Table Of ContentContents Ordinary Time 1 Ordinary Time A 14 Practical Plan of the Gospel of Matthew 15 The Texts of the Lectionary 17 The Division of Sundays into "Sequences" 18 Second and Third Sundays in Ordinary Time 21 Second Sunday: Recognizing the Lord''s Presence 22 Third Sunday: The Light of the Gospel Shines in the Darkness 30 The Fourth and Fifth Sundays in Ordinary Time 37 Fourth Sunday: The Good News of the Master, Meek and Humble of Heart 38 Fifth Sunday: Salt of the Earth, Light of the World--to the Glory of the Father 46 From the Sixth to the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time 53 Sixth Sunday: Jesus, Wisdom of God, Law of the Christian 55 Seventh Sunday: Human Holiness, Reflection of God''s Holiness 63 Eighth Sunday: Since God Is Our Father 71 Ninth Sunday: "Blessed Are Those Who Hear the Word of God and Observe It" 81 The Tenth and Eleventh Sundays in Ordinary Time 87 Tenth Sunday: All Are Welcome--Even Sinners 88 Eleventh Sunday: One Shepherd, Few Workers 94 From the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 100 Twelfth Sunday: God, Strength of Those Who Are Sent 101 Thirteenth Sunday: When the Love of Christ Has Taken Possession of Us 107 Fourteenth Sunday: "Come to Me, All You Who Are Weary" . . 114 From the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 120 Fifteenth Sunday: Time of Sowing, Time of Birth 121 Sixteenth Sunday: God Believes in Human Beings 128 Seventeenth Sunday: Acquiring the Only Worthwhile Treasure 136 From the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 142 Eighteenth Sunday: A People Gathered and Nourished by God''s Love 143 Nineteenth Sunday: A People Convinced of the Lord''s Presence 149 Twentieth Sunday: A People Without Frontiers 156 The Twenty-first and Twenty-second Sundays in Ordinary Time 162 Twenty-first Sunday: Peter''s Ministry in the Church 163 Twenty-second Sunday: Losing Everything--Even One''s Life-- to Follow Christ 171 From the Twenty-third to the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 177 Twenty-third Sunday: A Community of Forgiveness Based on Mutual Love 178 Twenty-fourth Sunday: Forgive Us Our Trespasses, As We Forgive 186 Twenty-fifth Sunday: Send Us to Work in Your Vineyard! 193 From the Twenty-sixth to the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 202 Twenty-sixth Sunday: Not Promises but Acts 203 Twenty-seventh Sunday: A People Chosen to Bear Fruit 209 Twenty-eighth Sunday: Happy Are Those Invited to the Wedding of the Lamb 214 From the Twenty-ninth to the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 222 Twenty-ninth Sunday: "Repay to Caesar What Belongs to Caesar .. . to God What Belongs to God 223 Thirtieth Sunday: The Two Inseparable Commandments 229 Thirty-first Sunday: All Are Humble Servants of God and His Christ 236 The Thirty-second and Thirty-third Sundays in Ordinary Time 243 Thirty-second Sunday: Keeping Watch and Being Prepared 244 Thirty-third Sunday: Keeping Watch While Working for the Lord 250 Thirty-fourth Sunday: Christ the King 256 Postscript 270 Notes 273
SynopsisA Commentary in Seven Volumes: 1. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany 2. Lent 3. Easter Triduum, Easter Season 4. Ordinary Time, Year A 5. Ordinary Time, Year B 6. Ordinary Time, Year C 7. Solemnities and Feasts, Days of the Lord is an excellent guide to the riches of the Church's liturgy, and a welcome companion to the Sacramentary, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Lectionary. First published in Belgium, this outstanding seven volume series will enable all Christians to enter into the mystery of the liturgical year, to pray with understanding, to proclaim the beauty and wealth of the liturgy. More than a thorough commentary on the readings, more even than a reflection on the liturgical seasons, this series comprehends the totality of the liturgical year-that vehicle developed by the Church to express, summarize, and present "the whole mystery of Christ," the mystery that we are called to profess and celebrate every day. Since this mystery belongs to all Christians, the writers of this series have written their reflections with the average reader in mind. Yet the knowledge and insight that they bring to this work make it invaluable even to those who are themselves well versed students of the liturgical calendar. Readers will come away not only with a greater understanding of the liturgical year, its structure and meaning, but with a deepened appreciation of the prayer life the liturgical year provides through its structure.