SUNDAY REFLECTIONS with
FR. Francis

Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Matthew 26: 14-27: 66 (Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah) At long last, today, we have reached the last stage of our forty-day Lenten faith journey.  Palm Sunday, which we celebrate today, inaugurates Holy Week, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We mark the beginning of the holiest week of the Church year. In the first gospel proclaimed at the beginning of this Mass, Jesus sets out for a journey; a triumphal entry am

Ezekiel 37: 12-14; Romans 8: 8-11, John 11: 1-45 (Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah) Today, in the first reading, God pictures the exile of the Israelites from their homeland to Babylon as living in bondage to sin. The reading describes the Prophet Ezekiel's contemplation of a valley of dry bones. The dry bones represented the people of Israel, brought low by their own sins. Before God could raise them, they had to face the reality of what they had done. Looking at the First Readi

1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ephesians 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41 (Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah) The verse preceding today's Gospel introduces the central point of our celebration. "I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The entire liturgy therefore celebrates the mystery of Christ - the light of the world; the light which dispels the darkness of our minds and our hearts. We celebrate Christ, who heals our spiritual blindness.