Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Observance of the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo
Hebrews 9:24–2
November 7, 2021

Today, we complete our study of the Letter to the Hebrews. This section is not the end of the entire letter, but it brings together many of the ideas we have discussed. We have seen that the Author is well versed in Judaism but also more than merely competent in using the Greek language. He knows that his audience was composed mostly of people born Jews and that they judged the world as Jews. They saw themselves as members of a people who had a unique relationship with God indeed, they shared a covenant with Him and each other. They would change their religious practices and commitments only if they believed that this change would bring them into a deeper relationship with the God, they called the Lord.
Continue reading “32nd Sunday in Ordinary of Time – Putting Our Hope in the Christ’s Sacrifice” →

Caritas, William Wilson, 1954,
St. Mungo’s Cathedral (Glasgow). Source: Flickr 

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
‘He is One and there is no other than he.’
And ‘to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself’
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
(Mark 12:32–34)