Know Before You Go

Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP unpacks the readings for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, with its classic reading, "Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I shall give you rest." Fr. Scott interprets this using the first reading from the prophet Zechariah, who speaks of a humble saviour, who does not come on a war horse, but on the foal of a donkey, and banishes all of the instruments of war. Embracing this saviour brings peace.

Jesus assures us that even if we just give a cup a water to one of his little ones, we would not be without reward. Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP asks us to think if we work just for ourselves, or do we use our personal influence to help others?

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time with a surprising insight into prayer—that God ultimately hears our prayers and vindicates us, but often not right away,. Thus, serving God can be painful and entail suffering, but it is still the path to eternal life and joy, so brace yourself for it if you want to walk this path.

Breaking open the readings for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr. James Marchionda, OP advises us to remember what God has done for you, specifically, and to and use that as a gauge for what to do for others. What God has forgiven you, you should forgive others. As God has blessed you without cost, you should bless others without cost.

Fr. Donald Goergen, OP breaks open the readings for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, explaining how the Holy Spirit transforms the bread and wine on the altar into the body and blood of Christ, in order to transform us, as we receive it, so that we can leave Mass being more Christ-like than when we came.

Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for this Solemnity, showing how the readings don't explain the Trinity so much as they point to a way to live out our faith in a God who is One in Three, Three in One, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Brian Walker, OP recalls the great events of Pentecost, when the Spirit united believers from different lands and of different languages so that they could come together and understand each other. Yet in the church today, we see many divisions, Catholics against Protestants against Orthodox, liberals against conservatives. We need to reopen our hearts to the Spirit that can unite.

Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP unpacks the readings for the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord, explaining why it was necessary for Jesus to leave in his physical form so that he could return in an even better way through the Church, the new body of Christ.

Fr. Donald Goergen, OP breaks open the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, which let us know that the reason for our hope is the gift of the Holy Spirit that lives within. Since this Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, let us not despair that we can live the truth, and rededicate ourselves to be people of truth.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, which are both reassuring and challenging. Jesus reassures us that he is going ahead of us to prepare a place for us in heaven, but then he challenges us that we could do even greater works than his own. Will we?

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for Good Shepherd Sunday, explaining how God protects us and frees us from sin so that we can join in the salvific work of God and have life more abundantly. Also, we enter into this state through Jesus, who is the gate, though the Sacraments.

Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP asks us to let the Resurrection of Jesus rewrite our understanding of our own journey, putting all of the struggles in our own lives into a new context of God's ongoing work in the world in letting us become Eucharist for others.

Fr. Brendan Curran, OP reminds us that each of us, at some time in life, has the doubts of Thomas the Apostle. Let us acknowledge these doubts so that we ca confront them and get to a deeper faith, as did Thomas.

Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP explains how the many readings for the Easter vigil outline the history of God's slow, saving work, which culminates in Jesus. At the same time, however, the Gospel reflects that first moment of people learning about the resurrection, when many struggle to believe and most don't understand. At this moment in time, society seems to be in the same place, where we have heard about the Resurrection, but we still live under the oppression of death and the fear of death.

Fr. Brian Walker, OP unpacks the celebration of Palm Sunday, pointing out that we need a whole week, Holy Week, to unpack the meanings contained in the Lord's death, and his welcoming us into his salvific work even now.

Fr. Donald Goergen, OP unpacks the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, pulling out several quotes on resurrection, speaking of it as communal, personal, and universal. Though we cannot say precisely what the resurrection will be like, we are challenged to understand that there is more to life than this life we are living now, something beyond our imagining. God does not abandon us at death.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP reminds us that there is no darkness in God, even though they called Jesus evil for healing a man born blind on the sabbath. In the same way, the Apostle Paul reminds us that once we are baptized, we are children of light, and the darkness can no longer overshadow us.

Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP provides background information about the Gospel Reading for the Third Sunday of Lent, the story of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, explaining the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews and the sorts of encounters that happen between men and women around wells in the Bible.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent, including the Transfiguration, pointing out the many ways God speaks to us and wondering if we will listen and experience the fullness of the Resurrection come Easter.

Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP, breaks open the readings for the First Sunday of Lent about the temptations of Jesus, asks us to consider if God is at the center of our life, or have we fallen victim to the Father of Lies?

Fr. Brian Walker, OP breaks open the readings for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, wrestling with the huge task of trying to "be holy, as God is holy." One way we do this is by opening ourselves to others, recognizing that the holiness that resides in us resides in them as well, since we are all made in the image of God.

Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, including a long Gospel passage on the teachings of Jesus, which could sound like a lot of do's and don'ts, but are really an invitation to live out our faith more fully in a variety of ways.

Fr. Donald Goergen, OP, citing the prophet Isaiah, asks us to look at our life and see if we are truly motivated by core principles of our faith such as caring for the poor and the homeless, and feeding the hungry.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, unpacking the Beatitudes, challenging us to become "poor in spirit" so that we trust more in God.