The Better Part

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath. The feast of Christmas is so near, the feast of Jesus the Light coming into the world. We know that Mary is Jesus' mother, and her husband's name is Joseph. On this Sunday, we hear how Joseph finds out—even before he marries Mary—that Jesus will soon be born. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Throughout the Bible, we discover many names and titles for Jesus. We can find one for each day of Advent and still have more to find! Thinking about the different names and titles helps us go deeper into the mystery of who Jesus is, deeper into the mystery of God. In the Gospel for this fourth Sunday of Advent, when Joseph learns about God's plan, we hear two different names for the baby. Now the birth of Jesus the Me

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this reflection focuses on the last line of the Gospel.) This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath. It is the pink  candle. Pink  is the colour for joy . We wonder—why joy ? Last Sunday, we heard John the Baptist prepare  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. This Sunday, Jesus talks about John the Baptist. The people wonder if John the Baptist is a prophet. Jesus says, A prophet? Yes, I t

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel to your child.) Matthew 11.2-11 This Sunday is called Gaudete  Sunday. We light the third candle of the Advent wreath, the pink one. Gaudete  means rejoice  and pink is the colour for rejoicing . We wonder, though, why  do we rejoice ? Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist—the Preparation  Person— preparing  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. John the Baptist

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath for Gaudete  Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing . Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist, the one with the disturbing message about cutting away the dead wood, preparing us for the new abundant life that Jesus brings. Now, stuck in prison, he hears rumours about Jesus and he wonders. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” He asks if

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday talks about repentance in the sense of turning from sin which our 3-6-year olds are not needing yet. However, the deeper reality, the reason why we repent is the essential point they need to hear, I think.) In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. Jesus comes to speak ab

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday when we light the second candle on our Advent wreath, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist is a preparation  person. He prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes to speak about the Kingdom of God  in a way no one has ever spoken before. In Advent , we listen to John the Baptist as we   prepare  to celebrate the feast of the Light of God coming i

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Each Advent , as we prepare  ourselves for the feast of the Light of God coming into the world, we hear about John the Baptist. We might even think of him as the   preparation  person. He prepares  people for Jesus, the Light of the World. Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “ Repent , for the Kingdom of God has come near.” This is the one

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday involves images that are incomprehensible for little people. This reflection focuses on only the last verse and listens to the first reading from the prophet Isaiah.) This Sunday, the Church begins a new season. Each time the season changes, so does the colour. For weeks and weeks, the colour was green—the priests wore green, the banners in the church were green—but today everything

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent . Advent  is a season of preparing  for the feast of the the light of God coming into the world. We think about the moment when that light first came into the world and we prepare for the moment when that light fills all the world. The colour for the season is purple . We know that Jesus is the light of the world and that he is born in Bethlehem. We know that he grows to be

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we begin the season of Advent . It is a time of preparing  for the feast of God coming into the world as one of us. God, who knows what it means to be cold and hungry, who knows what it is like to dance and to play sports, to laugh with friends, to be nervous before a test. God, who knows us . It is a good feast. To prepare, we change the colour of the season to purple . We notice that the reading today co

Luke 1.39-45   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. We light all four candles on the Advent...

Luke 1.39-45   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light all four candles on the Advent wreath. The feast arrives...

Luke 1.39-45   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent. Soon we will celebrate our...

Luke 3.10-18   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, in the Gospel for this Sunday the people ask John what they must do to...

Luke 3.10-18   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light the pink  candle on the Advent wreath for the third Sunday...

Luke 3.10-18   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We call this Sunday " Gaudete Sunday." Gaudete is a Latin word that means...

Luke 3.1-6   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the second Sunday of Advent. We remember that in Advent we prepare...

Luke 3.1-6   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the second Sunday of Advent. We remember that in Advent we prepare...

Luke 3.1-6   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the second Sunday of Advent. As we prepare to celebrate God...