The Sunday Readings and Catholic Doctrine for November 2024

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for November 2024 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. Catholic doctrines are the essentially unchangeable clarifications of Revelation and Faith that only the Magisterium has the God-given authority to make and that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic. See my two columns explaining in more depth what doctrine is and why the Church needs it.

Let’s learn the always-true doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that we can take away from this November’s Sunday Readings.[1]

November 3, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Second Reading tells us that Jesus makes intercession, which is “asking on behalf of another” (CCC 2635[2]). Jesus “is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all [humans], especially sinners” (CCC 2634). “Christian intercession participates in Christ’s” (CCC 2635). Intercession – along with blessing and adoration, petition, thanksgiving, and praise – are “forms of prayer [that] remain normative for Christian prayer” (CCC 2625). See CCC 2626-2649 for more on the forms of prayer.

How are intercessions and petitions effective? “If our prayer is resolutely united with that of Jesus, in trust and boldness as children, we obtain all that we ask in his name, even more than any particular thing [we obtain] the Holy Spirit himself” (CCC 2741). “Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask of him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer. God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give” (CCC 2737). Let’s always remember that all our prayers will not and cannot be answered until we enter the Kingdom of God, which will be explained further in this column.

Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel on the Two Great Commandments should be taken literally (CCC 2196). We can add: “The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor” (CCC 2067).

The Catechism uses Christ’s quoting the Old Testament to affirm that “the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value” (CCC 129). It is the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit just as the New Testament is (CCC 121). The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament is well summarized: “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New” (CCC 129).

• From the Second Reading[3] (Hebrews 7:23-28): Heb 7:24 is cited in CCC 1366 and 1564; Heb 7:25-27 in CCC 1364; Heb 7:25 in CCC 519, 662, 2634, and 2741; Heb 7:26 in CCC 1544; and Heb 7:27 in CCC 1085, 1366, and 1540.
• From the Gospel (Mark 12:28b-34): Mk 12:28-34 is cited in CCC 575; Mk 12:29-31 in CCC 129 and 2196; Mk 12:29-30 in CCC 202; and Mk 12:29 in CCC 228.

November 10, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Second Reading has verses used by the Catechism to teach doctrines at the heart of the Catholic Faith. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross “once for all” in contrast with the sacrifice offered by the Jewish high priest year after year means that the “Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world” (CCC 571).

The verse that human beings die once and then are judged by God should be taken literally. “There is no ‘reincarnation’ after death” (CCC 1013). “Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ” (CCC 1021). “Each [person] receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven—through a purification or immediately—or immediate and everlasting damnation” (CCC 1022). The Last Judgment, or General Judgment, will take place on the Last Day when Christ returns to earth at His Second Coming to judge the living and the dead. The Last Judgment will confirm, and never change, the Particular Judgment that occurred at the moment of death (CCC 1038-1041).

The Gospel Readings from this Sunday and next Sunday build up to the last Sunday in Ordinary Time – the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – which ends the Liturgical Year. Jesus’ prophecy in today’s Gospel that there are scribes who will receive severe condemnation is cited by the Catechism to teach that “the conduct of [every person] and the secrets of [all] hearts will be brought to light” (CCC 678). This revelation will take place at the Last Judgment. “Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing be condemned.”

The Catechism uses Jesus’ concern for the poor widow in today’s Gospel to teach that giving to the poor “extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty” (CCC 2444).

• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 9:24-28): Heb 9:24 is cited in CCC 519, 662, and 2741; Heb 9:26 in CCC 571; and Heb 9:27 in CCC 1013 and 1021.
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 5:3): Mt 5:3 is cited in CCC 544 and 2546.
• From the Gospel (Mark 12:38-44 or 12:41-44): Mk 12:38-40 is cited in CCC 678; and Mk 12:41-44 in CCC 2444.

November 17, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Second Reading continues the theme of the previous six Second Readings from the Letter to the Hebrews, the priesthood of Christ. Keeping in mind that the role of a priest in any religion is to offer sacrifice, these Second Readings can be summarized: “the priesthood of the Old Testament . . . finds its fulfillment in the priesthood of Christ Jesus . . . by the unique sacrifice of the cross” (CCC 1544). The Catholic priesthood also finds its fulfillment in the priesthood of Christ. The “priesthood of Christ . . . is made manifest through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ’s priesthood” (CCC 1545).

In today’s Gospel, when Jesus talks about the coming of the Son of Man, He is talking about Himself and His coming on the Last Day. Then He will return to earth in order to end human history and begin “the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel [which will bring] the definitive order of justice, love, and peace” (CCC 672).

“Since the Ascension Christ’s coming in glory has been imminent [and] could be accomplished at any moment” (CCC 673). However, we cannot know when the Last Day will happen. Catholic Doctrine takes the last verse of today’s Gospel literally – “it is not for you to know times and seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority” (CCC 673). What we can know is that there will be “a final trial that will shake the faith of many” (CCC 675). “The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil . . . the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world” (CCC 677).

Another feature of the Last Day is revealed in today’s First Reading. “All the dead will rise, ‘those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment’” (CCC 998).

• From the First Reading (Daniel 12:1-3): Dn 12:2 is cited in CCC 998.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11): Ps 16:9-10 is cited in CCC 627.
• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 10:11-14, 18): Heb 10:14 is cited in CCC 1544.
• From the Gospel (Mark 13:24-32): Mk 13:32 is cited in CCC 474 and 673.

November 24, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Pilate did not understand when Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” in today’s Gospel. Do we understand Jesus’ Kingdom? Today’s solemnity gives us the opportunity. The following doctrines clarify all of today’s Readings.

First and foremost, the Kingdom is not Heaven; the Kingdom is not souls which are separated by death from bodies and which are in the direct presence of God. The Kingdom of Heaven also is not Heaven – “Kingdom of Heaven” is used by St. Matthew for the same reality as “Kingdom of God,” used by the other New Testament writers. So the Kingdom of Heaven is the same thing as the Kingdom of God, neither of which is the same thing as Heaven.

Jesus’ mission – the reason He was conceived, as Gabriel announced to Mary (Luke 1:32-33) – was to establish the Kingdom on earth (CCC 541-542). This Kingdom is the restoration of Eden, which was on earth, to what Eden was before Original Sin (CCC 374-379): perfect human existence because of perfect human relationship with God and all He has created (CCC 1042-1050).

The Kingdom was the theme of Jesus’ preaching (CCC 543-546): the heart of His gospel (Mark 1:15), what He said to seek before seeking anything else (Matthew 6:33), what He taught us to pray for in the Our Father, and the subject of many of His parables. It was what He instructed His disciples to preach (Luke 10:8-11), and what He and the Apostles discussed between the Resurrection and the Ascension (Acts 1:3-8).

It was for the purpose of revealing the Kingdom that He performed His miracles (CCC 547-550, 554-556). Each miracle reveals something about human existence free from evil. Jesus has begun establishing the Kingdom on earth by founding the Catholic Church, for example, by giving the keys of the Kingdom to Peter and his successors (CCC 551-553, 668-670). He will finish establishing the Kingdom on earth when He returns to earth in glory on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead (CCC 671-679, 988-1001, 1038-1041).

The Kingdom is the fullness of eternity since it includes body and soul, a new Heaven and a new earth, spiritual reality and physical reality combined in a way that transforms physical reality beyond space and time while not eliminating its physicality, with complete and eternal freedom from death as well as all other pain and evil (CCC 1042-1050). Jesus died for our sins to allow us entry into the Kingdom (CCC 613-617). Christ’s Resurrection reveals most clearly what existence in the Kingdom will be like for us (CCC 645-646, 651-655). The final establishment of the Kingdom does not mean the end of Hell (CCC 1033-1037). When we think salvation, we should think the Kingdom.

We celebrate the end of the Liturgical Year by celebrating the end of time. Thy Kingdom come!

• From the First Reading (Daniel 7:13-14): Dn 7:13 is cited in CCC 440; and Dn 7:14 is cited in CCC 664.
• From the Second Reading (Revelation 1:5-8): Rv 1:6 is cited in CCC 1546 and 2855; and Rv 1:8 in CCC 2854.
• From the Gospel (John 18:33b-37): Jn 18:36 is cited in CCC 549 and 600; and Jn 18:37 in CCC 217, 559, and 2471.

[1] There are too many citations, or references, in the Catechism to the verses in a month of Sunday Mass readings to identify all the pertinent doctrines, so I will use my best judgment to select which verses and doctrines to cover in a column that may not exceed 2,000 words. The bullet points allow you to explore further the Biblical basis of Catholic Doctrine.

[2] CCC abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 2635” means paragraph 2635 of the Catechism.

[3] If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.