Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 4:8–11, 14–16a; Romans 6:3–4, 8–11; Matthew 10:37–42 For many years I have traveled through different corners of Asia. The Philippines. Indonesia. East Timor. Vietnam. Myanmar. China. And again and again, I found a door open. A meal was placed before me. A bed was prepared. A quiet corner was given. A “small roof chamber,” where a tired traveler could lay down and rest. ...
When Grief Has No Easy Answer
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Lamentations 2:2, 10–14, 18–19 Some biblical texts are difficult to preach. Not because they are unclear, but because they are too clear. Today’s reading from Lamentations does not explain suffering from a distance. It sits among the ruins. The elders are silent. The young women bow their heads to the ground. The children faint in the streets. The walls of Jerusalem are told to cry out day and night. ...
When the City Falls, the Promise Remains
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 25:1–12 In 2 Samuel 7, the Lord made an everlasting covenant with David. He promised that David’s house and David’s kingdom would stand forever (see 2 Sam 7:4–16). For centuries, the Davidic monarchy shaped the life of Israel. ...
When Leaders Refuse to Listen
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 24:8–17 Today the biblical author brings us to the year 597 B.C., the year of the first Babylonian deportation. Jerusalem could already have been destroyed then. But Jehoiachin surrendered to the power of Babylon, and the city was spared. ...
He Must Increase
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist Isaiah 49:1–6; Psalm 139; Acts 13:22–26; Luke 1:57–66, 80 The Gospel gives us only two stories of miraculous conceptions and births: the birth of John, and the birth of Jesus. And in the Church’s liturgy, we celebrate them six months apart. ...
Miracle Without Repentance
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 19:9b–11, 14–21, 31–35a, 36 In 722 B.C., the Assyrian army conquered Samaria and brought the Northern Kingdom of Israel to an end. Nearly twenty years later, in 703 B.C., the same empire came against Judah and surrounded Jerusalem. ...
When We Refuse to Listen
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 17:5–8, 13–15a, 18 Why does disaster happen? We usually answer in many ways. We speak of military weakness. We speak of political failure. We speak of economic decline. We speak of bad leadership, poor strategy, or the rise of a stronger empire. ...
His Eye Is on the Sparrow
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jeremiah 20:10–13; Romans 5:12–15; Matthew 10:26–33 Once I was bringing fifty Bibles to a friend who lived in a country where Christians were a tiny minority and still faced the possibility of persecution. I was pretending to be courageous, but I was afraid. ...
When the Good Beginning Is Not Enough
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 2 Chronicles 24:17–25 Yesterday, we heard about Joash. He was an infant when he was saved from the hands of the cruel queen Athaliah, and at the age of seven he was crowned king of Judah. It was a beautiful beginning. ...
The Child Hidden in the Temple
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundOn Readings Here Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 11:1–4, 9–18, 20 As we continue reading the Books of Kings, we see that the death of Elijah did not end the battle against Baal. The struggle continues. The kings are often unfaithful. Power is often corrupt. And today we meet Athaliah, a woman so hungry for power that she murders the royal family to secure the throne for herself. ...