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When Jews of Biblical times read the first five book of the Bible (also called the Pentateuch, Torah or the Law of Moses), they discerned, for better or for worse, that there were 613 laws that they felt God was asking them to follow. (By the way, we have 1752 laws as Catholics in the Code of Canon Law). These 613 were apart from the 10 biggies we have come to know as the 10 Commandment. Now, the Pharisees …

You have all heard the expression “Money talks.” I heard a good one-liner the other day that said, “Money talks, all mine says is good bye.” It was true in Biblical times and is probably even more true now that “money talks.” When you have money, you can buy your way out of certain situations that a poor person cannot. When you have money, you can influence a situation in ways that you could not if you did not …

This is the third Sunday we have a parable set in a vineyard. Vineyards are places where both labor and love take place. Biblically speaking, vineyards are where you earn your keep by working hard, and they are places of romance and courting. Labour and love. These three last Sundays have given us stories of labour but not so much love. You may recall the parable from a couple of weeks ago of the vineyard owner who hired labourers …

As
you just heard, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom
of God ahead of us. If this was a parable to be taken literally, I would be
encouraging you all to work for Revenue Canada or to don fishnet stocking and
hang out on street corners. The underlying message, nonetheless, is to be taken
seriously. Jesus is addressing the chief priests and the elders, those who are
supposed to be doing it all correctly, yet …

There
are two things to keep in mind when we try to grapple with this parable (Mt.
20:1-16).  Firstly, Matthew is writing
for his faith community that is a mixture of Jewish Christians and Gentile
(non-Jewish) Christians. The Jewish Christians know that their faith has come
down to them through the centuries beginning with Abraham, Moses, and all the
great prophets. It is a long-standing and rich relationship with God who
selected them as the Chosen People. The Gentile …

In the first reading, the Book of Sirach poses a question
to us, and I do not think it is just a rhetorical question. Does anyone
harbour anger against another, and expect healing from the, Lord? The
answer unfortunately, is: of course! I know lots of people, including myself,
who want God’s healing mercy for themselves but who also want punishment for
others. Our logic goes something like this: that person over there, by their
sin, has crossed a …

Back
in 1983 while taking an introductory psychology course in college, the
professor told us students, on the first day of class that our term paper, due
at the end of the semester, could be on any topic we wanted. He did, however,
offer a list of suggestions, and I chose the topic of death and dying. By pure
chance, three weeks later, the world’s authority on the topic of death and
dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, was coming to town …

Here is a line from the sacramentary (big, red book
on the altar from which the priest prays the Eucharistic prayer) that I have
publicly prayed numerous times over the past 23 years without giving it the
attention it deserves. It goes like this; notice the last part especially. “Therefore,
as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord,
the Bread of Life and the Chalice (Cup) of salvation, giving thanks that you
have …

Peter,
in last weekend’s gospel account, made his profession of faith, “You are
the Christ, Son of the living God,” in a place surrounded by pagan
images and Roman power. This was a difficult place, to say the least, to
profess your faith in the one, true God. Jeremiah, in today’s first reading,
also struggles and succeeds, like Peter, in speaking God’s truth as a prophet.
He felt he was too young and inadequate for the job God was …

A
little bit of context usually helps us understand the Word of God better. Here
goes. Hezekiah was a good king in Judah. Although appointed by the pagan
emperor in Rome, the king in Judah was still a Jewish king, and he looked after
the interests of his Jewish brothers and sisters making sure they could still
practice their faith in the one, true God with little interference from Rome.
Unfortunately, Hezekiah’s chief of staff, the highest ranking official …