The first reading for today's liturgy continues our continuous reading of St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians. We have reached the verse in the first chapter that every CUSAN knows by heart: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church . . . (Colossians 1:24).
The...
Fr. Lawrence reflects on the Gospel for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the C Cycle of the Lectionary for Sunday Mass.
(I am posting this homily by Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB, who has given me permission to reprint it here. Our "guest blogger" is the abbot of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois. I found his words particularly helpful. Fr. Lawrence, Administrator).
Homily for Fri., 22nd Sun of ordinary time - Sept. 6, 2013 (for Aurora Serra Club, at Provena Mercy Hospital)
The scribes and...
Very frequently, St. Paul includes a hymn at the beginning of his letters. This is the case in the Letter to the Colossians, and it is that hymn that we proclaim as the first reading for today's liturgy.
This particular hymn sings of the preeminence of Jesus Christ, who, St. Paul declares, came or comes before all others. St. Paul calls him "the firstborn of all creation."...
In yesterday's blog entry, I wrote of Jesus' ability to expel demons and how it said something about who he was. Having power over the spirit world placed him on a higher rung on the ladder of the created universe. Although the people who witnessed his ability to cast out the evil spirit did not verbally acknowledge Jesus' identity, the evil spirit said it: You are the Holy One of God...