What are some of your favourite stories from the Bible? The Bible is “inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Jan. 15 (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34)

To whom is Isaiah’s prophecy addressed? Many of the prophetic texts of the Old Testament are difficult to follow, for the speaker and the addressee are often unclear. The ambiguity is at times deliberate, for a symbol can apply simultaneously to more than one person, situation or event. It appears that in this case the one given the divine mission of leading Jacob back to God was the mysterious and unnamed Suffering Servant. 

Telling parents and godparents to teach their little ones to pray from the time they are small, Pope Francis baptized 13 babies in the Sistine Chapel as their older brothers and sisters looked on -- or got away and ran around.

Epiphany of the Lord (Year A) Jan. 8 (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12)

How do we react to heartbreak, disappointment and the disintegration of all that we hold dear? For many, the reaction is despair, cynicism and depression. The last few years have brought the world much heartbreak, disappointment and struggle. We may have experienced these things in our own lives as well. 

A local parish held a small procession, which included standing on the corners of a busy downtown intersection holding signs for an hour. These were not rabble-rousing parishioners; quiet and unobtrusive, they were the most diffident, retiring sign-holders who ever pressed themselves against walls. Many passers-by called encouraging words or honked supportively if driving. Many others shouted derisively, called names or yelled recriminations, one even throwing a soda can at one of the sign-holders — who, as she later reported, simply stood still praying for the can-thrower.

Keeping his appointment to celebrate vespers as 2022 was ending, Pope Francis also paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who died early Dec. 31.

Most of the 18 Catholic missionaries murdered in 2022 were not carrying out high-risk missions when they were assassinated but were simply "immersed and submerged in the ordinariness of their lives and their apostolic work," said the editor of Fides, the Vatican's missionary news service.

Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Year A) Jan. 1 (Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21)

The exodus from Egypt began well. In just a few words, God revealed His intentions and high hopes for Israel. The blessing that Aaron was to give to the people called for the care and protection of God as well as God’s graciousness and peace.