Isaiah 11:1 – 10

This Sunday, we will hear, once again, from the Book of the prophet Isaiah; last week, it was from chapter 2, this week, it will be from chapter 11.  The passage we will hear on Sunday is, perhaps, one of the best known prophecies of the coming of Jesus.  Since it is in the early part of the Book of Isaiah, we know that it is part of the prophecy of Isaiah himself, who prophesied 742 – 685BC.  Chapters 1 – 12 probably address the time of […]

Malachi 3:19 – 20a

As we come to the end of the liturgical year – next Sunday is already the last Sunday of the Year when we celebrate the feast of Christ the King – we are given an opportunity to reflect on the end of time.  All three readings speak of the end of the world and the final judgment.  This is a good time for us to reflect on how prepared we are for the coming of the Lord.

This Sunday, we will first hear from the Book of the […]

2 Maccabees 7:1 – 2, 9 – 14

This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Maccabees. Again, we shall see that the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel – they both speak of the resurrection.  We haven’t heard from this book for a long time – we never hear from 1 Maccabees and we hear from 2 Maccabees only once in every 3-year cycle-this Sunday – so let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of the book.  There are four books […]

Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Wisdom.  Like the Book of Sirach that we heard from last week, it is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The full name is the Wisdom of Solomon in the LXX manuscript; Book of Wisdom in the Vulgate.  Most probably originally written in Greek, not Hebrew, somewhere between 100 – 50BC, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, one of the largest centers of the Jewish Diaspora by an anonymous author.  He was a devout, Greek-speaking Jew, acquainted […]

Sirach 35:12 – 14, 16 – 18 (in the Catholic Study Bible: 35:15b – 17, 20 – 22a)

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Sirach. As is usually the case, this passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel.  Let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of this book. The Book of Sirach is one of the very last books of the Old Testament.  It was written between 195 and 180BC by a man who identifies himself as Jesus, son of Eleazar, son […]

Exodus 17:8 – 13

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Exodus.  As you will recall, the Book of Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch, picking up where Genesis left off.  Its title derives from the LXX name given it.  You will recall that the LXX refers to the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request of Ptolemy II: most scholars believe that only the Pentateuch was completed in the early part […]

2 Kings 5:14 – 17

This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Kings. 1 and 2 Kings are among the Historical Books of the Bible.  Along with 1 and 2 Samuel, they record the activities of Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon, as well as many of the kings of the divided kingdom after Solomon.  Originally, 1 and 2 Samuel formed a single book.  The LXX (the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request […]

Amos 8:4 – 7

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Amos.  As usual, it prepares us for the Gospel.  Let’s quickly review the who, what, when, where, why and to whom of this book.  Let’s pull out our Biblical Timeline; let me know who needs one.  Amos came from Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Juda, but prophesied in the northern kingdom, apparently around the temple of Bethel.  The first verse of the book tells us the name of the prophet – Amos, his profession – […]

Please note that this will be my last commentary until September; have a great summer!

 John 14:23 – 29

Last Sunday, we heard the prologue to John’s Last Supper Discourses, in which the new commandment – to love one another – was introduced.  This Sunday, we hear a portion of the first Last Supper Discourse.  It appears to be a continuation of last week’s presentation on love.  As you will see in your footnote, most scholars consider the section of 13:31 – 17:26 to be Johannine compositions, modeled on farewell discourses found […]

John 10:27 – 30

This Sunday, we hear a portion of the beautiful, symbolic presentation of Jesus known as the Good Shepherd.  Of course, we do not hear Jesus refer to himself in these terms this Sunday; that happens earlier (cf. 10:14).   The verses we hear on Sunday are part of his discourse against the Pharisees. The good shepherd discourse continues the theme of attack on the Pharisees that ends John 9.  We will recall the account of the man born blind whom Jesus cured.  In this account, we see the […]