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Please read the passage before the commentary. Who is the holy family?  The Book of Sirach address the words of this first Reading to adults, not to children.  You children are off the hook for this. It is easy to … Continued

Por favor lean este pasaje antes del comentario. Es la fiesta de la Sagrada Familia.  El libro de Sirácides habla sus palabras a los hijos adultos, no a los jóvenes niños.  Ustedes jóvenes se liberan. Fácil es honrar a los … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. This has been a long first chapter of Luke’s gospel.  Zechariah, however, serves as bookends for the chapter.  He introduced the chapter when he was visited by the angel of Lord in the … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. “There is nothing new under the sun,” an old philosopher and wiseman once wrote.  What Mary said was nothing new.  A similar thought is expressed in Hanna’s canticle from 1 Samuel.  Neither was … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. Who was King Ahaz?  He was the ninth King of the southern kingdom of Judah after King David.  He lived at a time when war was threatening to destroy his kingdom.  He wanted … Continued

¿Quién fue el rey Ahaz?  Fue el noveno rey de Judá después del rey David.  Vivió cuando la guerra amenazaba con la destrucción del reino de Judá.  Él quiso como un aliado un reino pagano vecino.  Él no pedía el … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. Matthew situates his gospel in the historical context of Israelite kings.  Luke situates his in the context of the Israelite temple, and the religious leaders and prophets of God’s people. See in Zechariah … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. The book of Matthew starts with a reminder of the book of Genesis.  Genesis gives us a genealogy of creation; Matthew gives us a genealogy of the Lord Jesus.  We might expect a … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. “Who gave you this authority?”  The chief priests and the elders of the people want to know.  The king who had hired Balaam to curse Israel wants to know.  Perhaps this question has … Continued

Please read the passage before the commentary. What will the new and glorious age be like? Isaiah saw it as a time when the desert would become a greenhouse, a time when fear would be banished, when the eyes of … Continued