The Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Power of a Visit December 22, 2024 | Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF | Sunday’s Readings In today’s Gospel, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth had a profound impact on both women. Elizabeth, in her time of need, received the gratuitous ‘love of neighbor’ exemplified by Mary. And from Elizabeth, Mary received…
December 15, 2024 | Cullen Larson | Sunday’s Readings “What then should we do?” – Luke 3:10 In his Gospel, Luke is careful to tell us that John the Baptist and Jesus came along at a very specific place and time in history, with particular characters in control of both religious and political power. Just…
December 12, 2024 | Sr. Misty Garriga, C.D.P | Today’s Readings “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed.” Rev. 12:10 I am privileged to be able to work with the men on Death Row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. This past September,…
The Second Week of Advent: Finding God in the Desert December 8, 2024 | Caitlin Morneau | Sunday’s Readings The Word of God came to John in the desert. In the desert of all places. When I was in college, my campus minister offered us a busy student Advent retreat. I remember my freshman year…
Feast of the Immaculate Conception: Carrying Christ’s Light into the World December 9, 2024 | Amber Herkey | Today’s Readings Last year, I became a mother. Holding my child, I was struck by the miracle of new life — a living testament to hope. In this new chapter of motherhood, I began to see that…
First Sunday of Advent: Preparing for the Coming of Christ December 1, 2024 | Fr. Brian McDermott, S.J. | Sunday’s Readings Tomorrow we begin the new liturgical year and celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. This season has a double focus. It invites us to preparatory prayer and to preparatory work for the long-awaited final…
December 24, 2023 | Bishop Oscar Cantú | Today’s Readings “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) , In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a moratorium on the death penalty. He then ordered the transfer of death row inmates at San Quentin…
December 17, 2023 | Sr. Christin Tomy, OP | Today’s Readings “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul.” (Isaiah 61:10) , One word echoes throughout the readings this Gaudete Sunday: rejoice! Isaiah “rejoices heartily in the Lord.” In the psalm, we pray along with Mary, “my soul rejoices in…
December 12, 2023 | Ellie Hidalgo | Today’s Readings | Leer en español She chose a hill at Tepeyac to make her appearance in 1531 – Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas. She chose to encounter an Indigenous man, St. Juan Diego, consoling him and his people, survivors of conquest, who needed a Mother’s…
December 10, 2023 | Sr. Eileen Reilly, SSND | Today’s Readings “Prepare the way of the LORD!” (Isaiah 40:3) , There is a situation that I’m sure occurs in households everywhere when someone shares the urgent message, “We’re leaving at 3 p.m. so we won’t be late!” This announcement can mean many different things for…
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mary, ca. 1914, oil on canvas December 8, 2023 | Mary Hallinan | Today’s Readings “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” , It was a fun Thanksgiving week this year for a group of mostly strangers who responded to a…
December 3, 2023 | Fr. George Williams | Today’s Readings “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 12:33) , Last Sunday I said Mass at San Quentin, the California prison which houses the state’s death row. As I stood behind the altar, I looked out at a full…