As Advent begins, the Church invites us to reflect on prophetic texts that illuminate the season's profound themes of hope and expectation. This week, we delve into the prophet Jeremiah, focusing on his ministry during the late 600s BC under King Josiah's reign. By exploring the historical backdrop of Jerusalem's turmoil and exile, we uncover the depth of Jeremiah's prophecy about a "righteous branch" springing from David's line. In the Gospel, the Church continues the apocalyptic theme, drawing connections between the Jewish people's longing for a Messiah and our own anticipation of Christ’s return. Join us as we trace the threads of history and prophecy, unveiling the timeless message of Advent: hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises.

The Church points us to the Gospel of John for our feast today, looking specifically at the exchange between Pontius Pilate and Our Lord at the latter's trial. The question at hand is kingship: is Jesus a king and, if so, where is his kingdom? Looking at the literal translation of the Greek we discover how emphatic Our Lord's answers are. He reigns indeed but his reign does not flow from human authority. In fact, all human authority flows from him and one day will be subject to him. We'll also look at the 1925 encyclical that established our feast and the spiritual implications it offers. --> Join Katie's Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi: https://bit.ly/rome_assisi

Our Lord leaves the Temple for the last time. On the way out his disciples comment on the Temple's beauty and Jesus takes the opportunity to direct their hearts from an earthly worldview to a heavenly one, foretelling the destruction of that beautiful structure. Our Gospel picks up toward the end of this exchange and in it we find an abundance of allusions to a new creation, the ingathering of the nations, and the cosmic battle between good and evil. Though filled with images of suffering, read with the eyes of faith Our Lord's words provide comfort and hope, regardless of what the future may hold. --> Join Katie's Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi: https://bit.ly/rome_assisi

Jesus takes aim at the scribes in our Gospel today, calling them out for their love of fine things and special treatment. In contrast, Our Lord offers the example of the widow at the Temple. While the opulent monetary contributions of the rich ring out for others to hear, the widow's quiet offering does not go unnoticed by God. Jesus explains that, contrary to appearances, this woman has offered more than all the others. Exploring further the idea of poverty in the spiritual life, we find an apt opportunity to give to God from our nothingness in the sacrament of confession. --> Join Katie's Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi: https://bit.ly/rome_assisi

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A scribe, emboldened by Jesus’ compelling answer to the debated topic of resurrection presents another question before the Lord, “Which is the greatest commandment?” Exploring Our Lord’s answer we discover a response oozing with Scripture, one that impressively sums up both the 600+ laws of the Torah and the heart of the Ten Commandments. Unwittingly, the scribe’s own commentary prophetically describes what Jesus will do upon the cross: fulfill Temple worship in his own self-holocaust and unleash a flood of grace that will transform souls and make saints.

Jesus makes his final stop before reaching Jerusalem, passing through the ancient town of Jericho. On his way out of town the cries of a blind man reach his ears, compelling him to stop. Our Lord's encounter with and subsequent healing of the blind man are full of Old Testament resonances. In our Gospel we see the fulfillment of many prophecies announcing the arrival of the Messiah, we find fascinating parallels between Joshua's entry into Jericho and our Gospel, and we discover a unique echo of David's encounter with the blind in this encounter of Bartimaeus with Christ on the road to Jerusalem.

We leave Our Lord's words to speak for themselves in our podcast today, looking closer at the spiritual implication of his message rather than digging into scholarly insights on the text. The former exercise proves deeply important for our interior life, especially in periods of suffering. Understanding that the role James and John wish to possess is actually filled by two thieves leads us to recognize that heavenly success often masquerades as earthly failure and that even when we find it difficult to imagine fruits from our sufferings we can still hold fast to the conviction that heaven knows and honors our faithfulness.

We hear two of Jesus' favorite words in our Gospel today: Follow me! Where in the past these words were met with tremendous faith by the apostles, today they are met with sadness and rejection. We're talking about the rich young man who's unfulfilled longings bring him to the feet of Jesus. Diagnosing his restlessness, Our Lord calls him to leave behind his possessions, a cure that proves too burdensome to be carried out. Exploring the spiritual theme of detachment as well as the theological idea of sloth we discover that each of us today are just as prone to abandoning Jesus as the rich young man was years ago.

Jesus travels to Judea where he is not always well received and is immediately confronted by Pharisees as regards his view on marriage and divorce. Referencing Deuteronomy, the Pharisees make the case that Moses allowed for divorce but Jesus moves earlier in the Biblical account to make his argument, citing two verses of Genesis. From Our Lord's words we glean a radical view of marriage, one that excludes divorce but that also affirms the image of the Trinity and the tremendous dignity of married love. In the end we find a God who is reckless in love and who desires that we be recklessly loving as well.

The apostles encounter a man performing exorcisms in Jesus' name though they do not know who he is. When asked his opinion, Our Lord's response points us to the outpouring of the spirit of God in the Old Testament and the prophetic words of Moses who longs for all of God's people to perform miraculous works. Continuing on in our Gospel we hear Jesus speak intensely about "stumbling blocks." Exploring the original Greek as well as the Church's teaching we uncover the true meaning of scandal and its serious ramifications while ending with a discussion of freedom and the need for Christians to valiantly resist sin.