13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 1 (1 Kings 19:16, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62)

Freedom is very precious, but it is often taken for granted and is not fully appreciated until it is lost.

The Birth of John the Baptist (Year C) June 24 (Isaiah 49:1-6/Acts 13:22-26/Luke 1:57-66, 80)

What will this child become? That question probably crosses the minds of many as they gaze into the faces of infants.

The Body and Blood of Christ (Year C) — June 10 (Genesis 14:18-20/1 Corinthians 11:23-26/Luke 9:11b-17)

How often we wish that certain passages in the Scriptures would say a bit (a lot!) more than they do. Who was Melchizedek? Obviously he was someone very important in spiritual terms, for he gives his name to an eternal priesthood fulfilled by Jesus. But in comparison to Abraham, Moses, David and others, he does not get much press. And he uses a different title for God — “El Elyon” — the Most High God rather than the usual Elohim or Yahweh.

Trinity Sunday (Year C) June 3, (Proverbs 8:22-31/Romans 5:1-5/John 16:12-15)

Explaining the Trinity is a delicate undertaking. Utmost care and precision in wording must be taken to stay on the right track. The slightest fuzziness or carelessness can result in a statement that is not completely orthodox.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C) May 27 (Acts 2:1-11/1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13/Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26)

Pentecost was not only the birth of the church, but the rebirth of humanity.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), Aug. 5 (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21)

What is real? We have so little time on earth — what is the most important thing in life? These are questions that people have asked for millennia and they are addressed by both testaments of the Bible.

Seventh Sunday of Easter May 20 (Acts 7:55-60, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20/John 17:20-26)

It is all too easy to pass judgment on the people found in New Testament crowds. Why can they not believe? Why do they react so negatively and violently to the proclamation of the apostles?

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)  May 13 (Acts 15:1-2, 22-29/Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23/John 14:23-29)

They decided not to impose any burden greater than was absolutely necessary. It seems to be a case of obvious common sense, and yet so often common sense is not common at all — it’s in rather short supply.

Second Sunday of Advent (Year A) Dec. 9 (Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 1515:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12)

The people of the first millennium B.C. were no different than we are. They had seen — and experienced — their share of tragedy, violence, war and natural disaster. They were certain that there was a tragic and dreadful flaw in the world, and they longed for the arrival of someone who would fix everything.

First Sunday of Advent (Year A), Dec. 2 (Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44)

When we say “utopia” or “paradise” peace usually pops into our mind. Isaiah doesn’t disappoint us, for he uses some of the most beautiful and evocative language in the Old Testament to set human hearts afire with hope and determination: Swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks — an end to war and even thinking about war.