"They have taken the Lord from the tomb"

"Alleluia!" we proclaim this Easter Sunday
- April 8, 2012 - as Church. “Alleluia, praise the Lord. Jesus is alive. He is our
Savior. He is our Redeemer. And He is ours. Our Discussion Questions
will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.



Holy Thursday



Benedict XVI reflected on the Easter Triduum this week calling it the "fulcrum of the entire liturgical

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies"

In this Sunday's Readings for Mar. 25, 2012, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast say to
Philip, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Jesus responds, "The hour has
come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Our Discussion Questions
will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Jesus did many good things for us

"Repent, and believe in the gospel."

In this Sunday's Readings, February 26, 2012, we hear the story of the flood and Noah’s ark. Also, the Lenten season
begins, for Jesus, as He is driven out into the desert by the spirit.
Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Escaping the Flood

Fr. John J. Ludvik tells us that finding God in situations like Noah encountered
is

"Child, your sins are forgiven."

In last Sunday’s Gospel reading we had the story of the healing of the
leper and we reflected on the fact that, in its consequences, sin is a
sort of leprosy. In the Gospel story set before us this Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, we see something similar. Here sin is clearly compared to paralysis. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Four

"If you wish, you can make me clean."

Christians often are confused about suffering. Is it ever good for us?
Is it always good for us? Should we feel guilty about wanting to be rid
of it? In the Sunday Gospel for Feb. 12, 2012, the story of Jesus and the leper, we find answers to these questions. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.



Dealing with Suffering



Jewish

"What is this? A new teaching with authority."

In this Sunday's Readings, January 29, 2011, the Gospel finds Jesus going to the synagogue in Capernaum with four of
his disciples where people are astonished that He teaches with such
authority. And then he casts out a demon from a possessed person. Our
Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Jesus - The Holy One of God

What
is

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

This Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 , 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have the call of the first Apostles.
Mark gets down to business fast, here in only verse sixteen of his
Gospel we find Jesus calling Simon and his brother Andrew and then
having gone on a little further He calls the sons of Zebedee, James and
John. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and

“What are you looking for?”

In this Sunday's Readings - Second Sunday In Ordinary Time (2B), January 15, 2012 - John the Baptist looks hard at Jesus and says, ‘Look there is the Lamb
of God.’ The two disciples with him immediately follow Jesus. Our
Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Behold the Lamb of God

At
the beginning of Advent we received a beautiful

"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?"

The Epiphany gospel
this Sunday, Jan. 8, 2011, is a continuation of the Christmas story in Matthew's
prologue to his gospel. This story is is portrayed by the coming of the
Three Wise Men from the East to do Him homage. Our Discussion Questions
will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

The Greek word “epiphaneia” means “appearance” and in the western

"He was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel"

This Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, is not only the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God,
it is also the World Day of Prayer for Peace. It is highly appropriate
that the whole Church pauses at the commencement of the New Year to take
time to pray for world peace. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Mary, Mother of God

The
readings for

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

The joy and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ, born for us, be with you! This Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, we celebrate Christmas, the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

The
meaning for us of Luke's Christmas story is completed by the prologue
of John's gospel read at Mass During the Day (Jn 1:1-18)

"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

On the carefully programmed Advent journey to Christmas, Dec. 18, 2011, the Fourth Sunday belongs to Mary.
This is so because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus,
necessarily involves the motherhood of Mary. Our Discussion Questions
will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Also on this last Sunday of Advent we begin more intensively to prepare

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

This Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, we celebrate the Second Sunday in Advent
and the Readings feature John the Baptist. He didn’t look or talk like
the Jews of his time. He was not part of the crowd that had always held
power. Yet he talked about change. And the people listened, and
followed. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

A Voice

"Be watchful! Be alert!"

Because it is Thanksgiving weekend, I'm busy preparing Thanksgiving
dinner for my family while multi-tasking this week's homiletics email
for you. So we hope you understand why you're receiving a truncated
version of your Catholic Living Today.

This Sunday we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent.
This marks the beginning of a new church year: the liturgical
actualization for us of

"He will sit upon his glorious throne"

This Sunday, November 20, 2011, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.
This is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. Through this feast the
church is saying that all of our celebrations can be summed up in one
statement: Jesus is our King, we serve him. Our Discussion Questions
will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Universal King

But
who

"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Jesus has some words this Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, about investing what we receive. He tells the famous parable of the talents.
The man who receives five talents, put them to work and made an
additional five. The second receives two and makes two more. But the man
who receives one talent, buries it. Jesus calls him "wicked" and
"lazy." Our Discussion Questions will

"Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

In Sunday’s Gospel for Nov. 6, 2011 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew’s recount of the 10 virgins
sits amidst numerous parables about the heavenly kingdom. In fact, all
three of the readings today are end-of-times in nature. Our Discussion
Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

In the course of the liturgical year have worked our way

"Call no one on earth your father"

This Sunday's Gospel narrative
- for Oct. 30, 2011, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - reminds us that holding a position of power in religion appears to be
particularly vulnerable to self-exaltation and abuse. It is a strong
invitation and challenge to render humble, selfless, diligent, committed
and loving service to others in the community without expecting honor
or rewards. Our Discussion

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

Sunday’s Gospel Reading
- for October 23, 2011 - revolves around the question: “Which commandment of the Law is the
greatest?” Another way to put this question is to ask, “What do I need
to do to achieve salvation?” Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.



In
the Sunday Gospel according to St. Matthew we encounter Christ in

"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar"

This Sunday - October 16, 2011 - in Matthew's Gospel, the Pharisees try once again to entrap Jesus in His speech. They ask Jesus the question, "Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.


The Hypocrisy of the Question



Jesus
is fully aware of the hypocrisy of His opponents, and He