Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B
1st Reading – Jeremiah 23:1-6 Jeremiah is classed as the second of the four major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, & Daniel). They are called “major” because of the length of the works attributed to them. Jeremiah is another of the reluctant prophets – he frequently protests, in his conversations with God, his dislike of proclaiming the […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B
1st Reading – Amos 7:12-15 Amos is the oldest of the books of prophetic literature, dating around the time 760 to 750 B.C. He appears to have been a layman with no special training for the religious ministry. Amos wrote during the reign of Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom (Israel). It was a time […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B
Gospel This account takes place early in Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. He is now in Nazareth, his home town. What we hear today is the story of Jesus’ rejection by His own people. Parallel gospel accounts are Matthew 13:53-58; John 4:44; 6:42; 7:13, 15. First Reading The Book of Ezekiel is one of four […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B
First Reading The Book of Wisdom was written in the late second or early 1st century B.C. in Greek. Until the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls it was not known to have existed in Hebrew, but its discovery there shows that it was accepted and used by the Jews of Jesus’ time in the […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Introduction A cousin of Jesus, Saint John had the unique office of forerunner of the Messiah; an office which had been foretold in the Old Testament (Malachi 3:1). John began to fulfill this office in the desert of Judea, on the banks of the Jordan. Clothed in skins, reminiscent of Elijah, he announced to all men the […]