The Liturgy Podcast from Spirit & Song

"She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." The Gospel of Matthew's carefully crafted genealogy of the Messiah is upended by divine intervention. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary.

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. . ." Mary's patient time of trusting and waiting was fulfilled when she gave birth to God's Son.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Indeed, the Lord is near."

"A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!" "He is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Our liberation from sin has been God's plan all along. God's loving forgiveness was foretold from of old.

"May it be done to me according to your word." Through Mary, we are inspired to join her in saying "Yes" to God. On this day, we celebrate her great love for God.

"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." In the midst of the busiest month of the year, the Church invites us to focus our minds and hearts on the coming of Christ.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me . . ." Christ shepherds his people compassionately. He has given us a mandate to join him in reaching out with love to the least of our brethren.

When we realize the blessings God has given us, our best way to say Thank You is to proclaim God's goodness. As Jesus said to the Samaritan leper after his healing: "Stand up and go! Your faith has saved you."

"Come, share your master's joy!" We know not when the Lord will return in glory but until then, we live in his light.

"As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only." The focus of today's Gospel is on the end times, but that is not a cause for fear. It's a call to hope in the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus teaches us an invaluable lesson in humility and discipleship.

"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb." The saints are our role models as they lead us to Christ.

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart... You shall love your neighbor as yourself." By placing love of neighbor on equal footing with loving God, Jesus single-handedly moved morality forward in one giant leap.

"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God." If we render to God what belongs to God - our hearts, our very selves - then that which we render to Caesar will be put into proper perspective.

"The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike..." Jesus' invitation is a call to conversion of heart, to turn away from sin and enter a life of grace.

"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes." Jesus was rejected. As his disciples, we, too, face rejection for our beliefs. But Christ is our cornerstone, the rock of our faith.

"He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." On the cross, Jesus taught us that obedience is conversion of heart to the Father's will.

"The last will be first, and the first will be last." We rejoice in the boundless mercy of God, who inspires us share his love generously.

Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "Not seven times but seventy-seven times." God's infinite mercy surpasses the limitations of the human heart.

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Jesus is here in our midst! He is the heart of our Church community.

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." To follow Jesus is not all glory and grandeur. To follow Jesus means being open to the Cross.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In union with the whole Church, we join Peter in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus said to the Canaanite woman, "Great is your faith! Let it be done as you wish." The prejudices of humanity can muddle things up, but God brings salvation to ALL who have great faith.

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" Mary, through her Assumption, shares in the Easter victory of her Son, who conquered death and fulfilled his promise of eternal life.

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" Mary, through her Assumption, shares in the Easter victory of her Son, who conquered death and fulfilled his promise of eternal life.