First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Reflection: The story presented in the first reading is part of a larger one which describes the torture and death of seven Jewish brothers and their mother under the persecutions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes,… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Wisdom 11:22-12:2 Reflection: This Sunday’s first reading begins by reflecting on God’s majestic grandeur, with which nothing can compare. Insignificant as the universe is in comparison to God’s awesomeness, God has created it and loves it. Everything God… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Reflection: In this passage from the wisdom text of Sirach, we hear the profound truth that God is just and “knows no favorites.” God loves all people and treats them according to the same standard… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Exodus 17:8-13 Reflection: To what or whom do you look for strength when you are confronted with one of life’s unexpected hardships? This Sunday’s first reading speaks to this experience in the lives of the Israelites. In this… Continue Reading →

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17 Reflection: Naaman was a respected army commander from the city of Damascus in the land of Aram (Syria), to the northeast of Israel in about 855 B.C. Naaman suffered from a debilitating skin disease. When… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 Reflection: Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you? Have you ever wondered, where is God in the midst of all the injustice and violence in the world? And, why doesn’t He do something… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Amos 6:1A, 4-7 Reflection: In this Sunday’s first reading, the prophet Amos proclaimed that the wealthy Israelites had become lazy and self-absorbed to the point that they did not even notice the collapse of their own culture. They… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7 Reflection: The prophet Amos preached to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century B.C., spreading a message of justice and compassion (the Northern Kingdom had split from the Southern Kingdom of… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 Reflection: The famous incident of the golden calf, recounted in this reading, comes after Moses had been on Mount Sinai for a very long time. So long, in fact, that the people thought he had… Continue Reading →

First Reading: Wisdom 9:13-18B Reflection: The Book of Wisdom was the last written text of the Old Testament, being composed in Alexandria, Egypt around 50 B.C. This Sunday’s first reading focuses on the transcendent nature of God. In other words,… Continue Reading →