Reflections on the lectionary readings for Sunday Mass
In a conversation with Peter and the apostles, Jesus declares His intention to build His Church on a human being. Whatever was He thinking? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 16:13-20) Today’s Gospel is so familiar to Catholics that the potential for missing the punch it packs is inordinately high. If ever we are challenged […]
Read more "Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A—August 27, 2017"Today, as Jesus travels away from Jerusalem toward the region of the Gentiles, He meets a Canaanite woman who desperately needs His help. Why did He give her the cold shoulder? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 15:21-28) To best understand this Gospel episode, we need to know that it follows a description of the […]
Read more "Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A—August 20, 2017"Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus let the apostles struggle for many hours in a violent storm before going to them. Why did He wait so long? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 14:22-33) After the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (last Sunday’s Gospel), Jesus sent both His disciples and the vast crowd away. […]
Read more "Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)—August 13, 2017"Jesus takes His closest friends up a mountain to pray, an action packed with meaning for Jews. Why? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 17:1-9) The meaning of today’s Gospel reading, known to us as the Transfiguration, is greatly enriched if we understand the context in which it appears, both within Matthew’s Gospel and the […]
Read more "The Transfiguration of the Lord, Year A—August 6, 2017"Today, Jesus teaches about the kingdom of heaven in parables that are so clear, even the apostles understand them. By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 13:44-52) The Gospel reading gives us another cluster of parables about the kingdom of heaven, adding to an unusually high number in just one chapter. The first two are very […]
Read more "Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A—July 30, 2017"Today, Jesus uses parables to teach about the kingdom of heaven. What do all three of them have in common? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 13:24-43) In this chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus uses parables to teach the large crowd gathered to hear Him at the seashore. In the first one, He says, “The […]
Read more "Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)—July 23, 2017"In today’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do You speak in parables?” Good question! By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 13:1-23) Our Gospel opens with a picturesque scene of Jesus sitting “by the sea” and drawing such a large crowd that He had to get into a boat and go offshore a bit so […]
Read more "Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)—July 16, 2017"In the Gospel, Jesus extends a paradoxical invitation: Take up a “yoke” to find rest. What did He mean? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 11:25-30) Today’s reading is best understood in its context within Matthew’s Gospel. In the preceding verses, Jesus upbraids some of the cities of Galilee for refusing to repent and believe […]
Read more "Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)—July 9, 2017"Today, Jesus gives the Twelve lessons in discipleship, both its costs and its blessings. By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 10:37-42) In verses preceding today’s reading, Jesus perhaps startled His disciples with this warning: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a […]
Read more "Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A—July 2, 2017"Today, Jesus tells His disciples that there is empty fear and worthy fear. How will they know the difference? By Gayle Somers Gospel (Read Mt 10:26-33) The tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel begins with Jesus calling the Twelve apostles. Then, He sends them out to preach the Good News He’s going to teach them. He […]
Read more "Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)—June 25, 2017"