~~~SisterSea~~~

First Reading:         Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:15-22 Second Reading:      Ephesians 6:10-20 Gospel Reading:      John 6:56-69 The passage reading from Ephesians that we heard today is often interpreted in terms of spiritual warfare but I think it would be better understood as Paul telling us that God's way, in light of the teaching of Jesus Christ, is spiritual peace-fare.   To be strong in the Lord is to surrender to God's grace.   The whole armour of our God is love and justice.   The Word of God is a living word and must be understood in terms of our lived experiences.   As we can see today, when things look so hopeless, our elected leaders are abandoning social structures that promote the common good to entities that are not blood and flesh but are transnational economic interests that are exploiting human as well as natural resources.   In the United ...

First Reading: The Assumption Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:46-55 Second Reading: Acts 1:6-14 Gospel: John 2:1-11 Feminist theologians dispute the view of Our Lady as the docile woman, untouched by the every day life of a woman with a husband and a child or children.   They point out that, when Mary said “Be it done according to Your Word”, she was, in fact saying “Yes” to disobey the religious and social conventions of her day.   Betrothal, in ancient Jewish law, was akin to being married, except the couple did not live together.   Therefore, Mary could have been charged as an adulteress.   As we know, an angel stepped in and told Joseph not to press charges, so to speak.   We also know that she did not abandon her Son; and was at the foot of the cross even though it was probably dangerous to be there. So Mary was no pushover, she was faithful to the call of God in her early life and, later on, even when that meant going against the authorities. ...

Shared Homily Starter First Reading: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, 31 Second Reading: Ephesians 4:17-24 Gospel:   John 6:24-35 To start the shared homily, I will just share a few thoughts on each of the readings and give a brief discussion of what questions the readings raised for me. When I looked at today's readings, the idea of gift kept echoing in my mind.   The first reading from the Exodus tells us that the Israelites quickly forgot God's gift of freedom from Egyptian oppression as they began their journey in the desert.   It tells how our loving God sent heavenly bread and meat to feed them when they complained they had no food.   I think it is important to situate this reading in the context of the whole chapter in which it appears.   You see, the only requests God made was that they should gather enough to eat and that they not try to save any of the bread or meat for the next day.   However, some of them did not heed the Creator's instru...