Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
1st Reading – Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23 Ecclesiastes is fourth in the order of the wisdom books of the Old Testament [the others being Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and after Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon/Canticle of Canticles) and Sirach complete the wisdom books]. Ecclesiastes is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew title. It appears in […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
1st Reading – Genesis 18:20-32 Unusual though the circumstance is, this week’s Old Testament reading continues the Old Testament reading we heard last week. As you will recall, last week we heard of Abraham’s encounter with the three visitors and the promise of a son (Genesis 18:1-10). Today we hear of Abraham’s bargaining with God […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
1st Reading – Genesis 18:1-10a The first book of the Bible derives its name from the Greek rendering of chapter 2, verse 4: “these are the generations (genesis) of the heavens and the earth.” Tradition has it that Moses is the author – that is, he wrote down the oral traditions which had been passed […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
1st Reading – Deuteronomy 30:10-14 The title “Deuteronomy” comes from the Septuagint deuteronomion (meaning “second law”). Moses is addressing a new generation of Israelites, all those who would have been under the age of twenty when the exodus began almost 40 years earlier. These “new” Israelites are gathered in Moab to hear Moses restate the […]
Liturgical Bible Study Guide: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
1st Reading – Isaiah 66:10-14c The prophets of Israel were not merely men who predicted future events. They were the religious leaders and teachers of the Israelites. They themselves regarded their mission in this light. They wished, above all, to be “men of God,” and to bring God to their people and their people to […]