Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Humility is the focus of today’s Liturgy. The Kingdom of God grows within the hearts of the lowly, those who long to live in his will. To reveal his glory, the Lord chooses those who are open to his blessings. Bestowing his favor upon them, God forms them as his...

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus has been baptized by John in the Jordan and has overcome the temptations of the devil in the desert. We might expect that now he will go forth to Jerusalem to proclaim the Gospel. But today we learn that, no, instead he withdraws to Galilee. Matthew explains...

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our redemption is entirely God’s initiative, purely an expression of his ineffable and infinite love for us human beings. As St. John says, “It is not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). This love...

Seasonal Introduction to Ordinary Time

Beginning today, the day after the Baptism of the Lord, until Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (January 11 – February 17), we enter into the first part of what is called Ordinary Time. In Advent we pondered the dark, chaotic condition of man before the birth of Jesus....

The Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of Jesus, testified to in all four Gospels, is an important event signaling the start of his public life. In the account of Matthew, which is our Gospel for today, Jesus goes from Galilee to meet John the Baptist at the Jordan river. It is Jesus’ first...