These are the readings for the Marian feast 1st Reading: Isaiah 61:9-11 I will greatly rejoice, my whole being shall exult in my God. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I…

1st Reading: Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9. God’s love for His people is portrayed in warm, emotional terms “Hear the word of the Lord, O people. ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me. Yet it was I…

Barnabas Born as Joseph, a Jew from Cyprus, he joined the church in Jerusalem, and later in Antioch. He was nicknamed Barnabas (“son of consolation”) and is called an apostle in Acts 14:14. He sponsored Paul’s entry into the church and they went on missionary journeys together. Local tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at…

1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 The new covenant of grace is based not on some written law but on the Spirit. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us…

  1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 God has reconciled us and given us the ministry of reconciliation. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves,…

1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 God comforts us in our troubles so we may comfort others. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father…

1st Reading: Tobit 12:1, 5-15 etc The wedding of Tobias and Sarah When the wedding celebration was ended, Tobit called his son Tobias and said to him, “My child, see to paying the wages of the man who went with you, and give him a bonus as well.” So Tobias called him and said, “Take…

1st Reading: Tobit 11:5-17 The joyful reunion of Tobias and his parents Meanwhile Anna sat looking intently down the road by which her son would come. When she caught sight of him coming, she said to his father, “Look, your son is coming, and the man who went with him!” Raphael said to Tobias, before…

1st Reading: Tobit 6-8 (passim) The marriage celebration of Tobias and Sarah, and their devout partnership When he entered Media and already was approaching Ecbatana, Raphael said to the young man, “Brother Tobias.” “Here I am,” he answered. Then Raphael said to him, “We must stay this night in the home of Raguel. He is…

St Kevin, abbot, and Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs. Coemgen, Caoimhin or Kevin (498-618) is an Irish saint who first live as a hermit and then founded a monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, which became a famous centre of learning. He is remembered in popular culture as an ascetic who lived a very simple…

Saint Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs. Two 3rd-century Roman saints. Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, died in 304, during the persecution under emperor Diocletian. Pope Damasus I heard the story of these two martyrs from their executioner who became a Christian after their deaths. Their names are mentioned in the Roman Canon. 1st Reading:…

Saint Justin, Martyr Justin (100-165) was a lawyer and philosopher from Neapolis in Judaea (modern Nablus), who spent his adult life in Rome. He was the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. A gifted writer, his best known surviving text is his Apologia to the Roman emperor, Antoninus, defending…

Saint Justin, Martyr Justin (100-165) was a lawyer and philosopher from Neapolis in Judaea (modern Nablus), who spent his adult life in Rome. He was the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. A gifted writer, his best known surviving text is his Apologia to the Roman emperor, Antoninus, defending…

By what authority?

Today’s gospel comes just after Jesus cleansed the temple, which was a very daring thing to do. There were people in charge of the temple and Jesus certainly had not been authorized by them to do what he did. The question the religious authorities responsible for the temple put to Jesus is very understandable, “What authority have you for acting like this?