The mother of all those who liveAfter Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with...

University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic—two of Cleveland, Ohio’s major healthcare systems—announced last week they have reversed their Covid-19 vaccine mandates for employees. The move comes after a federal court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for healthcare workers. "University Hospitals has been moving to implement the COVID-19 vaccine mandate required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In light of the federal court injunction issued Nov. 30 that temporarily blocks CMS from enforcing the mandate, come Jan. 4, unless there is further legal action, caregivers may continue to provide patient care services regardless of their vaccination status,"...

December 7th, 2021 Memorial of St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church Our Lady of Lourdes, Salt Lake city, Utah Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingIsaiah 40:1-11 ©Consolations from the heart of Jerusalem‘Console my people, console them’says your God.‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalemand call to herthat her time of service is ended,that her sin is atoned for,that she has received from the hand of the Lorddouble punishment for all her crimes.’A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the wildernessa way for the Lord.Make a straight highway for our Godacross...

December 6th, 2021 Mikołajki / Feast of St. Nicholas St. Nicholas Church, Kościół Mikołaja, Lubliniec, Poland Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet First readingIsaiah 35:1-10 ©The return of the redeemed through the desertLet the wilderness and the dry-lands exult,let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,let it rejoice and sing for joy.The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;they shall see the glory of the Lord,the splendour of our God.Strengthen all weary hands,steady all trembling kneesand say to all faint hearts,‘Courage! Do not be afraid.‘Look, your God is coming,vengeance is coming,the...

I’m guessing now that this is happening all over the country and the elite media has just refused to report it. If your hospital or provider has suspended its mandate, please let me know.

Author’s Note: Interested readers can find all previous volumes of this series here. News Flash: The first 56 volumes are compiled into a book titled “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible.” More details at the end. Now back to our regular programming.Thanks for joining the first Bible study of “sparkle season,” where in the commerical world — Christmas commonly known as “holiday” — means gifts, lights, parties, trees, etc. But today, and for the next three weeks, we will celebrate what is officially known as “Advent season” until the advent (arrival) of a Jewish infant named Yeshua...

December 5th, 2021 Second Sunday of Advent Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Saint Paul, اتِدْرَائِيَّة مَار بُولُس‎, Damascus, Syria Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet First readingBaruch 5:1-9 ©God means to show your splendour to every nationJerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,since the name God gives you for ever will be,‘Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.’Arise, Jerusalem,...

“The Word of God Came to John” (Luke 3:1-20) Every year during Advent, we get Gospel readings about John the Baptist. Why is that? Well, John’s whole purpose in life was to prepare the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, the purpose of Advent is to prepare for the coming of Christ. So it’s a natural fit: John the Baptist prepares the way during this season of preparation called Advent. In today’s Gospel reading, Luke begins by setting the stage for John the Baptist’s ministry. He writes: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate...

December 4th, 2021 Memorial of St. John Damascene Church of Saint Hananiya (كنيسة القديس حنانيا) , Damascus, Syria Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet First readingIsaiah 30:19-21,23-26 ©The Lord God will be gracious to you and hear your cryThus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer,...

“To Make Ready a People Prepared” (Luke 1:1-25) This past Sunday we began a whole new church year. And in our lectionary system of readings, this is the Year of St. Luke. The vast majority of Gospel readings for this church year will be from the Gospel according to St. Luke. And we’ll be really taking a deep dive into Luke’s gospel this year, most often preaching on those texts. In addition, yesterday we began a new Bible class on Luke, going verse by verse through this book of the Bible. All of this makes for a great opportunity for...

November 30th, 2021 Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle St. Patrick's, Dalhousie, India Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red First readingRomans 10:9-18 ©Faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of ChristIf your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and...

November 29th, 2021 St. Joseph, Huntington, West Virginia Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet First readingIsaiah 2:1-5 ©The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of God's kingdomThe vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.In the days to comethe mountain of the Temple of the Lordshall tower above the mountainsand be lifted higher than the hills.All the nations will stream to it,peoples without number will come to it; and they will say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us...

November 23rd, 2021 Feast of Christ the King Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Kentucky Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green First readingJeremiah 33:14-16 ©I will make a virtuous Branch grow for DavidSee, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:‘In those days and at that time,I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David,who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.In those days Judah shall be savedand Israel shall dwell in confidence.And this is the...

“Preparation and Praise for Our Coming King” (Luke 19:28-40) Today is the First Sunday in Advent. That means it’s also the first Sunday in a whole new church year. So I say to you today: Happy new year! And you say to me: “Happy” new year?? How can you say it’s “happy,” Pastor? Really? Well, I suppose you have a point. There’s a lot going on that isn’t very happy. I mean, look at the news: Inflation is at its highest rate in thirty years. Gas prices are through the roof. On Friday, the stock market took a huge dive;...

Advent, from the Latin advenio, which means “coming,” is a time that calls us to prepare for the Lord’s coming. It is a season of preparation and joyful expectation as we await the birth of the Savior. It is also a season that reminds us to wait with hopeful anticipation for the time when Christ will come again in power and glory at the close of the age. The First Sunday in Advent ushers in the beginning of a new church year. The Scripture texts for each of the four Sundays in Advent exhort us to remain alert and faithful...

Our Mother of Perpetual HelpPainted in tempera on hard nutwood, 21 inches by 17, the original picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is one of many copies of the famed Hodeguitria of St. Luke. (The Hodeguitria, reputedly painted by St. Luke, was venerated for centuries at Constantinople as a miraculous icon. It was destroyed by the Turks in the year 1453.) This particular image, however, is THE ONE COPY singled out – by Our Lady herself – for special heavenly favors. You may see it today enshrined above the high altar at the Redemptorist Church of San Alfonso,...