Second Sunday in Lent, Cycle A
The unifying factor in all of these texts is access to God and to the grace of God. In each text the initiative is said to have been primarily with God. Because God acts with grace, we are expected to react with faith.
First Sunday in Lent, Cycle A
God’s gifts of life and free will, humankind’s choice of sin and disobedience, humankind’s need for forgiveness and redemption, and God’s gifts of grace and forgiveness, especially through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ who resisted evil and temptation and was obedient to God — these are the great themes of the texts selected for the First Sunday in Lent, Series A.
Ash Wednesday, Cycle A
We see that in Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 and in Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 the emphasis is on appropriate behavior. In Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 the Lord God commands the people to fast, weep, mourn, repent, and return to the Lord. In Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 the guidelines are to help those who are in need, pray, fast, and to store up your treasures in heaven where they will never be lost. It is obvious that for those who selected these texts for use on Ash Wednesday the behavior commanded in these texts from Joel and from Matthew were very important, especially for the season of Lent.
Transfiguration Sunday, Cycle A
The unifying theme for this occasion is obviously the Transfiguration of our Lord. The Exodus 24:12-18 and Psalm 2 texts were used in the composition of the Transfiguration accounts within the Synoptic Gospels. The writer of 2 Peter 1:16-21 probably used the Transfiguration account from one or more of the Synoptic Gospels as a literary source. These Series A selections, therefore, are the most fully integrated texts within the three-year series of texts for this occasion.
Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7, Cycle A
In most of the texts appointed for this occasion, the People of God are acclaimed. Through the use of these texts, it will be our pleasure to acclaim the People of God with whom we live as we speak in our own situations what is revealed to us in the Word of God and in our lives.
