Who hasn't felt discouraged at some point in life? We all know how it feels when things don't go the way we want or expect. John the Baptist was feeling that way in today's Gospel. He is languishing in prison, wondering if all that he said and did had any meaning. Jesus didn't look like the common image of the Messiah. He wasn't a great political leader who would overthrow the Roman oppressors and restore Israel to glory. John's faith is shaken and so he tells his followers to seek out Jesus and ask him, "Are you the one?"
Up Next in Opening the Word
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4th Sunday of Advent—December 18, 2016
This week's Gospel tells us how the "birth of Jesus Christ came about." More specifically, it tells us how an angel appeared to Joseph, explaining to him that Mary's son would save the people from their sins. While Joseph might not have understood it at the time, we know that Jesus is the fulfill...
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August 23, 2020 - 21st Sunday in Ordi...
“Who do you say that I am?” That question, asked by Jesus to Simon Peter in today’s Gospel, sets the stage for a key foundation of the Catholic Church. Once Simon states that Jesus is the Messiah, then Jesus blesses him, changes his name to Peter (which means rock), and says that he will build hi...
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2nd Sunday of Advent—December 9, 2018
Any experienced driver knows that a road that zig-zags takes longer than a straight path to get to a destination. The same is true spiritually, as we see in today's reading. But the question is: why were the roads to God crooked in the first place?
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