Introduction to the 23d and 24th Sundays: We have finished reading Matthew’s narrative about how deep faith in Jesus is the only way of entrance into the Church. For two Sundays now we read Jesus’s discourse on what life in the Church is to be like. 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Background: This Sunday’s part …

Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers — 23rd-26th Sundays in Ordinary Time, Year A

Introduction for 18th to 22nd Sundays: We have finished reading Matthew’s Sermon on Parables and move now to a crucial narrative section dealing with the Church as First-fruits of God’s Kingdom/Reign. Repeatedly we will see how the crucial step to enter that Kingdom/Reign is a deep faith in Jesus, a faith that rejects all other …

Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers — 18th-22nd Sundays in Ordinary Time, Year A

14th Sunday in ordinary time Background : This Sunday’s selection is the first from Matthew’s exploration of the meaning of the Kingdom/Reign of God. The evangelist often refers to the Kingdom/Reign of Heaven, but that is a pious Jewish euphemism. A Jewish perspective is also needed to appreciate the references to the “learned,” which refers …

Reflection Questions for RCIA Seekers — 14th – 17th Sundays in Ordinary Time, Year A

Trinity Sunday Background: Grace, love, fellowship—these words from the end of this Sunday’s selection from 2 Corinthians provide the common threads that runs throughout all the readings. Today’s focus is not on the inner relationships among the Persons of the Trinity but upon their relationships with us in both Old and New Testaments. As the …

Preparing seekers during summer Ordinary Time, Cycle A – part one