Today’s Readings – Thursday of Week 12 of Ordinary Time - First Reading

Commentary on 2 Kings 24:8-17

The fate of the southern kingdom, including Jerusalem, was to be no better than that of the north. Today’s passage describes the first deportation of the Hebrews from Jerusalem into Babylon. However, the conquerors now are not the Assyrians, but the new ’world power’ of the day, the Babylonian empire under King Nebuchadnezzar. We meet him again in the Book of Daniel where we read the famous stories of the hand writing on the wall and the dream of the statue with the feet of clay, the story of Daniel in the den of lions and the report of the three young men in the fiery furnace. Like all the emperors before and after him, Nebuchadnezzar’s empire was doomed to fall. But here, he is seen as an instrument of God in bringing punishment on … Continue

Yesterday’s Readings – The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Commentary on Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66,80

He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. (John 1:7)


John the Baptist played a unique role in the history of God’s people. He acted as the bridge between the Hebrew and Christi … Continue