In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims that the Lord is "not God of the dead, but of the living" (Luke 20:38). This may seem obvious to us now, but Jesus's words affirmed what we as Catholics believe about the Communion of the Saints. To be physically dead is not the same as being dead and annihilated. To be in God is to be alive forevermore.
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31st Sunday of Ordinary Time—November...
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus encounters a sincere scribe, unlike the other Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadduccees, who continually attempted to trick him and destroy his words. Because of his sincerity, Jesus offers great hope to this scribe by telling him that he is not far from the kingdom.
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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time—October ...
In his response to the Pharisees in today's reading, Jesus quotes the Shema, the great prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4, which begins, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" (RSV). However, Jesus subtly changes the wording. Instead of saying that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, sou...
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33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time—November...
Wars, famines, persecution, plagues, earthquakes, and signs falling from the skies are the warnings Jesus gives his listeners. How and when these times will come, only God knows. It is enough for Jesus to exhort his disciples — and all believers — to remember: "By your perseverance you will secur...
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