Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Exodus 22:20-26 Like his forebears, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob led a semi-nomadic existence in Canaan. He was forced by a severe famine to emigrate with his entire family to Egypt, where they settled around the beginning of the eighteenth century before Christ. Over the next 400 years the Scriptures tell us nothing about […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 Cyrus was the founder of the Persian empire and as King of Persia he led the overthrow of the occupation by the Babylonians of Syria and Palestine in 539 B.C. The name Cyrus means shepherd, in Hebrew the name is koresh (from which David Koresh of Branch Davidian fame coined his […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Isaiah 25:6-10a The first twelve verses of the 25th chapter of Isaiah are psalms (songs) of thanksgiving and prayer. The first of these psalms (verses 1 through 5) is a hymn to Yahweh for safe refuge. It celebrates the victory of Yahweh as something that has already taken place. The third (the last half of […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Isaiah 5:1-7 Our reading for today has been titled “Song of the Lord’s Vineyard.” It is believed to have been composed during the early years of Isaiah’s ministry. This poem takes the form of a popular ballad that one might sing at a vintage festival. It is possible that Isaiah himself sang the song on […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Ezekiel 18:25-28 The name “Ezekiel” means “may El (God) strengthen.” He grew up in a priestly family, in Jerusalem. He was familiar with the Temple, and must have known Jeremiah. During the second deportation to Babylon in 597 B.C., he was taken with others to Tel-Abib (near Nippur). He was married and had […]