Come after Me

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 25, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Jon 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20
Rev. David Hyman

Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Come after me.” Those are the key phrases for me this morning.

“The kingdom of God is at hand” simply means that Jesus is here. The final revelation of God is here. Come after me, sign up – you and I have done it. We’ve been baptized, we’ve been confirmed, we belong to the kingdom of God. We’d like to think that we’re all coming after in the ways in which we’ve been shown and the ways we’ve chosen to do it. And so it is. (more…)

Listening to the Voice of God

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 18, 2015 – Year B
Readings: 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 40, 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20; Jn 1:35-42
by Rev. Louis J. Canino, ofm

This past week, I was in Syracuse NY for the funeral of an aunt who died at 102 years of age. It was quite a celebration of her life. I hadn’t seen some of my cousins and relatives in years. After the wake and funeral, we gathered together in my aunt’s house. There were about 30-40 of us. In one particular circle of people, I felt there were about 3 conversations going on at one time, and I didn’t know who to listen to. (more…)

True Faith Brings Happiness

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 17, 2014 – Year A
Readings: Is 56:1, 6-7; Psalm 67; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28
by Most Reverend Arturo Bastes, Bishop of Sorsogon, Philippines

The beautiful gospel has plenty of implications. First, this is the only recorded time that Jesus was in a non-Jewish territory. But most of all, it prophesied a very important doctrine that the gospel would be preached to all the nations, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading and fulfilled in the second reading during the time of St. Paul, when the gospel was preached to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, our Lord. However, St. Paul still had the hope that all the Jews would be converted to Christ someday, because they were the first chosen people of God. (more…)

Discipleship

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 26, 2014 – Year A
Readings: Is 8:23-9:3; Psalm 27; I Cor 1:10-13, 17; Mt 4:12-23
by Rev. Louis J. Canino, ofm

Introduction

1. The year was 1960 and the month was September. My Classmate from High School was entering the seminary and his mom drove both of us to St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y. to begin our first day in this Franciscan seminary. It was an awesome sight as 215 young men all dressed in black suits and white shirts were greeted by about 20 Franciscans Friars dressed in brown habits. The Seminary was filled to capacity and the overflow of 15 sems had to temporarily sleep in makeshift quarters in the attic. It was the largest body of seminarians that our Franciscan Province had ever had. I’m sure at least 99 % or more of these young students were there because they heard God’s calling to follow after Him. Maybe 1 % or fewer were there because of the food.

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