Readings: Isaiah 49:1-6  Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-15  Acts 13:22-26  Luke 1:57-66, 80 Chants He Must Increase The people in this week’s Gospel are frightened and amazed by the mysterious events surrounding the birth of John. Only his mother and father, Elizabeth and Zechariah, know what this child will be. John the Baptist was fashioned in secret, knit by God in his…

Readings: Numbers 21:4-9  Psalm 78:1-2, 34-38  Philippians 2:6-11  John 3:13-17 Chants Lift Him Up It's fitting that we celebrate the ancient Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at this point in our week-by-week journey through Scripture. Since Pentecost, the Sunday readings have been preparing us to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah of Israel. As we'll see forcefully…

Readings Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14  Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9  2 Peter 1:16-19  Mark 9:2-10 Chants Majestic Voice High on the holy mountain in today’s Gospel, the true identity of Jesus is fully revealed in His transfiguration. Standing between Moses and the prophet Elijah, Jesus is the bridge that joins the Law of Moses to the prophets and psalms (see Luke 24:24-27).…

Readings: Acts 12:1–11 Psalm 34:2–9 Second Timothy 4:6–8, 17–18 Matthew 16:13–19 Chants The Apostles' Church This Sunday’s celebration of the great apostles Peter and Paul is a celebration of the Church. Peter’s deliverance from jail is compared to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Like Israel he is rescued at Passover from “the hand” of his enemy by an “angel…

Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9,12  Psalm 46:2-3,5-6,8-9 1  Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17  John 2:13-22  Chants Body Building Why commemorate a church dedication that happened in fourth-century Rome? First, because St. John Lateran is no ordinary church—it’s the cathedral church of the Pope and still known as “the mother of all the world’s churches.” But more than that, because God has from all…

Readings Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10  Psalm 45:10-12, 16  1 Corinthians 15:20-26  Luke 1:39-56  Chants The New Woman The Liturgy for today’s solemnity forms a beautiful litany to the mystery of Mary’s role in salvation history. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, the new dwelling for God’s glory on earth (see Exodus 40:35; Luke 1:35). Her setting out for…

Readings: Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 23:1-6 Romans 6:3-9 John 6:37-40 Chants Vision of the Throne of the Lord (The Paris Apocalypse), French Miniaturist, ca. 1400 All Souls When St. Paul talked about the resurrection of the dead with the philosophers at Athens, many laughed and mocked him (Acts 17:32). The Gospel, he would later write, is “foolishness” to the wise of…