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Read the entire Faith Connection, Download Now It is easy to misunderstand Paul in today’s second reading. He recommends that the Corinthians remain celibate; therefore, we might conclude that there is something wrong with marriage. This is not Paul’s intent. Paul was convinced that Jesus would return during his lifetime. With everything about to change, he felt it was not the time to assume the responsibilities of family life. Today, we still believe Jesus will come but we do not know when. This allows us to recognize that marriage and celibacy each reveal an important quality of discipleship. Marriage gives witness to the necessity of intimacy in every person’s life. While, celibacy gives witness to freedom. The celibate person is freer to use his or her time and energy for the service of God’s people because he or she does not have the responsibility of spouse or children. Marriage and celibacy complement each other because every person needs a combination of intimacy and freedom in their life. Continue reading Intimacy & Freedom Take a moment to read the entire issue of Faith Connection for 1-22-12 - click to download Invitations to parties often include the letters RSVP at the end, which is a polite (and brief) way of saying, “please let us know whether or not you will attend.” This Sunday’s readings look at some of the ways God invites us to join in the divine party. The story of Jonah is always fun to read. While his three days in the belly of the whale is what we remember most, we often forget that Jonah was in the whale because God wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. That, of course, is the message of his preaching in Ninevah; people there believed that God would destroy the city. Which is harder to believe: that Jonah lived in a whale for three days or that the entire city of Ninevah immediately said “yes” to God’s invitation to reform?
Today is the first day of the calendar year, a day when people often make new resolutions or prophecies that attempt to predict the future; we could even say it’s a day of cosmic proportions. In the meantime, the Catholic Church celebrates the motherhood of Mary to replace the celebration of the circumcision of the child Jesus in the liturgical calendar. While the circumcision emphasized the humanity of Jesus and his incorporation in the Jewish covenant, the celebration of Mary as Mother of God reminds us that the child was not only a human baby visited by shepherds, but also God’s eternal Word made flesh in a total union with humanity. Continue reading Mary, Mother of God and Our Mother
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