Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Jeremiah 20:10-13 Jeremiah’s prophetic career extended from his youth in 626 B.C. to a date considerably later than the ruin of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Thus he witnessed the brief renewal of the covenant people under Josiah; the latter’s death in 609 at Megiddo; the obstinate, weak, and futile resistance of Josiah’s successors to Babylon; […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Cycle A
Introduction Corpus Christi is a doctrinal feast established in honor of Christ present in the Eucharist. Its purpose is to instruct the people in the mystery, faith, and devotion surrounding the Eucharist. The celebration of the feast evolved during the 13th and 14th centuries. The Berengarian heresy of the mid-11th century (named after Berengar of Tours) taught that […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Sirach 15:15-20 The author of Sirach was Jesus, the son of Eleazar, of the family of Sirach. He was by profession a teacher of Wisdom in Jerusalem. Sirach wrote during the early decades of the 2nd century before Christ, just prior to the Maccabean wars. During this critical period of Jewish history, […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Isaiah 58:7-10 Until the 18th century it was presumed that Isaiah of Jerusalem wrote all 66 chapters of the book which bears his name. The tradition of single authorship was first questioned around the year 1167 but serious questions were not raised until the late 1770’s and early 1780’s. At that time […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
1st Reading – Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13 Zephaniah (means “Yahweh protects”) is possibly a descendent of King Hezekiah. He prophesied in Josiah’s reign (640-609 B.C.), when there was an attempt, serious but of limited success and duration, to undo the apostasy of Josiah’s predecessor Manasseh who was the son and successor of Hezekiah. Manasseh was the […]