This week is the 12th Week in Ordinary Time. This year it happens that we have a number of special Masses that interrupt the flow of the first readings for the week: St. Aloysius Gonzaga, The Nativity of John the Baptist, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Without those specials feasts and solemnities, the week of first readings would have been from 2 Kings and, in part, covered the “last of the kings. The readings are: Continue reading
The image is of a painting by Peter Paul Rubens (17th c.), “The Defeat of Sennacherib.” King Sennacherib was the King of Assyria who attempted to conquer Judah and capture Jerusalem in the 7th century BCE. You can read a summary of the encounter with King Hezekiah of Judah in the first reading from yesterday. Continue reading
Often when we think of the “Kingdom of Israel” we connect that title with King David who ruled the “12 tribes of Israel” (named after the 12 sons of Jacob – also called Israel) from the throne set in Jerusalem. The kingdom was comprised of an area that presently approximates modern Israel and the other Levantine territories including much of western Jordan, and western Syria. We know that David was followed by his son King Solomon. The kingdom lasted about 100 years. Based on what happened next, most scholars refer to the “Kingdom of Israel and Judah” as the entity over which David and Solomon ruled. Continue reading
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