Fifth Sunday of Lent (Passion Sunday) March 17, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #12
“And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase (Passover Lamb). And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children for ever. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies. And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service? You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored. And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.”
(Exodus 12:21-28)
Fourth Sunday of Lent March 10, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #11
“And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase (Passover Lamb). And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children for ever. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies. And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service? You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored. And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.”
(Exodus 12:21-28)
Third Sunday of Lent March 3, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #10
“And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12).
“. . .and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21)
Second Sunday of Lent February 25, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #9
“He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’”
(Genesis 28:12-17)
First Sunday of Lent February 18, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #8
“After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only-begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:1-2)
Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time February 11, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #7
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”
(Genesis 12:1-3)
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time February 4, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #6
“Brothers, because of the love I have for you, I wish I were able to reassure you with the prospect of eternal happiness by saying to each of you: You are certain to go to paradise; the greater number of Christians is saved, so you also will be saved. But how can I give you this sweet assurance if you revolt against God’s decrees as though you were your own worst enemies? I observe in God a sincere desire to save you, but I find in you a decided inclination to be damned. So what will I be doing today if I speak clearly? I will be displeasing to you. But if I do not speak, I will be displeasing to God.”
(Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved)
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time January 28, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #5
“The consequences of sin will stay with man until he returns to the earth, that is, until he dies.”
(The Navarre Bible, Pentateuch, p. 56)
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time January 21, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #4
“The image of God in man makes him superior to other earthly creatures. Saint Augustine says, ‘Man’s excellence consists in the fact that God made him to His own image by giving him an intellectual soul which raises him above the beasts of the field.’”
(Msgr. Paul J. Glenn, A Tour of the Summa, p. 78)
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time January 14, 2024 Year of the Most Holy Eucharist Reflection #3
“The intellectual perfection of man and woman in this first beginning of the race was even more stupendous than the physical fullness. Adam and Eve came into being as adults.”
(My Way of Life, The Summa Simplified for Everyone, p.100)